http://www.autonews.com/article/2008...maildailyANE02

 

European makeover
Some of the changes to Infiniti vehicles in Europe
• Bigger brakes
• Upgraded cockpits
• Redesigned windshield wipers
• Different V-6

Those dirty bastards...

 

I'm not so upset with the windshield wipers...i'm in SoCal. The brakes i would like with slotted and drilled, VERY interested in the cockpit (where i spend most of the time) - the V6 i can do with or without - my average speed in La is 15. I just had a Jeep SRT8 and with 450 hp, it was fun but made no sense.

Maybe it'll trickle down to 2010 - altho, wouldn't be close to the lifecycle of this model ending then?

-s-

 

So none of those 4 items will be coming to the US in the '09 model?

Booooooooo....

 

I have been torn between the G37X(thinking it was coming here in Sept) and the C63 for the last couple of months. More partial to the G37 since where I park by the GF's condo people are idiots and would not want to take a chance with the Merc. Not to mention winters here in Chicago kinda suck as of late.

But if Infiniti does not come here with the 3.7L and the 7-speed auto Ill be placing an order for the C63 and looking for a used Civic as my winter ride.
The brakes dont bother me since I can upgrade on my own, but the engine and tranny I was looking forward to.

This will bite them in the a$$ if they do this.

 

To be honest, lets face it the Euro makes Nissan more money, so there is no reason for them NOT to give them a nicer car, technically they are paying more for it in yen....

 

hahahah, that sucks dudes.

 

This is not uncommon when comparing with European spec vehicles.

The standards of performance vehicles are often higher in Europe and the vehicles less bloated with the "safety" features demanded by the North American regulatory agencies and the "toys" required by the North American customers.

There have been many "hot" vehicles that will never be seen in the U.S. because of regulations that are actually intended to impede the import of superior vehicles but are touted as being for consumer safety.

Presumably, lack of consumer education and discernment have created this situation. For example, I am always amazed to see new auto models in North America, still sporting drum brakes.

 

The US market isn't prepared for a big price increase given the weak dollar and strong yen. If the euro-spec G37 sedan -- whose upgrades would not be significant to the majority of US buyers (note: not forum people) -- replaced the current G35 and it had a $5K price increase, sales would nosedive.

I'm OK letting europe be a test market for the new tranny. What long term car owner wants to buy a new tranny in its first model year?

 

To me it's odd. Since insurance/taxes in Europe are displacement based? I would think the USA would get the bigger HR motor before the U R P ONS

 

Well I can see why you're annoyed but it makes sense. Infiniti has entered the market extremely late. Audi, VW, BMW, Merc, Range Rover and others have taken up most of the market and for Infiniti to come in and make any difference what so ever they have to upgrade certain bits and pieces, also they can charge a higher price as the European market has been (to my belief) over priced. I mean I would never in a million years have gotten my G35 for the price I did here back in the UK. It would have been at least £5,000 more so it makes sense, but I understand why you'd be annoyed.

 

revised cockpit? wonder what that'll be like

revised seat heater? how about seat cooler, that's what we need in warm weather

 

European buyers are very loyal to european brands...case in point, Lexus is doing terrible in Europe while its the biggest luxury seller in the US.

Lexus's failure is because Europeans are used to their autobahns and want driver's cars. Americans are fat and lazy and want a car that rides like its floating as to not harm their fat rolls.

Besides, the G37 Sedan has 18 ft-lb less torque than the G35 sedan does (based on figures from the Infiniti of Europe's G37 sedan homepage).

Having a 7 Speed Automatic won't really make your car faster or anything, just barely improve gas mileage and since countries in the EU tax the hell out of your car based on your average fuel economy (vs. the US where states that have a car tax base it on the car's value), Infiniti needed to do all it could to improve the gas mileage. Since the 3.7L has direct injection, it was a no brainer to go that route, couple that with a 7 speed and you get a slight increase in gas mileage.

My assumption is that Infiniti will lose its advantage of being much cheaper than its rivals in Europe with all of the upgrades its making to the car.

 

"Those push-button switches in the wood-grain consoles? Gone — replaced by ***** that are closer to what Mercedes or BMW customers in Europe would expect to see."

Is it talking about something like the iDrive? If so, I'm happy that we're not getting them...the iDrive annoys me so much.

 

I though this was just the seat heater switches. Not sure what they have planned for Snow button in the X.