LOS ANGELES -- Infiniti Division has confirmed that the I35 mid-sized sedan is dead. It was the last front-wheel-drive vehicle in the lineup.

Production of the I35 has stopped in Japan, and it will be dropped from the 2005 model lineup. The car went on sale in fall 2001 as a 2002 model.

Infiniti executives have said they wanted only rear-drive vehicles in order to compete with other luxury makes.

The I35 replaced the I30 when the company increased its engine size from 3.0 liters to 3.5 liters. At the time of its introduction, its 255-hp V6 was the most powerful engine in the entry-level luxury segment. -Automotive News

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TOKYO -- Infiniti will position its redesigned M45 as a "big brother" of the sporty G35 when it arrives in the United States next spring for the 2006 model year.

It will emphasize the redesigned M45's dynamic design and roomy interior. The M45 will fit in the lineup as "a big brother of the G35 (sport coupe and sedan), which has been well-received," says design chief Shiro Nakamura.

Nakamura is chief designer and a senior vice president for Nissan Motor Co.

Infiniti is Nissan's luxury brand.

The updated M45 offers "a simple and dynamic (design) which Americans like," Nakamura said last week.

The M45 will come with a V8, 4.5-liter engine only. THE V-6 VERSION WILL CALLED THE M-35.
The Fuga, the Japanese-market twin of the M45, was among six models that Nissan unveiled last week in Tokyo. The Fuga will make its Japanese debut in mid-October.

The Fuga offers "more interior space than any other car in its class," according to Nissan.

The automaker won't give detailed specs until the vehicle is launched.

The Fuga offers a sporty ride based on the FR-L platform used on several Z vehicles in Japan.

In addition, the Fuga comes with a personal driving position memory system. But Nissan won't say whether the system will be in the M45.

 

That's sad to hear but now they won't get to hear ppl blaming that I30/35 is another Maxima with a makeup ;-). So now, it'll be just G35, M35/45 and Q45 models in the Infiniti lineup.

 

so it's pretty much the m35 replacing the entry-level luxary of infiniti in the US?

 

Will the M35 make it here?

 

Isn't G35 entry-level luxury of Infiniti ?!?!?

 

isnt the m already here? ther cool kinda looking infiniti? that you dont see too often? my nieghbor has a black one and it says M45 in the back

 

The new 2006 M line up will include an M35 and M45. M35 will be available in RWD or AWD. M45 will be RWD only.

 

Yea its a sad day but we knew its was coming once Infiniti announced all its vehicles would be RWD or AWD only. The M35 is not really replacing the I because its price range is set to start out around $37k before any options are added. Also the M45 is possibly going to replace replace the Q45 in 06 temporarily until 07 when the new GTR coupe is set to be released. You can check out more discussions about this here
http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...t=&Board=UBB14

 

Ah so the Fuge IS going to be availalbe in a V8, they had only written rumours of it here in the car mags. Nissan NZ are considering bringing it here to NZ, which will be interesting to see what it does to the Maxima, as it's Nissan top luxury car here at the moment which the Fuga (M45) will appear to be competing for if it did get here (as well as going head to head with the new Lexus V8 )

 

M45= drift VIP style

 

tis a sad day for all of us

 

well on the good side, we can say our I35's will be more exclusive now indifinitely.

 

what about those of us with I30's

 

Hey can't forget the I30's too.

 

Yes. The M35 will cost thousands more than a comparably equipped G35.

 

Hey I did'nt know they still made those I35's. I thought that shape ended with the Introduction of the G35. Guess they still did. In fact I just went to the Infiniti website and the I35 is on it.

 

something fishy is going on here...

 

The I35 is being discontinued in favor of the G35S. The purpose of the M35 is to provide an entry level option for the more upscale M-class (not unlike the Lexus GS or BMW 5-series).

With the exception of the GTO and 04 Mustang, the 04 I35 is probably the bargain of the year. Even with Navi and Cold weather pkg, they go for ~$1200 less than invoice.

 

id much rather have an i35 than a rustang or a ****y pontiac

 

Have you guys seen the latest motor trend for January??? There is a write up about the M45. I must say I see myself test driving one really soon.

 

I suppose it's not too much of a surprise. The I35 is based on the previous generation Maxima. The 04 I35s didn't look like the new maxima. So, they were probably just using up parts until they are sold out.

 

so is it safe to assume that they ran out of parts??

 

The G35 is the entry level car for Infinity. If you check out base prices.. the M- series cars are priced at least a good 5k above the G35... Speaking of the M.. i hope they release that V8 version with a manual transmission... 6SMT + V8 + Nissan power = sex...
BTW. i looked at some of your websites... nice cars...=)

 

gonna check out the m35/45s with dad at the end of feb. (hes looking for a new car)

 

Okay, sorry for the off topic question here. I just found out that Maxima.org was back online.

ggmac2,

Where did you get that lip? I want one. Can you post a link to your cardomin page? I want to see more pics please.

