I agree that the RE050A is a decent tire. However, I guarantee that an enthusiast will walk around the corner as I'm saying that and shout, "BUT YOU CAN GET RE-11A'S WHICH ARE GRIPPIER FOR CHEAPER!!!!!!!111ELEVENTYONEOMGWTFBBQ". And they'd be right but they'd also be neglecting the trade-offs. My point was more along the lines of:
No enthusiast will ever be happy until they've customized their cars. Meanwhile, those same enthusiasts will write off a given car for their tires. That's like not buying the otherwise perfect house because you don't like the Pergo floors in the kid's bedroom. This same crap happened with the FRS/BRZ twins and it was simultaneously hilarious and frustrating.
"OMG! THIS CAR SUCKS BECAUSE IT HAS PRIUS TIRES ON IT!"

Regarding the G019 Grid tires: I'm at the point where if somebody told me manhole covers would be better than these suckers, I'd believe them. I think Mythbusters did that one, though. At the very least, they'd probably be quieter (please excuse my hyperbolic exaggeration).

I'm looking at some S-04 PP's to replace them. I want something that won't be a total pig at the odd autocross but will still be comfortable and hard-wearing enough to live with.

 

I see what you're saying but this type of thing happens to a lot of people. Their knee-jerk reaction may have been biased by others or by a bad first impression. Or, maybe, it's some weird effect of confirmation bias after the fact. Who knows? Eventually, though, their opinion shifts.

I was actually this way about my G37x. I just sucked it up because the car ticked all of the other boxes on my requirements list. But, the more I looked at it and compared it to the other cars I looked at (IS350, Ford Fusion Sport [don't laugh, they check many of the same boxes], C300/350, etc) the more I came to like the styling details of the car.

This can happen in any subjective scenario (music, food, movies, art, the opposite [or same] sex...).

 

Styling will grow on people, for better or worst. Remember the gaping mouth grill of Audi? It was observed by many to be the ugliest front end; now it is industry trend. The G37 looks ok to me, but many people don't like its fish face styling. Styling is subjective and perception will change, still early in the game for the Q50.

 

The 2 door version (coupe or convertible) will be the Q60 and isnt coming out at the same time as the sedan. Im not sure they gave a time frame but its going to be at least one more model year in the current format for the coupe/vert.

 

Well funny you should say that. I still think it's ugly. And now the Fusion and other Ford products have joined the ugly duckling parade. If BMW ever goes in that direction, I'll be down to driving a Camry.

(I understand styling is subjective....)

 

[QtUOTE=CodeG;3656116]Styling will grow on people, for better or worst. Remember the gaping mouth grill of Audi? It was observed by many to be the ugliest front end; now it is industry trend. The G37 looks ok to me, but many people don't like its fish face styling. Styling is subjective and perception will change, still early in the game for the Q50.[/QUOTE]

The big diffrence with the Audi is that it still looked like an Audi everywhere else. The Q50 looks like every other car out there, unfortunately it has more in common with the family sedan segment than the entry luxury segment.

I don't recall too many not liking the current G37 looks wise when it came out, in fact it's always been considered one of the most handsomest cars in the segment and one of it's selling points. It was a modern updating of it's signature look in the same vein as to what BMW and Audi do with their vehicles with each successive generation because they know that's what their scutomers want. The Q50 carries over very little styling cues from the G37 and if you're gonna completely change the look of the car then you better overhaul the engine and tranny and not just the exterior. I never understood why Acura did this with the TL when they hit a homerun with the prior gen styling and never understood that when Nissan did it with the 2004 Maxima and predictably they both tanked in sales. And both Acura and Nissan overhauled the engine and that helped little because of the nonsensical styling overhaul. When you totally overhaul the looks when no one was really asking for it then you are taking a huge risk that was totally unnecessary.

I own a 2011 G37. What does the Q50 have that would make me want to upgrade? Consumers in this segment aren't that free with their money that they will frivously spend for a Q50 simply because it's the new model when there's nothing that has been improved substansially. Same engine, same tranny, a busier looking interior that really turns off a lot of people (myself included) with a a lot of useless gadgets that most won't use. Steering inputs? People will adjust it once and never adjust it again. It's like those adjustable golf club drivers that no one ever changes more than once. Run flat tires? Uhhh no.

