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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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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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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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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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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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. I'm hoping this latest version doesn't have the snap-steer tendency the last one had when pushed to the limit (if you disabled the stability control), but I can already confirm the interior design and quality are much improved. The metal-like trim running across the dash and doors looks like something out of an Audi. The official introduction will go live in a couple weeks, and I expect this car will be almost as popular as our last 3 Series long-termer was.

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. When I asked him how the new car compares with the old one his answer was what I hoped for...

"It's just a better car in every way. Stiffer chassis. Better combination of ride and handling. Better steering. More power. More refinement. Better fuel efficiency. Bigger wheels. Upgraded audio system."

Wow - these product guys have their answers well prepared. I like the exterior design, though I'm sure not everyone will. The new paddle shifters and harddrive audio system are intelligent upgrades, too.

I need to drive this one ASAP.

   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. We'll see how it looks in-the-steel at New York.

Also, quick note regarding Subaru and the New York show -- expect some big news. I was a bit disappointed in the "new paddle shifter" press conference at Detroit, but I think they will make up for that one in The Big Apple. A certain Edmunds community host might have a bit more to throw in on this, if he wants to...

   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).

However, there are three points that came up after yesterday's drive. First, the engine, while a technical and performance triumph, still doesn't offer the pure refinement of BMW's inline 6. It's hard to describe, but I think it comes down to how hard it feels like the engines are working. In the BMW, when you drive it hard, it feels like it wants to be driven hard. There's no sense of distress or over-exertion. Drive the G35 hard, and the engine actually feels more powerful...but it also feels high-strung and less "happy" about being revved past 5,000. There's a buzz in the shifter that doesn't come through in the BMW, and even the sound from the G35 seems a bit frenetic. Because the last version was an automatic, and my hand wasn't resting on the shifter during spirited driving, the buzzy nature of the engine wasn't as obvious (even though the sound was still there). We're talking shades of gray here, of course. It's not like the G35 is a screeching, violent nightmare. It's just that, compared to the BMW, the sense of "comfortable performance" isn't as great (even though the actual performance is as good or better). The other points relate to the shifter. First, I don't like how the power point is buried in the ashtray while being snugged right up against the shifter. Come on, guys, this is 2007. Everyone uses their power point, and nobody smokes anymore. Give the power point its due in terms of access and surrounding space. Also, the clutch take-up started a bit too close to the floor for my tastes. The effort required to coordinate clutch and engine for clean take-offs was too high. Otherwise, the car remains a stellar sports sedan.

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). The new headlights aren't quite as distinctive. In fact, I see a lot of Lexus in them, but I don't have a problem with Lexus styling either so this design works for me. The rest of the car is pretty much same-old, same-old. But again, that's not a bad thing.

The new G35 has approximately 300 horsepower, and if you've driven the old one you can guess what that VQ engine, offering more horsepower and more technology, feels like (the engine now revs to 7,500 rpm instead 6,500). The five speed automatic transmission is also more advanced. It has multiple driving modes that are supposed to rev match, hold gears and even downshift under braking. Plus it has steering-wheel-mounted paddles. You can, um, only assume that Infiniti got all this stuff working really well -- which they, um, probably did! Yes, I would have to say they probably did!  I know that my biggest problem with the current G35 was how rapidly it would transition from understeer to oversteer when driven hard around corners -- assuming you disabled VDC. Well, our test car was a Sport model so it also had the Viscous Limited Slip Differential, and I can safety (and probably legally...) say I don't have a problem with the new car's at-the-limit driving behavior.

There's also a "Studio on Wheels" optional sound system by Bose, and it includes features like three-way speakers in the doors that incorporate 10-inch woofers, plus a 24-bit digital audio converter and 9.5GB hard drive that can rip CDs from the head unit. Finally, Infiniti knew that interior quality was not the last G's strong suit. This one has aluminum trim, a hand stitched steering wheel and magnesium paddle shifters, plus high-quality leather seats and plenty of soft-touch material everywhere else.

Let's see, what else can I hopefully say... How about "This car will do quite well in the marketplace." That shouldn't get me in too much trouble.