As I was reading the latest today on Tesla and its autonomous car plans, I wondered what effect that might have on the anointing of classics. A car you can actually drive will reach a nostalgia zenith at some point down the road (sorry about the pun), maybe in 30 years (autonomous will be here sooner than we know). Will the G be among the favs? It certainly is a driver's car.

 

Agreed that there were incremental changes in the later years, however, the 03/04s will always be remembered as the cars that turned the sports coupe world upside down--completely reinvigorated the coupe in America. And no matter what incremental changes came after, nothing was nearly as bold as the bright gold Brembos on the 03/04s-- that was completely unheard of in that day from anything other than a full exotic, as was a reasonably priced car coming with Michelin's best street tire and led tails. It was the beginning of a great time for Infiniti...everyone loved the G--men, women, children. A classic is almost always the first. There may always be better, later years, but the first years tend to be loved for their impact, even with their minor blemishes--that's what you sit around and talk about, like "remember when the first Gs had no armrests and tape players. My 04 came with a piece of tape in case you wanted to get rid of the armrest and have the open compartment! LOL!

 

the year is 2020. I just bought a 2008 G35 and it’s ****ing awesome. Still turns heads. Not sure if it’s a classic yet though.

 

In the end, the definition of a “classic car” comes down to personal opinion and preferences. if it is classic to you then it is a classic.. There is a difference also between classic and collectable...

if you look at state rules and regulations once the car is 20-26 years old it is classic and you can get your fancy plates... But others may not agree.

I don't know if these cars have the following or fan base to be a high demand classic in the future but it also depends how many are left in 10 more years...

 

My guess, due to the accelerated wear that most sports cars have, that there will be significantly fewer G35 on the road in 10 years. Right now the V35 platform is at that critical point where the entire front end needs to be rebuilt, as well as many other powertrain components. Folks not willing to invest $1000 or more into a 13-17 year old vehicle will trade-in which leads to a decline in numbers of cars on the road but an incline of numbers of cars in the salvage yard.

Sports cars wear out faster than other cars, compare the G to other sports cars from the 2003-2007 era, there's not many 4th gen mustangs on the road, not many C5 vettes, and there were a TON more of them sold than the G35. Heck there aren't even that many 350Z on the road anymore.

As for your final point about cars having a following or fan base, I think much of that is determined by the CHASSIS of the vehicle, the G35 coupe body lines are absolutely timeless and I have no doubt that it will continue to hold a strong following. The sedan... notsomuch.

 

Oh Cleric, you know just what she likes to hear