The G37 Finally Joins Q Branch

by Jack Baruth

January 25th, 2014 8:01 PM

Infiniti’s decision to name all of their products Q-something befuddled the industry and launched a thousand online forum flame wars. Their next decision was even stranger — when the Q50 replacement for the existing G37 sedan bowed, the current car was kept on as an entry-level option for buyers who couldn’t quite stretch to the more sophisticated and feature-laden Q50. (As an aside, this is the kind of thing that just murders resale value directly in the face… but if you want resale value, you need to keep rolling past your Infiniti dealer all the way to the Lexus shop.)

For 2015, Nissan’s luxury division has either simplified the Q-issue or complicated it, depending on your perspective.

The G37 is no more. Enter the Q40, which is basically last year’s stripper-model G37 with a different badge. Supposedly an entry-level compact-lux car is coming, which would be named Q30. Think of the Q30 as being the old G20, the Q40 as being the old G37, and the Q50 as being the new G37.

TTACers who are interested in an opinion on the Q50, as opposed to the G37, are encouraged to check out Road&Track’s recent review, penned by your humble author. I found the Q50 to be an amazingly satisfying and pleasant way to get down the road, right until the point where the computers gave up during an extremely optimistic corner entry and I had to shoulder a locked-up, un-power-assisted two-ton vehicle through the rest of it. For anyone who would not be given to trying that kind of back-road stupidity, it’s recommended without reservation. The old G37/new Q40 isn’t a bad car, but it’s rough stuff compared to the polished-up new model.

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18 of 84 comments

Pete Zaitcev on Jan 26, 2014

Did I understand it right, that it was the car where it was absolutely essential to make sure that computers work right at all times, because it's the one where steer-by-wire debuted, and then Jack crashed the computer by steering too aggressively? If true, Infiniti's ineptitude is amazing, an achievement easily topping the Volvo crashing into a truck during the auto-brake demo.

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- Jack Baruth on Jan 26, 2014
  
  I was exceptionally unkind to that Q50 on those two days. To amuse myself, I swore that nobody on the staff would be able to drop me while I drove the Q50. In order to make that boast stick, I had to use every trick in the Abusive Sedan Driving book, from trail-braking on the street to pump-and-popping the accelerator to rotate in slow corners. I doubt a "normal" driver would ever experience what I did. By the time that happened, every system in that car was probably heated way past design specs.
  
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- Phatcow on Jan 26, 2014
  
  @Jack Baruth What ever happens to these media cars? I always imagined that when you run a carfax and you see "manufacturer car", you run as far away as possible because of people like you.
  
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- TMA1 on Jan 27, 2014
  
  The funny thing is, Infiniti's website claims that the system is the result of 10 years of development. 10 years, and they still haven't got it right!
  
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- Pete Zaitcev on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Jack Baruth Well, I suppose it's fair. If you can overheat Boss 302... On the other hand, I wish automakers kept real oil temperature gauges at least in cars with pretensions of sportiness, for the warning purposes (I heard Porsche fakes them nowadays, which is a shame).
  
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SilverBullett on Jan 27, 2014

Maybe I missed this news..Does this mean the end of the G25 completely?

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- Corey Lewis on Jan 27, 2014
  
  Since it never existed, probably.
  
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- Jack Baruth on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Corey Lewis au contraire mon frere. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUHCpXAQQQ)
  
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- Corey Lewis on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Jack Baruth I had no idea it existed! My apologies. I've certainly never noticed one on the road. I'll listen to that this evening, even though the content may be dated.
  
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- TMA1 on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Corey Lewis I think they only made it for 2 years - 2011-2012.
  
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- Pete Zaitcev on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Jack Baruth So... Why did G25 flop while IS250 is a major success? Aren't they the same? No? Sure, Lex has a v6 (a very, very miniature v6), and that thing is just smooooooth. But engine alone is but a part of the car. Back when G25 existed, the 250 came with a fairly antiquated 6-speed transmission, so it's all in a wash, right?
  
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- Dal20402 on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Pete Zaitcev The G25 was only available in very stripped (by luxury standards) form. Most IS250s sold are loaded to the gunwales with bells and whistles.
  
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- CJinSD on Jan 27, 2014
  
  @Pete Zaitcev You can lease a new G37 Premium and Navigation for $999 down, $269 a month at my local dealer. How much cheaper could a G25 have been?
  
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Blackcloud_9 on Jan 27, 2014

Arrrgh! The lettering/numbering systems of cars today are driving me crazy! It used to be, that if you had an Infiniti G37, you had a "G" series car with a 3.7 liter engine. If you drove a BMW 328i you had a 3 series car with a 2.8 liter engine. Now, none of that matters anymore. What does a 328 have? a 2-liter turbo. A Q50? A 5-liter V-8? Nooo, a 3.7 liter V-6 What's the point of the numbering system if it means nothing? Just my rant of the day

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- Dal20402 on Jan 27, 2014
  
  Counter-rant of the day: Ze Germans' number systems have NEVER been reliable, and those who think they were have rose-colored memories and are expecting something too complicated for marketing to laypeople. Who remembers the 280SE 3.5? Or the 190E 2.6? Or the 745i with a 3.2-liter turbo six? Or the "Z3 2.3" with a 2.5-liter six?
  
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Lorenzo on Jan 27, 2014

Why is the picture of an Altima?

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- White Shadow on Jan 27, 2014
  
  Hahaha.....I love it! Exactly my point. It's not an Altima, but it sure does look like one. Like I said--anonymous styling.
  
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- Dweller on the Threshold on Jan 28, 2014
  
  @White Shadow Don't underestimate the appeal of anonymous styling. Wigged out styling turns off many people, perhaps more than it turns on. Read any reviews of the IS Sport lately?
  
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