gshb

well, the 2IS is still special cuz its still new. the IS300 is also a dime a dozen around socal =/

06i

great posts guys

i came from a nissan (njot infiniti) as well as VW. most likely wont' buy either of them again (both cars were made in mexico) this is when i decided i would buy only cars that were made in japan. had an acura tsx and was happy with it. briefly considered the G35 (is it still made in japan?), but i think Lexus is a notch up on infiniti. only had my car for a few weeks so i can't yet comment on it.

blue_rx330

And your links/graphs are equally enjoyable...

By the G20 being discontinued -- is that any different than the "discontinued" IS300? (BTW - I hated the G20!)

Realiblity is why I've bought Toyotas (5 of them!) and Lexus in the past. My links also showed that Lexus is the #1 champ...never questioned that fact. Heck - I'll even mention that Infiniti has been playing second fiddle to Lexus from the beginning. Add the fact that Nissan was almost bankrupt about 6 years ago.

But nobody can doubt that Nissan/Infiniti has had an amazing turn-around...350z, Altima, Maxima, Infiniti G35, M, FX, ...

It was Toyota that was leaving their product-line to rot...They killed the Celica and Supra brands, and left us with the Scion tC. And Toyota/Lexus does not offer any 2-door in the under $50K price-range that compares to a G35 coupe.

Which is why I picked the G35 coupe when I was shopping for my last car.

Next Year Nissan/Infiniti returns with a double-punch:
-- the 450hp Turbo AWD GT-R,
-- and re-designed G35

LexFather

G20 was actually discontinued, as it, Nissan dropped the lineup for 2 years the first time, brought it back, it sold poorly again, and dropped it out the lineup entirely. For a couple years, the only cars Infiniti had were the I30 and Q45

The G35 shares NOTHING with the G20, its a totally different car but it uses the G name.

The IS 300 was not discontinued, the name and car still carries on, its just been redesigned. We just saw the G35 sedan redesign, it wasn't discontinued this time, they did a redesign.

Nissans turnaround is plain out AMAZING, especially when you see the American companies struggling at it.

Inifniti needs new product, dealers are complaining left and right. Lexus product onslaught continues
-ES 350 just debuted
-RX 350 just debuted
-GS 450h just debuted
-GS 350 comes in fall
-LS 460 comes in fall
-LS 600h comes next spring
-GS 460 comes in spring

Lexus sold 9,300 ES 350s last month. Infintii's entire lineup sold 9,500 cars

They are turning it around slowly and have a ways to go.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

What did you hate about the G20? I had a 1996 my wife drove for 3 years. It was reliable as heck. Interior was very nice and so was the stereo. Only complaint was the power...or lack of it. There were slower cars though. With the nice wheels I out on...it was quite a looker. Went in the shop once in 3 years. The 2nd gen looked too corolla-ish but I liked the one we had.

blue_rx330

Glad to hear it was a good car. We're on the same page -- I was disappointed in the amount of power. But I supposed their target at the time as the BMW 318i....and in that respect - it matched the benchmark entry-sports-sedan.

boostedg35

about half a year and the new g35 sedan and coupe will be running around.. .. enjoy the looks now.. but that new coupe is gonna shut it down!

blue_rx330

Having started way behind - its understandable that Nissan/Inifiniti may never catch Toyota. We all know Toyota is #2 in the world having trumped Ford recently, and now will over-take GM any month. So nobody can match the power of toyota/lexus. But my comment about letting their product-line rot was in the 1992-1995 era which is where Infiniti/Nissan started to grow by plopping their 3.5 liter engine into everything from their Altima/Maxima/G35, etc.. I credit Nissan with pushing other cars like the Accord and Camry to require V-6 sedans produce 250hp like they do today.

However with all the manufacturing power -- look at that entire list -- no good sports coupe. The Celica? dead, The supra? gone The MR-S? dying. Until the proposed IS350 coupe arrives - Lexus/Toyota has a gaping hole in the $20-$50K lineup. They have the SUV bases covered, and sedans covered, and entry-level covered. But they still left a hole in their mid-section that Nissan/Inifiniti filled up nicely for me (with the 350z and G35). At the recent Toyota celebrity charity race -- what did toyota use? The Scion tC's heavily modified. They didn't have anything else in the garage to offer -- no Celica, no Supra, no competitive MR2.

I love what Lotus did with the Toyota drivetrain -- look at the Lotus Elise and Exige. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if the next-gen MR2 gave those kinds of performance numbers (is there is a next-gen MR2). And if Toyota built-one, it would probably cost around mid-30s.

al503

Like I stated above, the current coupe looks better than anything lexus has ever put out. The new coupe promises more of the same. I realize that you have to give some to get some with a car in this price range but I do hope that Infiniti puts a little more effort into the little details like rattles, rocking seats, etc. Until they get a clue on service after the sale/warranty work, the coupe would have to look like an 430 Modena for $30K before I even consider another one.

al503

Agree. I think the corporate bean counters have the upper hand and on a certain level, you can't argue with the fact that there is more $ to be made appealing to the masses v. the enthusiast. People say that the entire Toyota/Lexus line-up is boring, too quiet, non-involving, etc., and appeals to the older gen. I agree to a great extent but that's where the bread and butter exists.

Having all of the bases covered in the other segments, the intro of the IS coupe, the new Supra, and the LF-A in the next year or two should fill in all of the above mentioned gaps.

KrazyLexus

Doesn't matter the G35 Sedan is way faster than the IS250.

KrazyLexus

The G35 does not have a tire feathering problem like the 350z has. It never had. Wrong info.

2) I get 21 mpg city. I get 26 highway. (thats with a trip I did to Dallas just this past week).

KrazyLexus

Actually I30/I35, Q45. QX4.

al503

Whether it's called feathering or not, my '02 sedan and my '04 coupe both had front tire wear issues.



You'll notice that the center rib stiil has the molding ridge on it when it was new. Both sides are completely done. I had them torn down and rotated from side to side to get more life out of them. This is one of the reasons I sold the coupe.

KrazyLexus

Looks more like a tire PSI than anything else. The dead giveaway is the center of the tire.

I have those same tires and they wear faster on the outer parts than the inner anways. My friends Mazda 3 also looks the same. The tread on the outer parts are much less deep than the inner part. But a awesome tire. GY GSD3-F1