This morning I took Infiniti up on there invitation to attend the new G unavailing. I arrived at the Javits Center at 9:15 am and filled out the obligatory information card so that Infaniti once again has my name and stats on file, but the good news is that Infiniti is going to send me a Sharper Image style cork screw just for showing up...can't beet free stuff. My estimate is that about 100 people were in attendance.

The event was hosted by Thomas Crahan of the Product Planning department. He had a video presentation of what went in to the planning of the new G. Stuff like focus groups Likes and Diss-likes, interviews with Infiniti owners etc.

Then after about 15 minutes they pulled the cover. I had previously viewed Pict's and video on line, My initial impression was that the looks are not drastically different.But the Car did look better in person than what I had expected. On the trunk was a piece of chrome trim, where a spoiler would be mounted, this trim looked OK on this car since it was painted silver but on other color schemes it may look out of place...my thoughts is that it was stolen from Mazda.

The Interior, The center vertical stack has been re-worked and for the better, buttons seem to be of better quality than what's in my '05.

Interment cluster is all new and is an improvement, although I'm happy with my '05 gages.

One of the biggest improvements is that they moved the dam rear view mirror joystick to the drivers door handle, this has always been a pet-peeve of mine on the '05 which is hidden out of sight.

As far as the front and back seats go very little is different.

Questions and Answers with Thomas Crahan.

Poor Tom was swamped by people with a ton of mostly stupid questions. One lady who owns a '05 G35X was bitching about the gas mileage...Tom's answer got in to driving style, and all wheel drive and such...right about then I barged in and asked just what kind of Gauss mileage are you getting? She said 18-19 mpg all of her driving was around town, in front of the crowd I retorted that that is in fact good gas mileage for a 4 door all wheel drive sports car.


My turn for a question for Tom...Tom tell me about the G37? Ans. Sorry I can't comment on future products.

I asked if the station wagon version which is on sale in Japan would come over, he said no, not enough demand (personally I need more room so I went and checked out the Audi A6 wagon)

We also talked about the VPP program, which should remain available.

This all rapped up by 10:00 am and all guests were free to wander the auto show free of crowds until 11:00 when the flood gates were opened for those with general admission tickets...by noon the place was packed with Good Friday tire kickers.

 

What I'm wondering about is this:

Is the 2007 car going to have all the creaks, rattles, buzzes, and ticking sounds of the earlier cars? I've yet to get all mine fixed in the TSB's but it
drives me crazy listening to them and REALLY takes away my love for
the car.

Is the auto version of the 07 G35 sedan going to have the same "in excess" of 300 hp as the manual version?
AND, will those "in excess of 300 hp" be based on the NEW SAE standards or
still the "old" system?

With Lexus offering 306 hp (based on the new SAE standards) I'd hope
Infiniti's new 07 G35 would get the new ratings standards and would
expect them to have done EVERYTHING they could to be sure
to get more than 306 hp out of the engine. And it would be nice
to see the auto getting the same power, so I could consider one for
my wife as a replacement to our 2005 G35.

 

since 80% of the engine parts are redesigned to give it a lot more power and a higher redline it'll sure be well over the Lexus IS350 ratings. the VQ has always been one of the best engines out of the box.

 

but i dont think we can get more HP out of the engine anymore with intake/exhaust bolt ons

 

that's why the 07 have dual intake/dual TB!!!! imagine the possibilities!

 

Yes, definitely! However I'm sure that they will tune it so it is just enough to claim best-in-class acceleration, say 315-320hp. I'm curious how far Lexus/BMW/Infiniti are going to ratchet up the hp in the next couple of years. I would think that it will taper off shortly. Who knows. I just can't see $30,000+, 400hp sedans running around in 5 years.

 

I doubt that the 3.5 VQ will make 315-320 hp with the new and more
accurate power ratings.

My guess is the car will be rated in the 310 hp range, which would probably
be a good 20-25 hp gain from the current car's 298 hp rating which under
the new SAE standards would probably be 285ish.

What stinks, is I'm sure the 2007's hp increase, along with the higher redline is going to come at the expense of torque.

One other thing, I HOPE the car doesn't gain any weight either.

I also think it looks too much like the M35 now too. Not that that is a bad thing, just a bit too similiar.

 

The 2007 G35 looks more substantial, upscale than the current model, although the 2006 G35 there (Lakeshore Slate) still looked good as well. Well, not as good as the coupe, but still nice. Anyway, the new G35 is definitely on our short list.

The new Altima didn't look bad except for the taillights. I don't know what will happen to the Maxima, there won't really be a reason to buy one once the "upgraded" Altima becomes available. Unless you don't like the Altima's taillights.

 

Glad to hear that, I agree, the '05-'06 will still look great.

 

I asked the hot blonde standing by the new G35 if Lakeshore Slate would be available for the '07 model. She wasn't sure, but she did mention a new "gun metal blue" color would be available.

 

so if vq35 is gaining more horses/losing a couple ft-lb torque to beat out lexus on paper, does it mean they will come out with a vq37 later on to make more power and get back the loss "TORQUE" come next facelift?guess ill have to wait a little bit so i dont get screwed over

 

The thing that gets me is that Infiniti is claiming that this reworked engine with help Infiniti gain "best-in-class" acceleration. So if the VQ gains 10 more hp but loses tq., plus the almost assured weight gain, doesn't it seem this claim wouldn't stand? Every thing is pure speculation but I think the weight gain, even if subtle, is certain.

 

Maybe they'll actually make the car LIGHTER with the use
of more aluminum.

It's going to be a tough claim for the 2007 G35 sedan to have
"best in class" acceleration.
The new Lexus IS350 is pretty d@mn quick.
The 07 G35 would have to run low 5's to 60 and high 13's in the
1/4 mile just to MATCH the IS350.

It can be done though.
With a bit of weight REDUCTION, a true 25+ hp gain (to say 310 under the new SAE standards, and improved/more aggressive gearing, it very
well could be "best in class acceleration."

 

If you go to nissan global site it indicates that the VQ has direct injection since 1997. This is my prediction: With the price of gas @ $3+ and going up, infiniti such as other car makers will have to deliver a bit more fuel economy. Ithink the VQ in the 07 G35 will have direct injections such as lexus. Lexus 3.5 L boasts 306 HP and sub 6s 0-60 times with DI, and the best part is the EPA gives it 21/28. This is 3 MPG over the current VQ. If gas is cheap, who cares, but $3/gal + is here to stay. You might say what is 3 MPG when you want performance, but I think this may sway buyers to Lexus or BMW (21/30). Just as how HP numbers gets attention the 18/25 of the VQ will get attention at the current gas prices. I hope infiniti does the right thing so that I can the 07 G35 at the top ofmy list!

 

They guys over at the IS boards are posting slips with lower to mid 13's. Mid 13's are easily consistent, so Infiniti has a lot of work to do. I wonder if the tranny ratios are optimal for both acceleration on lower gears and economy on the higher gears. Something has to give.