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Comments
Number of Caddy dealers vs. Infiniti dealers? In my area there are 6 Caddy dealers and one poor Infiniti dealer. This is still a retail business and the number of stores matters significantly to total sales.
GM has been throwing lots of marketing money at the CTS to help move them out with cash back incentives and no interest financing for 60 months.
I think that the G35 sales approaching the CTS at all is quite and accomplishment and far from a problem!
Wait till the CTS gets the V8 engine for 2004. Then the sales results will be real interesting to compare.
Lexus outsells ALL luxury marques from less than 200 stores nationwide! If the interest is there, the cars will be bought, from 200 stores or 2000 stores.
I personally am very impressed with the G35 (coupe). The sedan looks too much like a Nissan to me. They shoulda made the Altima design the G35 sedan.
BTW how many miles do you all think is good for the initial break in period? How is 500?
Now let's be fair here. 3-series is a dime a dozen, so is 5 series, and so is the 7 series. Can't turn a corner without seeing another 7 series. Same with Porsches - Boxters or 911s. But then so are Maximas, Hondas, I30s, QX4s, Jeeps. Don't see a lot of Yugos though. Maybe they raised the price and limited production.
kdshapiro, I've been agreeing with you lately, but this time we'll have to disagree a little. The point the others are making, (I think) is that when one buys a luxury or a status brand -- and certainly BMW sets standards for the concept while Infiniti is just now setting an honest claim to the terms "desirable" or "luxury" -- when one buys a luxury brand we feel like we ought to gain a bit of status, or prestige, or image .... and a little exclusivity along with it.
The problem these folk have with the 3-series is that its popularity robs its owners of the exclusivity the word luxury implies. It could happen to the G also. We hope not.
I understand what they mean. My favorite BMW is the M-coupe, for that reason as much as for its attitude.
BTW, wouldn't your son like to test drive that Imola M3? I think you owe it to him, for developmental reasons of course;-)
JW
I agree 100%. Every time I see one (which is what, twice a year?) I can't help but think, "now there's a driver who understands the 'Ultimate Driving Machine'" and am impressed/envious. Whereas in some of the upscale suburbs in my part of the country, the M3 coupe is the upscale coupe of choice for the Soccer Moms.
To me exclusive is what you get when you ride along Navasink River Road in Rumson and you look at Bon Jovi's estate on the water. That's my defintion of exclusive. Not a G35 coupe or a 330i.
Actually, it would be nice for that car to hit the market, but it would be a little out of my league. I'll have to make do with the STi:)
kdshapiro,
I would agree with you on the Mer S430/500. I would even go as far to say that I see more MER 500SL's( New Model)than I do G35 coupes
The S-class has been out for a while but not the redesign version of the 500SL.
"Rarity" lasts only as long as the time before the supply pipeline catches up. Infiniti is producing as many G35s as it can and given enough time (should happen pretty soon), G35s would be as common as sparrows. The low price at which these are sold, will guarantee that !
Later...AH
The coupe is still limited .... once to 12000 for the year (US) now to 15000 or thereabouts I believe.
But your point may still be valid -- if not for the moment -- because one of the things keeping the coupe output down is a shortage of 18" wheels, needed for the auto w/wheel pkg and the 6M.
My own thought is that it will remain relatively rare (relative to the 3-series, the topic of this thread .... (again) just because there are more BMW dealers, BMW has a history of prestige and offers more status, and a new 3-series is in the works. The coupe is a tremendous car, but it won't be the Hot New Thing next year ... look for sales to remain steady or increase some, if Infiniti can get enough of those durn wheels.
JW
So a $35,000 coupe has less status than a $27,000 stripped 325i? I find that very hard to believe. :-<
Yes, I was speaking of the G35 in a generic sort of way, clubbing the Sedan and the Coupe together. But yes, if they purposely keep the production numbers of the coupe down, then it would be relatively rare.
But then again, this is the one model (G35-coupe/sedan) in the Infiniti line-up that is HOT. So my feeling is that they will pull all stops to ramp up production (of the G35s) to meet all this latent demand. "Rarity" will only last that long !
Infiniti is out to make a buck and they will increase production, if the cars sell - specifically since the other cars like the M45/Q45 etc. are not selling according to even their modest expectations.
Later...AH
However, I get a kick out of it's "exclusivity" being quoted as an attribute. This is not a limited production car like a BMW "M", Mercedes "AMG" or even the Honda S2000 for that matter. The reason past Infiniti models such as the J30 and Q45 were/are relatively rare was that they were market failures. There is no "prestige" in that. Given that Infiniti really doesn't have another product that is a roaring success (FX = jury still out), I'm sure that the G35 will need to be carrying the load when it comes to Infiniti profitabliity.
So my advice is for anyone considering the G35 coupe would be to buy it (or not) based upon it's "real" attributes. Same with a 330ci. That way, you'll be satisfied with your purchase regardless of what the other guy is driving.
Itis sad but true......
There is no prestige to driving the G35...just fun! Is this thing quick or what?
You know what I mean---the badge has a lot of power because that's what we give to it.
After all, behind every subconsious dream is usually a bit of reality, right?
Too many hours in front of a PC I'd say.
It's possible to do much worse.
That is all.
Anyone have it on their short list considering or already bought a G35? If so, what did you think?
Have a good one.
Trade-in damage is reported by owners on freshalloy as in the failry normal range of around $4 or $5000 for cars with 'normal' mileage. I'd suspect you'll see increased depreciation with the arrival of a new model year, or maybe even after the announcement of 'upgrades' if Infiniti offers any.
This is still a very desirable car, hard to get in desirable configurations. There seem to be loads of automatics, many of them gray. Other combinations, especially with the manual or the 18" wheel pkg., are still in very short supply.
JW
But do your own search. Maybe you'll find someone selling who's willing to price it as a "typical" used car.
JW
Cheers,
- Ray
Tempted, but . . .
JW
M
JW
Thank you.
Be aware that many road tests are showing that the sedan has about the same performance as the coupe. Many think that the engine outputs are probably about the same, but that Nissan simply inflates the numbers for the coupe to make it the sportier car.
There might be a few things you can do to boost up the engine with less restrictive exhaust, intakes, and engine chips, but trying to swap parts from the sedan probably wouldn't be cost effective and might not do anything.
Do you have the manual or automatic? If you have the auto, the most cost effective thing you could do is trade for a manual car.
- Mark