My mom got a new one in 1991. It was a gorgeous car with dark green paint, off white leather and gold BBS lace wheels. I felt like such a bad ass when she picked me up from school.
+matt k I didn't even pay attention to cars at that age. And judging on the year, I am probably about your age. I really only started caring about cars in high school.
matt k how did your mom have such good taste? My dad makes $135K a year and my mom always insisted on driving the shittiest Ford Windstar or Buick Rendezvous, both in base trim.
Acura Legend too!! Cadillac and Lincoln had a dated style back in the 90s they still had the 70s and early 80s boxy styled cars, but both of them got their act together and started updating their car styles
I love this car. My first job as an auto mechanic at 18 was at an Infiniti dealership, by 19 I was an ASE master technician. The engines where outstanding. Anything close was the Corvette ZR1 engine. I used to love the test drive after the work was done. Very enjoyable car to drive. The best version of this car was the Q45a which had the active suspension setup similar to F1 at the time. You could go hard into a corner and you would have literally 0 body roll. If you ever get a chance to drive an 'a' do it, it's a trip.
I never understand why people thumbs down these vids. These are classics we've all watched for years and years. That someone hated this enough to hit the dislike button just amazes me :/
jtb1990419 big difference then to now for you - shit I was born twenty years before you and the cars of the 80's and 90's were what I grew up with and learned to drive. I'm glad you can appreciate these vehicles - many innovations from these times that were considered 'rare' have found there way into cars of today. Nowadays multi cam VVT V8s are everywhere but were still hi-tech in cars like this Q :)
Chris Dooley this period of cars were my favorite as they were the last era before the bubble shape took over everything, making all cars look the same. You are also correct about the technology of this era. No one thought that DOHC 32-valve V8 engines would be popular. Now they are relatively common. I would have loved this Q45 or a Lexus LS400 from the era as my first car, but my budget didn't reach that far. My first car was a 1994 Buick Park Avenue Ultra in all black with the supercharged 3.8. It was a boat, but I loved its looks and performance. Now I have a 2006 3.3 DOHC V6 Hyundai Sonata, which I also love but don't feel that it is as unique. It is like a bouncy castle on wheels with six airbags in the seats, side curtain, and the standard driver and passenger areas. I would have called someone crazy when I was a kid if they would have told me that!
I bought my 1990 Q45 in 2003 and had it until I sold it about 3 years ago. I hated to get rid of it, and still miss it. I kept it immaculate for it's age, and the guy that bought it from me actually gave me an additional 100 dollars because he couldn't believe the condition. If money was no object, I'd buy it back if it was still in the same condition. The problem with owning a sport luxury sedan that is 25 years old, is, everything is getting old....all rubber, suspension parts and components. Starts to get very expensive, and with a spouse that doesn't understand holding on to a 25 year old vehicle....that becomes a tough sell....
"Taller passengers will find rear leg room limited" says John Davis as the guy models half an acre between himself and the front seat. Ah, how standards of rear-passenger comfort have diminished over the years...
I always like mustangs but 220 hp from a 5.0 compared to this ? Amazing machine from nissan they should have put it in a sports car i know the v6 tt its nice but still.
Sure was!! I drive one for 3 weeks back in 1995. The big boat could move. And was rear wheel drive so mine would sometimes fish tail if pushed too hard. Would scare me half to death!
They criticized the armrest-mounted trunk and gas tank door release buttons. But the placement of these buttons was actually ideal for effortless use when opening and exiting the driver’s side of the car. My old Maxima had this same setup and I loved it.
Part of the trouble with the lack of character today is that the brands have tended to converge on a single idea for what each class of car should drive like. Back then a midsize luxury car from any of the luxury makes would drive very differently from one another. Today they drive pretty similarly, the main difference is how they are "dressed."
Wait a second, I'm confused. Q45? This moniker makes too much sense. Q stands for Q-ship or Flagship and 45 represents the 4.5 liter, 32v V8 under the hood. I hate it when naming conventions make sense. What a stupid idea. I'm SO glad that Infiniti's entry level sedan is now called the Q50. It's so obvious a compact executive sedan with a 3.7 liter V6 should be called a Q50. After years of improperly named models, Infiniti finally got it right.
+di foo!! That 7 Liter Inifinity Q70! Hot damn! I know it comes in 3.7L and 5.6L and a 3.5L hybrid. I totally agree that a Q56 would make the most sense to cars gars and Infititi past customers but it appears they are taking the route the Germans are and keeping or bringing back numbers of the past to reconnect the buyer with the old one but that's just confusing! Displacement is important which is why I call every original 5.0 Mustang it's proper 4.9L name.
di foo!! I know, right? Infiniti even had a "good" idea with the late 90's with the revised 4.1 liter Q45. They probably had to join the BMW and Mercedes bandwagon of naming their cars after engine displacements that were wrong.
