The Infiniti dealership closest to my home is now gone, with even the Infiniti logo having been removed from the building. Meanwhile, the Mercedes dealer next door is expanding, and the Lexus and BMW dealerships in the same town are apparently thriving. So, I decided to see how the marque is doing overall, and this is what I found: [image] Infiniti hopes new SUV can turn around fortunes in the U.S. Infiniti is releasing a new midsize SUV, the QX65, in an effort to turn around sales in the U.S. market.

All three (Nissan, Honda, and Toyota) use their models for most (not all) of the Inifinti, Acura, and Lexus models. So a lot depends on the quality of the starting model. I put Nissans behind the other two, resulting in unimpressive Infiniti models.

The younger forum members might not recall the original Infiniti commercials, from 1989. [1989 Infiniti Created by Nissan "Calming, Comfortable" TV Commercial]

The Infiniti Q45 had me hoping they would become a ‘Japanese BMW’. Hasn’t turned out that way, unfortunately. [image]

[image] texases: The Infiniti Q45 had me hoping they would become a ‘Japanese BMW’. Hasn’t turned out that way, unfortunately. During the design/engineering stage, BMW was Infiniti’s target, and Mercedes was Lexus’s target.

I remember when dad bought his 2004 Infinity I35 (in protest from me lol) it was the last and only FWD Infinity made, so at the time most of the Nissan’s were FWD based and 2005^ Infinity’s were all RWD based, until the Infinity Crossovers came out in 2013ish…

[image] texases: All three (Nissan, Honda, and Toyota) use their models for most (not all) of the Inifinti, Acura, and Lexus models. One Infiniti model was based–heavily–on the Mercedes GLA. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. [image] 8 ways a Mercedes became the Infiniti QX30 The partnership between Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Renault-Nissan dates back to 2010, but one of the first vehicles to be born of that relationship is just about to hit dealer showrooms: the 2017 Infiniti QX30. The QX30 is based on the...

A neighbor has a QX30, don’t know how much they like it.

[image] texases: Infiniti Q45 had me hoping they would become a 'Japanese BMW Their first effort was pretty good. Compared to the top Lexus sedan released about the same time, the Q45 had more “soul”. It provided good feedback and had character. Not BMW character, but not a bad first try. While the Lexus was a fantastic car, it was so vanilla in its feel. It had no character. The drivers cars were the smaller models.. The TSX. That was a winning philosophy that Infinity flat out missed.

No not the GS. Seems I was thinking of the ES in the 90s, then the IS in the 2010s. I see the GS as grand touring… luxury with sport. The TSX was the small sporty Acura, not Lexus. Senior moment!

Just be glad that you're not an Infiniti dealer

General Discussion

VDCdriver May 27, 2026, 7:09pm 28

One Infiniti model was based–heavily–on the Mercedes GLA. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

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Just be glad that you're not an Infiniti dealer

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