went by the Infiniti Dealer to look at a G35x for my Mom. got out of my Z and walked in the showroom. the guy saw my NISMO Z and says your here to see the G37 right? i say no its not out for a few more weeks. he says no we just got one off the truck Infiniti sent us as a Sample car. he said its Hidden in the back lot and there was a detailer working on it because it had a scratch on it from the transport truck. well we walked back there and i sat in it and started it up.

let me start with the positives.

*The Interior is very nice ( you already know this if you own a 07 G35 Sedan because its virtually identical) the blue guages and magnesium paddles give the car a very modern and classy look. a big improvement over the G35's. the Car was Red with a frost like grey Interior. very comfortable to sit in again , just like the Sedan.

*Sound- cranked the car with the very cool start/stop and the engine came to live with honestly the identical pur of the 3.5 HR motor. i gave it a little rev and still identical to the 3.5 HR.



ok on to the big question.........how does it look in person verses pictures. i will say this seeing it in person didnt change my opinion from the intial pictures like with some cars. i thought the front end (this one had the sport bumper) looked better than the non sport front. the curved hood and how it flows with the fenders was a really well done styling cue aswell. from the top of the headlights to the windsheild was similar to how the GT-R hood fits to the car. moving to the side of the car, i would say average no real improvement over the G35 just a little more angled side skirts.


and the rear... was the only real issue i had. the area under the taillights has way too much "dead" area with with nothing going on. it really makes the car look like its sitting up in the rear. this one had the add on spoiler option and that gave the car a GREATLY needed touch of added aggressiveness. i think the back of the G37 should have included a two-tone under diffuser area over the exausts like the altima coupe has to help break some of that section up.

spent about 5 minutes looking over the car and my conclusion is a mixed one. the car is indeed an evolution of the G35 and side to side the lines make the G35 look dated but the main thing the new G lacks is exactly what alot of you guys have commented on from the pics. the car doesnt have a very aggressive stance and in a parking lot or driving down the road its not going to be a head turner after they have been on the road for awhile.

like i said before the fit and finish is very good, exaust note is good but nothng very new. maybe the under load it will perk up a little more than the 3.5 but that is something i will have to find out Aug 15 when im going to test drive it and the debut party the dealer is having.

bottom line if you want 60 parts refinement luxury 40 parts sporty it wont let you down. would i take it over a BMW 3 series or IS350....hmmm probably i think in black or silver with the right wheels would set it off.

the tipping point was my GF who doesnt know alot about cars was with me and after we left we went to see my buddies at the nissan dealer. they have a red altima coupe sitting outside in the grass she says hey that just like the car we just saw......and sure enough from the 3/4 side to rear it was damn similar. but i would argue the rear end with the diffuser put it a little ahead stylistically speaking. im sure that 3.7 is awesome though just wish they could have shaved about 200 lbs off


i give it 3.5 out of 5 Z's for my first impression.








a little off topic but after i looked over the G37 i started to spill my nissan knowledge to the guy about how the 08 Z wasnt getting the 3.7 and blah blah blah...... the guys looks at me like im crazy telling me Nissan and infiniti arnt the same company and they dont compete back and forth like that. i then go on to tell him you do know the G37 is a skyline in japan. he says maybe but infinti isnt altimas with leather.........WOW just wow i can believe he went on to argue with me the motor in my Z isnt the motor in the G35 sedan i went there looking for . oh well thats a different story and gave me a little laugh but i will report back my driving impressions the 15th when they have the test drive party

 

Good write up. LOL @ the misguided salesman

 

^ yeah i mean i would have given my first born if i had this pic handy with me

 

IDK, I'm not really feeling those pictures at all. ^^

 

yeah the red one i set in looked ientical except it has the spoiler with the brake light on it.


i think that indented part at the bottom of the rear should be more like this black plastic diffuser. thats really my only big complaint with the rear. the spoiler ad on i saw today does help though

 

^^ this must be the new altima coupe, i saw it the other day... it looks quite similar to G35 from the side..

 

i don't like the way the G37 looks... it's just seems too... "round"...
the g35 looks much MUCH better in my opinion

 

yeah i saw one of these in red about 5 minutes after getting the sneak peek at the G37. in person the lines are very similar.


im looking foward to driving the G in 2 weeks. im just getting used to the HR motor in my NISMO Z over my 2003 Z's DE. so i want to see what the displacement bump and VVEL has changed

 

very weak

 

I think that is a very concise and thoughtful presentation of your personal impressions of the design, and thus a good one.

But it also opens the door to a very honest frustration that American consumers at least have with the general thrust of exterior design lines on Japanese cars.

It is interesting that with the extraordinary mechanical achievements of many Japanese cars, they by and large never fail to disappoint many with their bland or restrained body designs. They are efficient and sophisticated in their coefficients of drag, but they just seem to be more concerned with turning people off than turning people on at the risk of turning others off. So we get "cream of wheat" styling. Perhaps the Acura NSX was an exception in the more recent years....but that was more than a decade ago. People buy them for reliability, fuel efficiency, value, and now in recent years, performance (Subie WRX Sti, Mitsubishi Evolution, Honda S2k, 350Z, G37, Toyota Supra etc).

There is a lot of subtlety in Japanese design. A lot that appeals to them that takes time to grow on our approach to it. I think there is a chance we will see a move to more aggressive design, if they come to the conclusion that it will return better results. If you have any doubt about the ability to come to aggressive design........just look at what they have done with motorcycle design...a market that hugely rewards aggressive design themes coupled with performance. The reality is, that the car market is one that has tended to reward companies for not turning off people more than turning them on, and why so much excitement bubbles up when somebody dares to lift up the hemline and show a little bit of ankle.

 

"a detailer working on it because it had a scratch on it from the transport truck"

I was kind of shocked when I saw the port picture. I was at the dealership when my wife's Acura TL arrived on the truck. It was completly wrapped in plastic with styrafoam braces all around it. It would have taken a sizable impact to get to the sheet metal.

 

Not to get totally off topic, but in those 370GT photos above, what is that tiny protruding piece coming from the bottom edge of the left-hand side mirror? Didn't see it on earlier 370GT photos..

 

blind spot detector maybe(?)

 

wow... the new audi tt is looking that much better.

 

Yep that salesman has some research to do. He was right that Infiniti's aren't Altima's with leather though, completely different platform.