Infiniti Dealers Really Need To Just Shut Up And Sell Their Own Product

Was in an Infiniti dealership today, to get some information on the G35 sedan. It's a vehicle I've had my eye on for a bit now, and I wanted some comprehensive stuff on packages, features, and most importantly, pricing. It's all going fine at first. I appear to have a salesman who knows his vehicle very well, is very polite and courteous, and seems to have a grasp of the competition out there.

And then he started going kooky.

The first issue was that he wouldn't shut up about the most recent Motor Trend mag comparo that gave a victory to the G37 coupe over the BMW 330i coupe (mostly because the BMW was too expensive and needs an oil cooler badly). Umm excuse me, I'm not looking at a G37 coupe- I'm looking at the G35 sedan remember?

The second issue was that he kept bringing up residuals on the G35. The residual on a 2007 G35 Sport on a 48 month lease with no money down works out to be about 21k CDN. His argument was that most G35 sedans from 2003 (4 years ago) retail for around 28k CDN, making the G35 residual a great thing. But... he's wrong. A 4 year old G35 in good condition with about 100,000 kilometers runs, wait for it, about 21-22k. And he wouldn't shut up about this, heaping scorn upon BMW in particular for having such high residual values. I mean, who would want a vehicle that has a lot of value when you want to sell it.... right? Please note my sarcasm there.

Third, he tells me that the 2007 G35 uses the same VQ as the Altima et al. I even gave him a chance to backtrack on this, and he insisted (okay, so this is more me being a know it all bastard, but I digress).

And then this happens.

Him: So one of the other vehicles you're looking at is the Lexus IS?
Me: Yeah, it seems to be the Lexus most closely aligned with what the G35 is.
Him: Oh yes, but it's quite a bit more expensive.
Me: I understand that.
Him: It's also smaller.
Me: I understand that.
Him: Did you know that the IS250 is based on the Toyota Corolla, and the IS350 is based on the Toyota Camry? Why pay a premium for that?
Me: Huh?

He kept insisting this. In a way, I can understand the Camry thing- after all, the ES is on the Camry platform. But the IS? A rear wheel drive car? And bringing the Corolla into the picture? For the exact same vehicle but with a smaller engine?

At this point, I realized I was working with an idiot, and mentioned that I wouldn't want a luxury sedan so closely associated with the 350Z. And he flipped out, saying that the Z was on a completely different platform from the G35. And then I threw the Altima and Maxima out there just for shits and giggles to get him really riled up.

Needless to say, the domestic manufacturers are not alone in employing idiotic sales people.

Everyone Take Your Tops Off And Jump In The Pool!

From Jalopnik by way of VWVortex -

Got damn!

Apparently there's a G37 convertible on the way, not to mention an Altima convertible, and a Lexus IS convertible. Nissan in particular is looking to expand their sales with their two 'halo' mass production cars (yes, I know the GT-R and the Z are the 'true' halo cars), and convertibles would be the next logical step since both now have sedan and coupe versions. As for Lexus, they play the BMW monkey see, monkey do game- expect a coupe in addition to the convertible too.

In the last year alone, that means the midsize convertible segment has gone from the Sebring, and uh, nothing...to the Sebring, the Altima, the Eos, the G6 and the Solara (assuming Toyota redoes it).

Of course, the tastier news is that the G37 and the IS will get convertible variants.

Something else to consider- if they're going to do a G37 convertible, does that make room for another model on the Infiniti horizon? I'm talking a 6 Series competitor as a pseudo-coupe and convertible, in both 3.7 VQ and 5.0 V8 trim- the rebirth of the J (J37 and J50 do sound good don't they?)?

Further Proof Of A 5.0 Liter V8 Coming Soon To Infiniti?

Do a search on 'M50' at the US Patent website. The results are interesting. Especially the entry from Nissan.
...

Just following up with the earlier post about the future plans of Infiniti- in July of last year, a trademark was filed for 'M50', which falls into line with the news I had been told- expect a brand new 5.0 liter engine to be unveiled fairly soon (late this year or early next) in conjunction with a planned refresh for the Infiniti M. The engine choice will also be carried over into the FX lineup, along with the 3.7 slotted into the G Coupe.

In more Infiniti news, the Q is officially dead in North America- no more older 2006 models will be imported from overseas sources for dealers who want one or two on their lots (which is weird, since only one or two were selling per month, but I digress). The same source I have that told me about the future plans for Infiniti has basically said to expect a concept Q at Detroit next year, followed by the brand new Q50 back in the fold as a 2009 model, being released in late 2008. The 'theme' of the new Q will harken back to the first generation- more of a no holds barred shot across the bow of BMW and their 7 Series- Infiniti has learned their lesson and will not be trying to out-Lexus Lexus again. The basis for the new Q is to be a stretched and modified version of the M underpinnings with the usual laundry list of standard luxury features.

A more juicy couple tidbits of information is that they're juggling around the idea of offering a coupe version as well to go up against the 6 Series, and they're also thinking about offering a second LARGER engine choice for the Q. Good ideas indeed.