Karl on Cars
Infiniti
March 7, 2008
It's rare for me to get into a specific test vehicle more than once, unless it's a long-term car (and sometimes even those cars spend 12 months here and I only drive them two or three times). But in the past four months I've driven the 2008 Audi S5 three times (this is a short-term car that we only get for two weeks at a time; the S5 is on its second trip to the Edmunds offices). The first time was in November, and I was immediately smitten with its combination of sleek body lines and Detroit-like V8 muscle.
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- Karl Brauer March 7, 2008, 7:00 AM
- Categories:
- Audi, Infiniti
March 5, 2008
It's clear to anyone paying attention that Nissan's luxury division, Infiniti, has targeted those Munich-mavens of ultimate driving machines. And within the Infiniti line-up no model is more aggressive in its BMW-aping than the G35 sedan and G37 coupe. Both the G37 and the BMW 335i offer 300-plus horsepower, six-cylinder engines surrounded by sweeping body lines. Both offer aggressive suspension tuning and large wheels wearing performance tires (if you opt for the sport packages for either model). Both can be had with six-speed manual transmissions, and both portray themselves as high-grade premium performance machines.
Today I'm driving a 2008 Infiniti G37 with all the performance equipment, including the manual transmission, and there's no denying its power or luxury. The ongoiong complaints of plasticky interior bits have been quelled with this new version, and the 330 horsepower V6 can spin the rear tires at will (assuming you disable VDC). This car also possesses the cleanest, most effective iPod/iPhone integration I have ever seen. Not only does it equalize volume and allow for easy music selection through the car's native audio controls, but the display screen for artist, song title, play list, track time and play style (random, repeat, etc.) is rendered in the same soothing font and color scheme as the rest of the LCD screen's graphics. It's an automotive display almost on par with the iPhone's own high-quality pixels.
No, luxury, performance and quality are not issues with this car. Neither is price, as it beats the equivalent 3 Series by approximately $5,000. But is it the ultimate-driving equal of the 335i? No.
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- Karl Brauer March 5, 2008, 7:00 AM
- Categories:
- BMW, Infiniti
October 8, 2007
With three new entry luxury models in the house it seemed only fitting to carve out a few hours and carve up the local roadways in back-to-back drives. With the help of fellow editors Erin Riches and James Riswick we headed into the Santa Monica Mountains with a Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G35 and Mercedes-Benz C350, all 2008 models with automatic transmissions and sport packages. While much of the route was on twisty roads, there was enough high-speed cruising on PCH to test the "luxury" side of this equation. Here's what I learned:
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- Karl Brauer October 8, 2007, 6:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz
August 28, 2007
Just took a gander at Automotive News' future product plan for Japanese carmakers. Not too surprisingly, the coming years hold hybrids and crossovers from the Land of the Rising Sun (actually, many of them will come from right here in North America). Each automaker has a few interesting items in the pipeline.
Acura: No official confirmation of a V8 in Acura's future, which I continue to view as the division's greatest failing. The next RL is due in 2011, so they better make up their mind. But we do know a V10 engine will power the NSX replacement. I like that they have a full-tilt exotic in the works, but one vehicle does not a division make (as was proven with the last
NSX).
Honda: Honda will continue to push hybrids, with a smaller-than-Civic model. No more Accord hybrids, but the Odyssey will be Honda's first V6 diesel-powered vehicle in the U.S. in 2010 (also the year CR-V goes diesel with a 4 cyl.). I'm personally looking forward to the Remix, the spiritual successor to the CRX. And between the Pilot and CR-V? Yup, another crossover is coming.
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- Karl Brauer August 28, 2007, 6:00 AM
- Categories:
- Acura, Future Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid Vehicles, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota
May 30, 2007
Let's get the most important information out of the way first (see, those years spent at CU Boulder's J-School, learning about the inverted pyramid, weren't a total waste of time and money). The all-new 2008 Infiniti G37 S coupe is a very good car. The BMW 335i coupe is better.
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- Karl Brauer May 30, 2007, 6:00 AM
- Categories:
- BMW, Infiniti
April 11, 2007
Drove the newest long-term car home last night, a Platinum Graphite 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan in Sport trim. It's got the six-speed manual transmission, as well as the Navigation package. Impressions are few after just one drive, but all the expected players are present (superb engine, confident handling, comfortable-yet-supportive seats and lots of luxury toys). Infiniti still gets credit for coming the closest to recreating BMW's mojo in a Japanese sports sedan...
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- Karl Brauer April 11, 2007, 6:03 AM
- Categories:
- Infiniti
April 4, 2007
When you have a vehicle as good as the G35 it can get somewhat precarious when "redesign time" rolls around. Honestly, if you can simply make everything a little bit better, without messing anything up, you're golden.
The
all-new G37
is golden (in a gray-ish, metallic sort of way). I just spoke with Simon Sproule, who works for Infiniti in Japan and drives a G35 as his personal car...
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- Karl Brauer April 4, 2007, 12:00 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Infiniti
January 12, 2007
We just posted this image of the next Infiniti G35 coupe
, which will debut at the New York auto show in April. You always have to take these "manufacturer sketches" with a five-pound bag of salt, but this thing looks su-weet! My first impression was "$30,000 Aston Martin" though on closer inspection I see some Hyundai Tiburon in the hood/headlights (a car that itself had plenty of Ferrari 456). Regardless, it looks good, and considering how aggressive the new Altima Coupe
looks I guess Infiniti had no choice but to up their game with the next G coupe's design...
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- Karl Brauer January 12, 2007, 7:10 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Infiniti, Subaru
October 5, 2006
Took my second drive in the all-new 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan last night (I had my first exposure
to it in late August). The last one was automatic, but this time around I had the six-speed manual. All the things I said before (creatively, because of an embargo at the time) still hold true. The engine is incredibly powerful and flexible, the suspension is a masterful blend of comfort and composure, and the interior is far superior to the previous version (mostly in terms of material quality, but there's also an improvement in overall design)...
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- Karl Brauer October 5, 2006, 11:00 AM
- Categories:
- Infiniti
August 25, 2006
Took the all-new 2007 Infiniti G35 home last night. I was anxious to try this one out, as the last one clearly put Infiniti on the sport sedan map, with many people feeling it was the best attempt yet to de-throne the 3 Series. There's an embargo on driving impressions until September 1, so I can only talk about the basics, like the looks (which you've all seen already) and some of the high-tech features. I think the new car looks better than ever. I liked the previous version, but the vertical headlamps were never my favorite styling feature (I don't like them on mid-1960s Pontiacs, either)...
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- Karl Brauer August 25, 2006, 8:04 AM
- Categories:
- Infiniti
May 9, 2006
We ended up with a 2005 Infinit G35 sedan in our short term test fleet. I don't know why
Infiniti was offering one-year-old sedans up to journalists, but we took it for a few days nonetheless, and I'm glad we did. I haven't driven a G35 for awhile and I frankly forgot how good it is. This car has pretty much turned Infiniti's business case around all by itself since it debuted in 2002...
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- Karl Brauer May 9, 2006, 8:55 AM
- Categories:
- Infiniti
