The US market may have made Infiniti what it is today, but Nissan's luxury arm is putting more power and better equipment into its vehicles destined for sale in Europe later this year. Engineers have made 300-500 changes per car, including tweaked styling, high-end knobs, bigger brakes, better windshield wipers, improved stability systems, and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Infiniti is also planning to add the 3.7-liter V6 to the overseas 2009 FX, which is more powerful than the 3.5-liter engine we'll receive Stateside. With no four-cylinder or diesel models planned until 2010, Infiniti will still be playing catch-up with its European competitors for the near-term.The reason for the many improvements is that Infiniti is facing an up-hill battle to woo luxury customers away from very entrenched Euro brands like Mercedes and BMW. That's all well and good, but why not just make most of these improvements in the US market as well? Infiniti is a very good luxury brand, but it's getting its butt kicked in sales by the likes of Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and Cadillac. We like fancy knobs and seven speed automatics, too.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Josiah @ May 27th 2008 10:41AM
Maybe they make less money per vehicle sold in the US due to the weak dollar, and importing fees. Does Infinity have plants in the US?
MM @ May 27th 2008 11:21AM
No, every Nissan Based Infiniti is assembled in Japan.
Kotse @ May 27th 2008 11:57AM
The weak US$....
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Kotse @ May 27th 2008 12:09PM
"No, every Nissan Based Infiniti is assembled in Japan."
"Nissan Based"...Why? Is there any other auto maker...(Duh!)
Jeremy @ May 27th 2008 12:26PM
Absolutely correct. People aren't buying them now so why would adding thousands of dollars of fancy looking gismos help any?
This article is just an example of the ignorance that self-proclaimed enthusiasts exhibit saying they want cheap, reliable, well-equipped, safe, fast, light cars. Nine times out of ten, if a company isn't giving you what you want it's because you're being unrealistic.
emre.aydinceren @ May 27th 2008 1:35PM
I don't agree with the argument that US consumers look for cheaper cars so OEMs don't use high-end components.
Gas and bigger engines in cars are taxed at higher rate in Europe whereas better components do not increase the tax rate. Mini for example, a lightweight car but still produced with top off the line components. For the same reason GM cannot sell Impala in Europe, taxes will shoot the prices so high, nobody in Europe will be willing to pay 60.000$ for it.
Infiniti, Acura or Lexus buyers are deliberately not choosing Nissan , Honda or Toyota. They do want better components, craftsmanship and technology from their cars. Infiniti is making mistake by using cheaper components, they should have better differentiation factor than their badges. If they cannot compete at market prices they are welcomed to leave the market
Avinash machado @ May 27th 2008 10:41AM
Now let the grumbling begin. About how Europe always gets the better cars. Or is the grumbling reserved only for GM and Ford and their European cars?
jv2k @ May 27th 2008 3:03PM
Only ford. GM actually brings it's good stuff to the US.
Jorge @ May 27th 2008 10:43AM
Thats because the Euro is stronger than the Dollar nowadays
zamafir @ May 27th 2008 10:54AM
It's because euro customers have higher standards, plain and simple. Just read any european car magazine for any extended period of circulation and you'll see. it's the same reason ford can't afford to sell the adequate stuff they sell here over in europe. There seem to be less 'my car is a box to take me from point a to point b' folks in europe vs North America where that's the mainstay.
Takeo @ May 27th 2008 12:38PM
Zamafir:
They have higher standards: except in areas of reliability.
I will agree about things like handling, and interior. The reason why people in Europe are demanding about the cars they drive is because of a phenomenon virtually unknown in the United States: The near-universal availability of cheap, reliable mass-trans. As a result, fewer people drive and the ones that do are quite picky.
Bah @ May 27th 2008 12:20PM
Zamafir - not only do European customers have higher standards, but they are also willing to pay for them. Americans want the best car in the world for no more than about $25K.
Mel. R @ May 27th 2008 10:45AM
Color me unsurprised.
Vintage @ May 27th 2008 10:45AM
"We like seven speed automatics, too."
Speak for yourself. I hate automatics, no matter how many gears they have.
MikeW @ May 27th 2008 11:38AM
Would you care to explain?
Modern automatics shift quicker & get better mileage (that 6.4:1 ratio spread and all).
They have lock up torque converters, so the pejorative 'slush box' no longer applies, and manumatic interfaces for driver control.
Bah @ May 27th 2008 12:20PM
I agree with Vintage. Doesn't matter what the auto is. Having an automatic trans is the one thing that will turn me off to a car 99.9% of the time. I can easily turn my back and walk away from a screamer of a deal on a hot car as soon as I see that it only has two pedals. An automatic in any form is just not as engaging as pushing in the clutch and shifting gears yourself plus they are always shifting at odd times and making shifts I didn't want them to. The only way to avoid this is to drive in "manumatic" mode all the time and at that point what is the use in pretending anymore - just get a car with a real transmission.
I have converted several cars from automatic to manual. I can honestly say that the only regret I had with either one was not doing it sooner. Both cars were completely transformed by the swap and 100% more fun to drive.
Vintage @ May 27th 2008 1:43PM
Sure. Automatics are heavier, more complex, less reliable, and less fun.
Cornholio @ May 27th 2008 6:50PM
"Modern automatics shift quicker & get better mileage (that 6.4:1 ratio spread and all)."
Seriously, even if this was correct in all cases (which it isn't...), who cares?
Manual transmissions are more FUN than automatics. And for many of us car enthusiasts, driving is about FUN.
You COMPLETELY miss the point.
icu812ru469 @ May 27th 2008 10:45AM
Guess Nissan doesn't think that the US market is worth fighting for... move on to an even harder market. Good job Nissan, now you can continue wondering why you're still number amongst the Japanese players...
Chris @ May 27th 2008 10:48AM
We did this to ourselves by lusting over fugly SUVs for so many years and abandoning cars. We basically told the world: We don't care about sophisticated cars or nice details. We want flying bricks that get 15 MPG, with no aerodynamics whatsoever.