@@shawndon7374 I liked the muscle car V-8s from 1971 and earlier, but their ratings were in GHP (gross HP), which was done by testing the engine independent from the vehicle it's installed in, and such tests were done with the flywheel alone with no accessories attached.
Maestro_T he has a bespoke oil pressure gauge in a pocketwatch case that he will hand hand down to his grandson one day, and his grandson will treasure it forever
I agree. I can easily see one of these lasting 50 years with proper maintenance and repair, the bodies simply do not rust. As far as the supposedly way better LS400, time has proven that myth wrong. Infiniti sold less than 60,000 q45's between 1990 and 1996, probably less than a third of LS400 sales over the same time period, so why is it an even rarer sight for me to see LS400's? I still see the odd q45 roaming around...
Because these were so shunned by the market, these old q's are probably the best car for the money you could ever buy now. The body was incredibly solid, and very rust resistant. If you know how to diagnose and repair cars they are easy to keep going. They are very reliable once you fix the common (age related) issues. Even by today's standards, the performance is good. The clincher is you can pick up a really nice one for around a grand.
My wife and I test drove a '98 model last summer when we were shopping used cars. Beautiful, solid vehicle; it was like Japanese luxury-meets-American muscle! We ultimately didn't want to deal with the RWD in our harsh West Michigan winters, but it was a blast to drive.
I’ve been watching this show forever. I’m 42, and since I was like 8ish, I watched this show on the local PBS affiliate KQED (probably starting around 1984) since Day 1, John and Gosses Garage have been a treat to watch! They still make the TV show!
I remember when the Infiniti Q45 first hit the US market. At the time, I found it *less* attractive than Toyota's Lexus LS400. Looking back on it, I find it *more* attractive than today's Infiniti cars and SUVs.
@@ScubaSteveM45 The Emperor has the grille-less front end of the Q45 (almost unique to the Q45, except for a Passat of the same time) as well as the taillights. The Merit was probably the Mazda 929 from the '90's. It had curvy lines.
@@MaestroTJS I'll have to look for one next time I play. I owned a 1994 Q45 with the bigger chrome slat grille and that does match the Merit in the front and sides pretty well
Always loved the first gen Q45 (before the facelift which made it less distinctive imo, not more as was the plan), it was an incredible car for its time and so underrated. Its also nice to have a higher quality version of this review now. I want one. Also I don't think it really needs an engine swap, its perfectly fine the way it is. Weren't 278hp underrated anyway, I read somewhere that it actually must have been closer to 300?
Always thought the emblem up front over the top. It was like a fine piece of jewelry on a woman's dress. Had a M30 drop top back then.... a trouble free beauty.
My dad bought a new Q45 in 1990 when I was 5 years old. Other than routine maintenance the car was comfortable, reliable and safe for 7 years. My older sister learned how to drive in it and it saved my sister, myself and my mom when we were rear-ended by a Cadillac when the driver took his eyes off the road.
That was my first car a 1990 Q45 got it with 102,000 miles in 1999 that car was fast as hell. I had a car phone lol never had it hooked up i used to fake like i was talking to people on it lol
It's always amazing seeing how good of condition these and the 1st gen Lexus LS still are compared to their competitors. They've held up very well interior materials also
It really is a shame that Infiniti failed the Q45 with the moronic ad campaign that didn't feature the CAR prominently in advertisements. It was a beautiful, unique, and innovative design with remarkable performance and tech.
This car does it in 6.9 sec not 7.2. These Infiniti cars in the early 90s were ahead of competition. Their build quality and materials were better than the competitors too. Infiniti Q45 and J30 drew a lot of attention.
I remember a few years ago someone wanted to give me this car for free, needed a couple of things, tires and brakes with some paint issues. Never took it. Good car for its time.
I owned a new gold one all options and in the dry weather it was awesome, comfortable vehicle on my many trips. The one complaint, don't drive it in the snow
I had a 1994 version. Gorgeous car with very, very good handling and well ahead technologically for its time. The engine has a lot of power once you are at high way speed. Transmission is slow off the line, but once you get going however, it was a fast car. A gentleman's sports sedan
bliglum I agree on that. I'd love to have one and have almost bought one in the past. The Q45 is also good, though, and I'd love to have a '94 model with the updated styling. A '94 BMW 740 is the grail for me, though!
Excellent car, only victimized by a weak ad campaign. Lexus advertised the hell out of the less-expensive 1990 LS, and won the crowd, like Maximus did in "Gladiator".