If anybody really wants the Q50 then just wait 2 or 3 years because the discounts will be huge to try and revive sales. I've had about a dozen of my friends who have seen the Q50 either at the auto show or in pictures and most said WTF did they do to it's looks with maybe half saying it looked like a tricked out Sonata. The couple of people who did like it were in their mid 20's and definatley were not in a position to buy one anytime soon. Infiniti appears to want this car to appeal to young people with the gadgets and frenetic looks and that is idiotic if they want his car to really sell. These people don't have the income to buy this car.

 

Am I the only one that enjoyed this portion of the article:

"The V6 boots the 3,603-pound sedan forward with such authority that you might mistake it for a V8. It's tremendous. The stats alone of 328 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque don't sufficiently convey its hugely flexible power delivery, or the rapid rate at which it turns that truck lumbering in your lane into a dot in the Q50's mirror."

 

I thught the g35 was ugly when it first came out, however the now dated styling has grown on me. But you may have a point, Kia, Hyundai, mercedes, Honda and now Infiniti according to some have styling elements in common.

 

The interesting thing is that if you look at the evolution of Nissan/Infiniti models of the past 5 years or so, you can see they were working towards what the Q50 looks like now.

i.e. On the Altima the "scrunched down" front grille is almost quite where the Q50 is now. The sculpted squared front end of the Q50 seems very similar to the IPL of the current gen G, etc.

I remember when I first saw the G35 coupe (before release) at the NYC auto show. The styling was "out there" at the time, but not enough that it was appalling. I loved it when I first saw it, and I still love it now. I think coupe-wise the G35 is much better than the G37 (mostly because of the flat, clean rear end), but sedan wise I like the G37 better.

While Ill go sit and maybe test drive a Q50, I dont think Ill be buying one. I do want to see what they do with the Q60 though, that *could* be a game changer (but Im not holding my breath)

 

That's exactly how I've always felt about G35 vs. G37 and Coupe vs. Sedan.

 

Indeed. I think the current (not Q) G37 sedan is worlds ahead of the older G35 sedan. However, it's a testament to the conservative styling of the older G35 coupe, that I think it looks nicer than the current coupe. To me, it's just as nice as the day it was a new model.

 

For a good reason - the clutch was seriously bad on the G. Nevertheless, I don't think the 6MT would have sold much better even if it had a good clutch.

Enthusiasts who love manual aren't a very large group these days, and they tend to gravitate toward German cars.

 

The V35 Coupe is the only oke looking G ever made, i still can't get over how ugly the Skyline got. No wonder they can't stand the V35 and V36 in Japan.

They sould incorporate clean line's like the new IS (except for the headlights and grill)



I wish Nissan would continue with boxy design's like the ER34, but i guess that would fit the US market taste.

 

I think many people feel the same way. While the G37 coupe shares many of the same lines as the sedan, it doesn't come off as well because a coupe is always meant to look more agressive so the softer lines makes the coupe look more effeminate than the 1st gen model.

 

The Q50 will most likely continue the sales success of the G. Just because a group of people here don't like it doesn't mean that the general public won't like it. Looks are subjective and the damn car is frankly borderline bland with good proportions just like the 3 Series has been for years = mass appeal. You can go visit InfinitiQ50.org and see there is a LARGE amount of people that like the car and have pre-ordered and are test driving them. Traffic over there is really picking up.

And yes a lot of 1st gen G35 owners DID NOT like the New 07 G35 because it looked too much like the old car. And if it were the case that the Q50 was an evolutionary design, people would be seeing "it looks just like the last gen, whats the point of buying a new gen if it looks like the old one. It's not worth the money. And why give it a new name." Point is, people will find SOMETHING, May not necessarily be the same people but SOMEONE will find the car UTTERLY disappointing and underwhelming. Thats change. but that does not determine success. I still can't quite get with the IS, but I'm not going to damn the car to failure because of my opinion.

And this whole "looks like a Hyundai" thing is OLD and tired. The Q50 is blatantly influenced by Infinitis own Essence concept, which everyone raved about and debuted in 2009... before the 2011 Sonata. Same can be said about the interior of the Q50 it looks like a mix between the last G, current FX and M's interior which have been on the market, but somehow the Sonatas interior is the one that was copied in the Q50. I am actually rooting for Hyundai, but its obvious that they lifted cues from Infiniti and not the other way around. The Q50 is true to the evolution of Infiniti's design language.













Looks like an Infiniti to me.