 

The I35 was dropped b/c Nissan/Infiniti could not make a business case for keeping it and the G35 at the same price. If you notice, more wood was added as an option to the G35. Lexus has been successful having 2 cars at the same price, but the cars are like night and day, the ES 330 (luxury) and IS 300 (all sport). The i35/g35 were not as far apart, thus the I35 had to go.
There are still new I35s on dealer lots for 2005, a great car to buy at a great price.

 

those heartless bastards

 

G35 is cheaper and does not come nearly as loaded as the I35.

The real reason Nissan dropped it was because it is FWD and they are going for the RWD/AWD market. This is done to help establish the Infiniti line as TURE luxury/sport vehicle nameplate.

 

So it establishes Infiniti as a TURE luxury\sport vehicle nameplate?
LOL I could not resist.

 

The G35 is the entry level, M35 and M45 are mid level, Q45 is high level. The new M's are the 2nd gen M's, and have been redesigned. They are based on the Nissan Fuga and have some very impressive features including an adaptive lighting system (the HID projector on the inside of your turn moves to illuminate into the turn) a 14 speaker 5.1 dolby surround sound system, integrated NAV and entertainment system with an intuitive control system, Bluetooth - allowing you to make handsfree calls through your voice activated entertainment system with the use of a Bluetooth compatible cell phone. A lane departure system that warns you if you fall asleep or look down and start to veer out of your lane. The M35 AWD version gets ATTESA ET-S adaptive AWD. The Sport RWD models get Active Rear Steering, in which the back wheels turn opposite the front to help you around a turn at low or mid speed and turn the same direction as the front at high speeds to stabilze the car and make it more responsive. It's got most every goodie my brother's BMW 525i has, plus some, at a similar price.

 

...just took back a G35X loaner today. definitely not as loaded as the i35.

 

Yeah...the '04 and '05 I35's were A33 chassis cars - they were still effectively 5th generation Maximas in a 6th Gen world. The '04+ Max is the A34 chassis.

With the loss of the G20 and now the I35, Infiniti only has relatively big cars left. It's interesting that their goal has been to go to RWD. Cadillac shifted to FWD from RWD years ago. However, I think Infiniti's target competition is more from BMW, Mercedes and Lexus than Cadillac or Lincoln.

Acura and Lexus still have FWD models, right? I think the TL, ES, etc are still FWD.

 

The G35 is relatively small compared to the I35 or the Maxima. Cadillac has shifted back to RWD again in order to compete with the Germans. Acura is still perdominately FWD with the exception of the new RL and the NSX.

 

Sorry but it was b/c they could not sell it. If the I30/35 sold 1/2 as well as the FWD ES 300/330, trust me, they would have kept it. Audis A4 is FWD, Caddys DTS is FWD and there are other examples. You can have FWD cars in your luxury lineup, just not all of them.

I thought the last I35 was a damn good car but it simply was not on too many buyers radar.

 

I completely agree. Some people think they know the logic behind automobile manufacturers making decisions. In reality, money is what makes automotive companies decide to do things just as money makes most companies make decisions as well. (no matter how stupid.) The I35 was not selling in comparison to the competition, and unfortunately, the vehicle could not be salvaged by dumping more money into upgrading the vehicle again. All in all, the I35 had a good run and maybe in the future it will be resurrected.

 

well we still have each other and thats all that counts...right?!?!

 

Sorry but they did sell it. Until the G35 came along it was Infiniti's best selling model. Perhaps if they sold as many as Lexus did with the ES they might have kept it, but it is obvious that the company and many others are shifting from the FWD market to the RWD/AWD. This is from Infiniti directly in 2000: "We are going to focus on rear- or all- wheel drive for future platforms to generrate a positively pure dynamic feel. For example, with rear- wheel drive, two wheels push, two wheels steer and all wheels work to maximum effect." Since this was stated in 2000, it is safe to say that the 2nd gen I was doomed from the begining. Perhaps it will return to us some day in the a RWD configuration. As for Audi and Cadillac, about 99.9% of those Audi A4s are NOT sold as FWD, most have the quattro AWD, and the current DTS is soon to be replaced with a RWD or AWD generation.

 

since they are having all this talk of RWD... i'm wondering when they'll bring the j's back. the exteriour looked like a UFO, but the interiour definitely was very nice.

 

They'll have to come up with a new car to base the J on, the Nissan Leopard, it's basis, is no longer in the lineup. Plus, our J's never got the VQ30DET that the Leopards had, unfortunately.

 

I always loved the J30. I thought it was such a hot looking car - very Maxima-like, only more curvatious. RWD was a great idea, too...if only it had been available with a 5-speed and the JDM turbo engine...awesome.