1990 Infiniti Q45 (Reaction) Motorweek Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 3 тра 2023
- This weeks Motorweek Retro Review Reaction is the 1990 Infiniti Q45!
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Wow! I was able to see exactly what you were talking about the car looking like a Crown Vic from a distance. I’d never have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it. I must say … I’ve always loved the initial Infiniti models as I got my driver license in 1991. Great video. I feel it should’ve been compared to maybe an Acura Legend instead of a Jaguar 🍎 🍊???
The Acura Legend is FWD and has a V6. There is no comparison to the Q45 here. It would compare better to the LS400, the 7-series, and the S-Class.
Funny, the rear end of the Q45 was the part of the styling I liked. That long horizontal tail light was making the rear end look wide which made up for how narrow it was visually. I've always loved Infiniti's more muscular styling.
My mother had a late 1st Gen which had more rounded headlights and you can see that styling on Jaguar. Who copied whose homework I'm not sure but it's definitely there and makes sense as their both sporty luxury brands.
I'm an Infiniti master technician from those old days. That car was amazing. The engine was years ahead of his time.
The fastest I've ever driven was in an Infiniti j30.
147mph.
It did look like a Sentra in the front but with a low bathtub like rear end, and being a smallish midsize car with a V8 that sounded as refined and smooth as a muted Japanese motorcyle it was a screamer.
But very cramped in the back seat, as that model was meant to evoke more British designs hence J for Jaguar.
My best friend's dad took pictures of cars for the local newspaper's car column, so we often got to drive the cars that he had for the weekend, and we loved testing out the top speeds as stupid twenty-year-olds, and to this day I've never driven faster than 147 miles an hour.
That Infiniti V8 engine sang beautifully and the car felt absolutely secure, no drama.
When I was a 20 year old, my dad bought me a new '93 Infiniti J30t in White Pearl Metallic to replace my '89 Volvo 240GL that was totaled in an accident when I was driving home from college. I absolutely loved that car, I thought it was beautiful both inside and out. I've gotta correct you though...the engine in the J30 was a 3.0L V6, never was a V8 offered in the J30. And unless the car you were driving was significantly modofied, there's no way a J30 could come close to147mph...the top speed was limited to 128mph and could be a handful even at that speed. I owned it for nearly 4 years and traded it for a new Audi A6, trust me I know of what I speak.
You just made me laugh , but your right it does look like a crown vic lol
I remember thinking how much these looked like a run of the mill Taurus, from the grilless front end to the smooth 6 window green house
The driving experience though... night and day.
Taurus was definitely comfortable but I wouldn't call it luxurious, and definitely not this kind of speedy!
My folks were THE target demo for these cars when they came out: mid 40's Doctor and stay at home wife. They started out looking at the LS400, and just couldn't stomach the price, so they ended up going for an Acura Legend; was a great car, if just half a size too small for them. At the time, I remember them basically dismissing the q45 out of hand; just too weird looking. They DID end up getting a q45 late into the second generation but that was again because they could be had for less than the contemporary LS. And you know what? they both absolutely loved the car; kept it for nearly 20 years. Point is: I agree with your assessment; the q45 was a fine product, hampered by some odd styling choices.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, love to hear they kept it for 20 years!
You have good observations thanks
Infinity, at least the first years, always struck me as a high tech, "Look what we can do" Nissan. Not a bad thing, and I probably would have liked them more if I had a higher opinion of Nissan.
You are right about the styling being all over the place. It's almost like the team who came up with it cherry picked favorite aspects from other vehicles and tried to mold them into one. The nose from Avanti, the trunk looks like the 90's redesigned Cadillac, (Though Cadillac was moreso later, maybe it was a design concept of the time) other parts a more angular Jaguar.
The biggest thing I have against Infinity is something they couldn't control. It's the car my ex bought after our divorce. So I refuse to get one.
Those square front headlights always made me think of a Caddillac Alante. I think that was what they were going for on this car. I dont know why, the Alante wasn't particularly well received.
I think that's a legitimately excellent reason to never get one. :)
I'm glad this is finally being reacted to. I have always liked the Q45. It offered more power than the LS400(278hp vs 250). It was actually bigger than the LS400. It was sportier. I definitely would want either a first generation one(1990-1996) or a third generation one(2002-2006). I don't recommend the Q45a with the active suspension. The system doesn't justify the higher price for it. Also, the 1997-2001 version is misleading. The engine was not a 4.5 liter V8(it was 4.1) and it had less power. I still believe that Infiniti should be selling a true replacement for the last Q45 right now. With a turbo V8 it would be a serious competitor to the current LS500 right now.
