Nissan has made the 1994 Q45 sedan from its luxury Infinitidivision lots more conventional, after learning the hard way itdoesn't pay to be too different when selling a costly sedan.
Most luxury sedan buyers likely will feel that the new $47,500Q45, which I tested after its recent early debut, is a better car.But its new features strike a blow against leading edge design andindividuality in the car market.
Among other changes, Nissan has given the Q45 a conventionalgrille - thus eliminating the classic Studebaker Avanti's avant-garde"no-grille" look.
Car buffs might snicker that the new grille looks like it's froma 1950s MGA sports car, but it also looks like a grille from theJaguar XJ6 sedan.
The Q45 is more powerful and faster than its arch-rival,Toyota's $47,000 Lexus LS 400 sedan. But the LS 400 has consistentlyoutsold the Q45 in the United States after both debuted here severalyears ago.
Why? Because conservative Toyota, which is the General Motorsof Japan, has given the U.S. luxury sedan market exactly what itwanted with the LS 400. Meanwhile, the Q45 has caused lots ofhead-scratching from luxury sedan owners.
The LS 400 has a conventional grille - as do other Q45competitors, including Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar. But the pre-1994Q45's front end had an air inlet below the bumper that cooled theradiator's antifreeze, with a big Infiniti name badge sitting in thearea where a grille normally resides.
The LS 400's soft ride brought smiles to faces of former ownersof Cadillac, Lincoln and Buick sedans. In contrast, the Q45's ratherfirm ride was off-putting to many American luxury car owners.
And, while the LS 400's typical luxury car interior waswhisper-quiet, Nissan deliberately allowed the Q45's functional butrather stark interior to be filled with some engine noise - as is thecase with European sedans.
The Q45's stiffer suspension provided sportier handling than didthe LS 400, and its quick steering and quick-shifting automatictransmission encouraged the aggressive driving seldom done by luxurysedan owners.
In short, the Q45 was much more of a driver's car than was theLS 400.
But, unless a buyer was after a luxury sedan with the moves of aperformance car, he or she felt more comfortable plunking down$40,000-plus for a Cadillac or LS 400, rather than the Q45.
So, for 1994, Nissan has given the Q45 a conventional grille,along with such items as redesigned fenders, bigger headlights and -shades of Detroit luxury-car thinking - bright (spell "chrome-look")windshield accents.
Nissan also has given the new Q45 bright inserts to the bodysidemoldings and bright rear-window moldings, along with a new rearbumper and revised taillights, which have bright inserts. There'seven chromed exhaust pipe tips.
Nissan research showed that luxury sedan buyers wanted a grilleand the other new items they've put in the new Q45, said nationalInfiniti spokesman Greg Elliott.
"Inside, the Q45's designers have responded to desires oftoday's luxury car buyers for a more elegant and luxurious look,"said William Bruce, Infiniti's general manager.
The 1994 model's seats feature softer leather, and thewarmer-looking interior contains wood accents, which are a typicalluxury car symbol. Also new are heated seats, a center-consolestorage compartment with cup holders and exterior mirrors that tiltdown when a driver shifts into reverse.
The new Q45 has dual front air bags and anti-lock brakes becauseno self-respecting luxury sedan would be without those items.Thicker side-window glass makes the 1994 Q45 quieter. And the firmride has been replaced by a smoother one, thanks to softer bushingsand revised shock absorber valving in the suspension.
A new steering ratio has slowed down steering response from theoff-center wheel position, and that change should make the Q45 feelfriendlier to luxury sedan drivers.
Those motorists should be happy because all the changes make the1994 Q45 look and feel much more like a conventional luxury sedan.
Fortunately for driving enthusiasts, the Q45 still has itsexceptional, double-overhead-camshaft, 32-valve aluminum V-8. Itgenerates 278 horsepower and moves the big, heavy, rear-drive Q45from 0-60 m.p.h. in only 7.2 seconds.
A revised four-speed automatic transmission makes the car moreresponsive because it now moves off in first gear, instead of insecond, as did previous Q45s. The transmission shifts slower andmore smoothly than did the one in previous Q45s.
The 1994 Q45 should appeal to a much wider audience. But Nissanhasn't forgotten drivers who yearn for the old Q45's sporty feel.For them, it's got the $50,600 Q45t ("touring") model, withperformance items such as quicker steering, sportier suspension andperformance tires.
Want to bet that sales of the regular, softer Q45 will easilytop those of the Q45t?
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