The History of Infiniti
Nissan Motors has been producing the Infiniti luxury line of cars since 1989. The cars are offered as coupes, sedans and the new crossovers, which are a hybrid sedan and sport utility vehicle. All are built on the Nissan FM frame, except the QX56 SUV that is built on the Nissan F-Alpha frame.
Origins
Nissan sought to break into the United States luxury car market to take on Cadillac, Lincoln and the German luxury imports.
Shaky Start
The Infiniti was poorly received in the United States due to marketing missteps that emphasized nature and "the art of Zen" as opposed to focusing on the automobile itself.
Turnaround
Nissan reconfigured its marketing plan with a better advertising campaign that focused on the vehicles' luxury appointments and performance.
The Q45
Infiniti went head-to-head against BMW and Mercedes-Benz with the compact-looking but deceivingly roomy Q45, which was powered by a 278-horsepower V-8.
Beating Detroit
The Infiniti outstripped Lincoln and Cadillac in sales thanks to the M30 coupe, which was launched simultaneously with the Q45, and had a 162-horsepower V-6.
G35
Infiniti lagged behind its competitors due to pedestrian styling, but debuted the G35 in 2003 as the new "Japanese BMW" to launch a string of successes, including the G37 coupe.
Tags: built Nissan, History Infiniti, United States