Happy to get this one out for you. :)
@@AllCarswithJon I'm glad as well. If you can find a video on the 1991 Q45a(with active suspension), I would appreciate it. There should be a video on the 2002 Q45 somewhere. I would check that one out.
Styling makes a statement especially with a new brand like Infiniti compared to a Lexus the Lexus looked more fancy I'd say. Now compared to a 1990 Acura Legend, it looks like a standard Honda Accord. Now compared to the Mazda Millenia, it wins in the looks department over the Legend. Mercedes is already very well established like a trophy piece. The new competitors really needed stronger identities to say I'm equal to or better than! Over time the Lexus proved itself, Its reputation for quality and dependability is golden now! I think Jon is correct, he made gr8 points on why the Infiniti failed when compared to the Lexus.
Thanks, and nice breakdown bringing in the Legend and Millenia.
Lexus is definitely established and has a great reputation.
It look similar to a Crown Victoria never though about that, so true, great video as always
I love how John Davis has reviewed not one, but several generations of just about any car you can imagine (Corvette for instance) sold here.
In the late 80's through 2000 Isuzu and Mitsubishi must have thrown every car/SUV they made at Motorweek.
In the retro reviews you can follow the complete evolution of the Trooper and Montero along with the Mitsubishi (Plus Diamond Star/Chrysler matchup) Galant.
@@christopherconard2831 Did Motorweek ever do road tests on the Mitsubishi Cordia hatchback and the Tredia sedan? I don't remember whether those are out there.
I owned a '91 in the Ivory color. Best car I've ever owned.
Hey Jon. I remember when the Infiniti Q45 was first intro'd back in 1990. I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't think it was ugly, but I didn't find it attractive either. I found the Lexus LS400 way better looking. The more they changed the appearance of the cars, the more I liked the original Q. It's the same with the Lexus.
It actually looks more like a Mazda 929 mixed with a 92 BMW 740I
The crash tests for both the LS400 & the Q45 at that time were much worse than the W124 or w126.
It was Ford who started the whole “no grille” look and even they had to go back to having a grille on their vehicles.
Nissan wanted to go grill-less because they thought it would be just as memorable as the double kidney grille of a BMW.
And now the look is back on EV's
@@666cemetaryslut EVs don’t really need a grille. Carmakers usually only put something on the front that resemble a grille for appearance sakes. Grill-less gas cars still need to take the air in but the air intake openings are not as obvious. Electric cars don’t need to take air in for it to operate.
Right off the bat, I saw the similarity to the Crown Victoria. Here are my thoughts.
I agree that they needed to use either some wood or fabric to make the interior look more prestigious. I agree that the theming was a bit inconsistent. I think they did great on the powertrain in the breaking performance was fantastic.
I must provide a counterpoint about their complaints about the common stalk. Complaints like this have always come off as being really being petty unless the design is really bad of the function feels horrible. If I like the way the car drives, looks, feels, vs all their competitors am I suddenly going to go "oh no it has a Maxima parts bin stalk. That makes the whole thing completely unacceptable! truly with my overly sensitive skin I will get a blister which will lead to an infection, which will lead to my hand falling right off if I dare have to touch a Maxima part bin stalk!". I know the argument is that they didn't sweat details, but I don't know that I completely agree with that point because I see it as they might have prioritized other things that are more important to the experience and save cost on something that isn't a big deal. On top of this, if the part breaks, it is very much an advantage to have a common parts been part as a parts are cheap to replace and will never become an issue of scarcity.
The other point that I will state that I actually agree with them on is I don't like the idea of it starting off in the second gear. With the transmissions we have nowadays with six or more gears with extremely aggressive first gears, the advantage is you can just feather the pedal and have the no effort acceleration without it feeling to forceful. With this setup it means you have to put in more throttle just to get it to go but then if you give it too much then it gives you too much acceleration.
All in all, a very good review. My criticism was meant for motor week on the stalk issue. I just see it as illogical and being petty.
Lol they quickly tacked on an unneeded grill on this design because of the backlash, purely decorative like most of today's grilles are .
These were very cool cars, in a gas guzzling zoomy kind of way, with a very poorly considered ad campaign. The lexus seemed more like a sleepy middle manager bar of soap in comparison, but didn't shoot itself in the foot with weird marketing.