That dig at the beginning about the car’s ad campaign is a fair bit more tongue in cheek than I would expect from Motorweek, but to be honest, Infiniti deserved it. What a terrible way to market a car.
I had one of these back in the day. I'll never forget, it was two days old when my maid Millie crashed it into a brick wall and totaled it! I replaced Millie with Zoila and replaced the Infiniti with a Jaguar XJ6
I love the interiors of Japan premium cars from 90's, this, Camry Ls400, GS, Legend. Visually they are very similar, ex this gauges look like in 4th gen Camry
I've seen so many Nissans/Infinitis from the 90s onward with that 'Econ' button in the automatic temperature control and always wondered if anyone ever used it.
I've been looking for this review for a long time! I love the quirky styling of this generation. Any review of the Infiniti J30? Another really cool looking Infiniti from the 90s.
David Wendel I know right? I drove one and I wasn't impressed until I slammed the pedal to the floor. Bottom end is lacking but man...once it gets up there it's something to behold. Only thing is nissan/infiniti is known for complicating things to no end. I tried repairing one of these and couldn't find the issue. I thought I was a failure until the customer reported several shops had it for days at a time and never figured out the reason for it's failure. It had the strangest no-start condition I've ever seen. Only thing i figured could be the issue was the igniter but the customer told me a shop ruled it out (not sure if that's true or not). She ended up selling it for 500 bucks. -_-
'sensor' on the gear shifter telling the car its 'in gear' tgerefore wont start... i bet sometimes it started and sometimes it didnt tap the gear shifter forward while in park and then try to start it for future refrence.
Supercars? No, I think you mean high-end luxury cars. Even Nissan's own 300ZX turbo at this time could do a 5.5 second 0-60 time. But true luxury cars prior to this point were underpowered poor handling boats. This changed the game, particularly with American manufacturers.
@@VideoAmericanStyle actually @Doobie1975 is correct. In the real world any fast car of this era with an automatic transmission had a huge advantage to sports cars with manual transmissions because even though they might have been slightly quicker on paper there was a 90% chance on the street the people driving them wouldn’t be able to drop the clutch at high RPM and hit every gear perfectly. I remember Car and Driver Magazine got 0-60 in 6.7 seconds for their Q45 in the day. If a Ferrari Testarossa was 5.3 and a Lamborghini Countach was 5.5 I guarantee you in 90% of conditions there wouldn’t be much in it between these cars as both of those were notoriously hard to get out of the hole without causing expensive clutch wear
I owned two 1st gen Q45s. These cars had the fuel tank mounted above the floor between the trunk and rear firewall, you could access the tank through the trunk. This setup gave them a tendency to get tail happy at the limit due to the higher center of gravity, especially with a full tank. 1st gen Q45s and the mid to late 90s Maxima were still the best cars Nissan ever produced.
Im a Infiniti master technician from the early Infiniti years, that car was a amazing vehicle and that engine could easily push 500hp with the ecm reflash for racing.the best Q45 was the 1994 year model for the fact that the transmission was designed to take of in first wear instead of second like the previous years.
Wanted the Q until I laid eyes on the M30 drop top. Traded in my 300Z for one in pearl white with tan interior. The car turned a lot of heads. Longest I ever kept a car.
Genuinely surprised John didn’t comment on the lack of a grille. In my memory, it was deemed “too weird” for the American market, and this was changed during the first facelift.
In the beginning they went after Cadillac and Lincoln buyers. But didn't understand their desire for more conservative looks. If they had tried marketing to BMW/Mercedes drivers, like they did later, the grill (or lack of) would have been easier to accept.
Why did cars in the 80’s and 90’s keep the sunshade for the sunroof fixed and only moved when the sunroof was in its open position and not tilt position as well???
aayonce4 To be technical- a traditional sunroof is metal, like the body of the car, on the theory it would only be used on sunny days but won't let excess heat in like glass would. Moonroofs are made with glass as it wouldn't have that temperature problem.
Couple of things here...1st of all it seemed like a pretty decent amount of leg room to me? Secondly, it's interesting he mentioned the sharing of switchgear with the Maxima...looking at luxury cars of the time; they all did the same. Cadillac used the EXACT signal stalk as other GM vehicles for ages..Lexus did and STILL uses the EXACT cruise control stalk as every other Toyota product. Pretty much any carmaker that uses mainstream models as the basis for their luxury brand...
Like the z32 300zx, the q45 was a gorgeous car when introduced. It had more personality and driver appeal than the Mercedes look alike ls400. Its lack of a garish and shiny chrome grill and gaudy wood grains on the dash didn't win many friends in the u s. It really was a blast to drive and much more stable than the lexus .