I would. I've been moaning and groaning for a VQ25HR for years now. My G was a daily driver, and the only time I'd get to use the power is from a stop light or merging onto the freeway.

The Audi/Lexus may cost as much as a G with less power, but they arguably have better interior materials. Their profit margins aren't much higher; Infiniti does cut cost somewhere.

 

Infiniti has already said the G25 sedan will be sold in North America starting in the fall as a 2011 model.

 

Yeah, this is the crux of the idea. Most people buy BMWs, Mercedes, and Audis because of the badges. If you were to take away 50 - 100 hp from these vehicles most people probably wouldn't notice. All they care about is that they're driving a stylish car that can accelerate and merge onto the highway without much difficultly.

 

I thought we were comparing the G25 vs the G37 from the first post. But I guess we're considering cars across the entire playing field. I agree some people would pay 40k for the G25, but I don't think you can really compare it to the A5 2.0 just yet. I don't know if Infiniti has that much of a strong hold in the luxury car market. Stemming from Nissan I think Infiniti is relatively new to the luxury performance scene (correct me if I'm wrong). But Audi is in the ranks of BMW and MB, all well know for Euro luxury performance. Their line up has more history. To the general public, the brand also has more credibility (not sure about reliability). Infiniti really only came to life with the G35. Not saying G25 is going to suck, but I think it carries a different mentality if you survey the targeted demographic on what they think about a G25 to G37 vs A5 2.0 to a 3.2.

I guess I'm saying, for enthusiasts like you and me, we might not mind getting the G25, given that it's of good value. But unless they drop the price by a good amount, I still see the A5 2.0 as the winner in the general public's opinion.
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+1 Yes, Audi, BMW tend to have a bigger following of badge-lovers as well. Can't say the same for Infiniti. Some would pick the A5 2.0 simply because it's an Audi and it looks good, and don't really care about the rest.


Maybe Infiniti should change the name from G37 to just G coupe then offer the 3.7 and the 2.5 versions. I bet there's a lot of people that don't really know or care about the difference between A5's 2.0 and 3.2
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The original post was not really intended to compare the G25 and the G37. It was simply a hypothetical question if guys here would or would not buy a G37 with ~100 fewer HP. Then it kinda morphed into a G25 discussion. And then of course someone said it would be silly to spend $40K+ on a 225 HP car. It was at that point where I mentioned that some Audi guys are already spending that kind of money on a 200+ HP car---the Audi A5 2.0T.

Either way, I do think there would be a market for a less powerful G37 (whether they call it a G25 or whatever it may be called) for the majority of people. But at the same time, enthusiasts like us would still be more interested in the higher HP version for the most part.

 

That goes right back to my suggestion of how much fun it was to drive the Mini Cooper. Trust me, I think the car itself is ugly as hell (looks like a frog to me), but I was able to really use its most of its power without getting myself into trouble with Johnny Law.

 

Well I've already started hearing ads on the radio referring to the G37 as just the "G" just like they refer to the M as just the "M", not "M37" or "M56".

In the past the ads I've heard specifically call it the G37 Sedan/Coupe/Convertible. Now they just refer to it as "the Infiniti G sedan/coupe/convertible"

 

There are radio ads for the G?

You listen to commercial radio?

 

I've also heard people refer to it as a "G coupe", but I always assumed that was because there's a G35 and a G37 coupe, so calling it the G coupe sorta lumps both models together.

 

I actually cross-shopped both the A5 2.0 and the G37 Coupe. I think both of them are beautifully styled and they are both very close in price. On paper, the G37 has an obvious advantage in power.

So what made me choose the G? Well, a few things. First, it was almost impossible to actually test drive an A5 2.0 with a manual transmission. They just don't seem to exist on Audi lots in my area. So that in itself was a bummer. No such problem at the Infiniti dealers, where MT cars are available to test drive.

I also really like the styling of both cars, but the Audi grille only looks good to me on a black car, and I really don't want another black car, so that help sway my decision. Finally, the reliability factor of Audi vs. Infiniti was more than enough to put me over the top. Audi has been having some very serious carbon build-up problems with their direct injection engines and since I plan on keeping my car for well past the warranty period, that's not something I wanted to deal with in the future.

So add it all up and the clear choice for me was the G coupe. But it really wasn't because of the lack of power. BTW, I actually did have the opportunity to finally drive an A5 2.0 with the manual trans. My dealer got a used one in as a trade and asked me if I wanted to drive it. I was surprised that it actually felt more powerful than 211 HP suggests. Then again, it is a really torquey little engine, so maybe the low HP rating isn't that important.

 

I would not buy it under 280 HP/260 TQ. I would, however, buy a high performance clean diesel if it could deliver about 250HP because the torque could be tweaked to over 300 easily and that's what really moves you through most of the range. This clean diesel would need to average over 35MPG to be worth the trade off and that too is easily doable with the present technology.
I sure would miss the VQ sound but we need to be realistic, the engine technology is going to change so enjoy your VQ's while they are still with us.
I actually wouldn't mind a Tesla coupe if the price would drop closer to 50K, I'm just not holding my breath for that.

Tesla Motors - performance specs

 

I'm not into music so I just listen to traffic, weather, and business reports. Otherwise it's just silence for me in the car.

 

Supposedly the Tesla Model S is supposed to be around $60K but lets see what happens when it's supposed to go on sale in "late 2012".

 

I agree, also checked out the Audi line up before getting the G. Came to more or less the same conclusion. The statement you were referring to is actually about G25 vs the A5 2.0, which might be a closer comparison but brings me back to the point that unless there's a significant price difference, I believe most people would go for the A5.
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