I've now had my G35 for almost 4 months and I enjoy it more and more every day....except for the speeding ticket ; ). About three years ago I began thinking about my next car purchase when I saw the newest generation Altima. When I heard a V6 was offered I thought I had found my next car. I test drove one about a year ago and felt the nice exterior would overcome the wall of plastic in the interior. With a child on the way it seemed the logical choice and had good performance for a 4 door.

Then last fall a friend of mine pulled up in a new 04 G35. My first words to him were "look who bought a yuppie car" and continued to rib him for a few minutes. I've always been more interested in performance than leather interiors and electronic gadgets so I felt most luxury brands were of little interest to me. OK, so I admit I was a bit envious of his cars lines and the kicker....it was RWD. Back to the car mags to research this overpriced yuppie car that probably ran 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. Imagine my surprise when the G clocked 0-60 in the low 6s (faster than my 80s GT Mustang)! The next weekend I found myself at CARMAX test driving a 03.5 and was sold within the first few miles, but decided to wait until spring to purchase a car. Originally I was going to purchase used, but found a great deal on a new 05 base with a sunroof.

Now I find myself trying to educate friends on what a great car (and bargin) the G35 is. I've noticed quite a few of the owners here owned Mustangs or other muscle cars at some point and realize the G is reminds me of a muscle car in a luxury sedans body. I'm still impressed how tight the car feels and how smooth the engine pulls at any time. Sometimes I can't believe Infiniti doesn't sell 3x the amount of Gs they currently do, but maybe that's due to people like me that don't even have the G35 on their radar screen....and that's a shame. Besides, is their a better message board than G35Driver....I think not!

Maybe Infiniti should offer a program where they agree to pay speeding tickets for the first four years of ownership..........

 

Former Mustang GT owner here too, an '00 convertible, when I test drove the '04, it felt a bit more powerful than my GT, bought it the same day. I think Infiniti sales are lower because you rarely see an advertisement, or commercial, around here anyway. And yes, you do have to watch your speed!

 

LOL well at least you went with Infiniti, BMW and Benz are the true yuppies they just buy for the name and then drive them 5mph around everywhere because they "dont want to scratch the paint" argh! :-D

 

harley- I kind of think the same way. I grew up with my mind on American V8's and always saw luxury cars as status symbols and not performance vehicles. When the G35 came out, I was immediately taken by its looks and its Skyline heritage. It had everything I was looking for: 260hp, rwd, good handling. The changes in the 05 really did it for me. I was finally able to buy one about a month ago and still get excited before every drive.

I see a lot of G35's, sedans and coupes, on the road in my home town. The coupes are usually driven by young people, and the sedan by older. Sometimes the sedan doesn't get any respect but I know I made the smart choice. I'm glad you found your way to the G35 paradise. Enjoy the ride and get a radar detector if you are worried about more tickets.

 

Good insight Harley. This car suprises everybody who gets a ride, and it's usually an escalating scale. Like they see it, and give the obligatory 'nice car', then we drive for a while and they look around and notice everything is just right and they say 'whoa, this is really a damn nice car!'

I'm suprised also by the number of former Mustang owners, which makes me wonder if the G gets cross-shopped with the 300C or Dodge Charger these days?

 

I think some buyers just assume the G35 is out of their budget. I thought it would cost around 35-40K, but was able to get a base w/sunroof for 29.5 (before taxes/tags). Since the base includes leather, heated seats and 6 CD player that's quite a bargin. Once you option out several of the cars that start at around 25K with what is standard on our Gs they end up costing as much or more than the G. The feel of the Gs underpinnings/engine is sooooo much better than any other car I test drove.

 

That's true. A lot of people I know acted like I just spent a huge load of money when they first saw my new car. I didn't get any options and only spent $29k which is not much more and sometimes less than your average sedan with a decent motor and similar options. In all the car magazine comparisons, nothing can beat the G35 that doesn't cost at least $40k.

I think the best thing about the G35 is that there is a setup for everyone. You can get a coupe or a sedan. You can get an auto or a manual. Plush or sport supsension. You can get into one fairly cheap or spend extra to get all the luxuries. The only thing missing is an engine option for a V8 - maybe next time.

 

Yep the G sedan definitely surprises people! I use to wonder why there was little (if any) advertising... Rarely is there an ad in the local paper (EVERY other car maker has tons of ads every week). I came to the conclusion that Infiniti doesn’t have to advertise. The car sells it self! There are many coupes and sedans here in So Cal.

However, there is a (relatively) new TV commercial - I really don’t like it though - kinda bubblegummie... looks like G driving around in a forest of tootsie pops. Has anyone else seen this?

 

Yep its that stupid limited engagement event. I agree, I'd rather it be no advertising than stupid commercials.

 

The commercial with the 05 6 speed sedan hitting a curve in slow motion, tail a waggin' just a bit, now THAT one was a good. Plus it was nice when they mentioned the 298 horsepower......

 

Now that was target marketing at it's best
- exhaust sounded great too

 

Why do you guys say Infiniti sales are low? They are at an all time high!

 

All time high for Infiniti; Yes
still not a huge market segment penetration though.

But they're getting there

 

I swear I've noticed a big upturn recently in the past six months, but maybe that's just because I'm now part of the family. I see FXs all over the place and the new QX and M35/45 seem to be a hit also.

 

I would have to agree;
There are 3 people I know (a friend & 2 colleagues)
that have purchase Infiniti for the first time. (all in the last 6 months)
- a G35X; QX56 and M45

All were North American lifers.