I want a Q45 an Ill Slide it with Some Good Rims And coilovers and some an angle kit
The Q45 got a grill in 1994. It looked better but didn't sell better. The 1991 G20 was more like a Nissan Sentra since it was based somewhat on the Sentra.
Never understand why the Nissan mark never took advantage of the Qs.... I owned a couple of Maximas 96 and 99 and was ready for the 00 new gen with rumors of an Infiniti infusion of V8 and RWD platform for the 4DSC! Unfortunately they blew it, especially with a V6 FWD Altima brother to the Maxima... I moved on from Maximas at that point...
Agreed 100%!😊
I haven’t seen the whole video yet, but one of the biggest criticisms was the ugly Infinity logo on the front grille. It looked like an ugly, big belt buckle. The auto journalists back in the day we’re desperate to criticize something. The car was near perfect.
Jon, I finally agree with you completely. I know Nissan was going for futuristic and cool, but they really fell short by not having a grill. No corporate identity. And the dash didn't say "luxury" enough. I wasn't a big fan of Lexus because it seemed too blah and boring to my 18-year-old eyes in 1989/90. Which one would I have picked at that time, though? It's a really tough call. Being 18, I may have gone for the slight performance advantage. At 51, Lexus all day every day.
Almost exactly how I feel and felt. Not sure when exactly I got old enough, but there was a 'moment' when I looked at the ES and the LS and went "huh.... reliability. I want that". 😀
@AllCarswithJon I decided Lexus was for me when my 2017 Accord, my 7th Honda over 30 years, decided to have basic reliability problems at 23,000 miles. My 2012 Accord coupe V6 blew its engine while approaching 135,000 late in 2020 despite excellent maintenance. I chalked that up to "just one of those things," and had a MUCH newer engine installed, and still have it. My 2017 Accord Coupe V6 is at the dealer now for the 3rd time at 55,000 for its 3rd drivers side window regulator repair/replacement, along with a HOST of other quality issues. I've watched Honda spin down the drain over the last 15 years, and Lexus ES suddenly became extremely appealing to me. The 2017 is getting its final servicing by me when I get it back from the dealer, and it's being traded for a 2023 ES350 Ultra Luxury with the Mark Levinson system. The Lexus is HOPEFULLY, my final brand. I've been a constant Honda owner for 31 years, with a variety of other fun cars. But for my daily drivers, I want extreme reliability and silence with a massive stereo system so I can head bang to Disposable Heroes.
@@2006gtobob My 2014 Accord has so far (knock on wood) been great except for the starter going out a couple of years ago. Still, it never left me stranded.
I know the Lexus ES is picked on by people from every spectrum - it's not "Luxury", it's not "sporty", it's just an Avalon.... but man every year I look harder at the ES as "the" answer.
@@AllCarswithJon The current Lexus ES is a modified Avalon. The first ones were based more on the Camry.
My parents looked at a 94 Q45 but went with LS400. I think it was the terrible resale of the Infiniti is what swayed them towards the Lexus.
I trust the way look and evaluate these cars 🚗 my beverage is coffee
Thanks, and my beverage is coffee too. :)
PHEV review pleeaasssseeee
Interestingly, the JDM car that the Q45 was based off of was the Nissan President, which I believe was more of a direct competitor to the Toyota Century rather than the LS. Also, regarding the grille-less design, it appears Infiniti backtracked on that pretty quickly because the mid-generation facelift for 1994 got a more conventional grille design. It would be interesting to compare the styling of the Q45 and the Nissan President it was based off of, as from the photos I've seen it looks like the President has a much more cohesive design from front to back.
That could also explain why it was narrower than its competition. Almost seems like it was engineered for the domestic market and selling it in the USA was an afterthought, because they needed something to compete with Lexus.
That could also explain why it was narrower than its competition. Almost seems like it was engineered for the domestic market and selling it in the USA was an afterthought, because they needed something to compete with Lexus.
Could I request the 00-04 Avalon again?
Yes. :)
psstt- June 8th. :)
@@AllCarswithJon :)
@@666cemetaryslut 😀
@@666cemetaryslut And it's a long one. You got your money's worth I think! :) LOL
These were a misfire in my opinion. Lexus and Acura did a much better job hitting the mark with their flagships.
Not Acura. They didn't even try to offer a V8 RWD sedan to truly challenge the Lexus and Infiniti flagship models. Don't compare Acura to any true luxury brands. It is and has always been a near-luxury brand.
The design is definitely not for me. But am I the only one who is bothered by the fact that this luxury car is FWD.
If you’re talking about a luxury car is FWD that would be the Acura Legend, because this is RWD.