Never Realized That I Owned A "Q by 4"

[bmlawless]

I went to lunch with a friend of mine and showed him my new ride. He looked at the back and said, "I've never heard of a Q-by-4, what is that?"

[99QX4]

thats friggin great

[ubpsanity]

I've always known it by that. And called it by that as well.

[bmlawless]

Hmmm. It will be interesting to see what the responses are.

OK folks, which is it, "Q-by-4" or "Q-eks-4"?

[SnowSurfLax]

Pronunciation is "ku-eks-for". Luxury vehicle manufacturers all use model numbers, not names. They do that for brand recognition. That way you'll more likely say "I love my Infiniti" instead of "I love my QX4".

[KoukiS14]

Actually I read a review and it stated that "q by 4" is what was meant, but the pronunciation was "q x 4". Makes sense. . it's the first Infiniti vehicle to use the "x" to denote (unbeknownst at the time) AWD / 4wd. The QX56 uses the numerical portion to specify the displacement, so that leaves us with the question "Where'd we get our '4' from?"

Since the Qx4, we have the FX, EX, G35x, etc. . all have two things in common. . available awd/4wd, and an "x".

Am I right?

A guy at work called mine a Q by 4 and I almost popped him in the mouth.

[Empty V]

Weren't they all standard 4WD at first? Maybe that spawned the X and they held on to it because it's the "coolest" alpha-numeric character in our language. I call it the beginning of a marketing ploy.

Billy

[KoukiS14]

Weren't they all standard 4WD at first? Maybe that spawned the X and they held on to it because it's the "coolest" alpha-numeric character in our language. I call it the beginning of a marketing ploy.

Billy

I concur. . 97-00 were all 4wd. . the point of the QX4 was actually to introduce all-mode to the U.S. market. The Terrano Regulus, as I understand, was intended for us. All-mode was available in Japan on regular Terrano's as well, but not until 01 did that happen here in the U.S.

I dunno. . seems to me that's really the only major difference.

[Infinitidood412]

Hmmm. It will be interesting to see what the responses are.

OK folks, which is it, "Q-by-4" or "Q-eks-4"?

i have never even though about it. I have said Q-eks-four ever since i first saw the car...weird

[KoukiS14]

Yeah I'll never call mine a Q by 4. I have a hunch that perhaps using the "Q" was to bring up to the top of the range and hint at "Q45". . I mean why not, it was the only SUV offered and didn't compete internally. Americans are suckers for names and labels. . I doubt the all-mode feature would have survived at all if it was just another version of the Pathfinder.

I wonder how life would have been different if it were an IX4.

[fueler]

I hate it when people ask me how i like my "4runner"

I tell them its a Nissan Pathfinder. I do the same when it comes to auto shops.... I always say its a Nissan Pathfinder , nobody knows what a QX4 is!! Plus, most mechanics know they can charge more with names like Lexus, Infiniti, versus Toyota and Nissan. I try to avoid that!

[KoukiS14]

My boss told me I had a nice 4Runner. . I don't find that an insult as I LOVE 4Runners, but it's def. NOT a 4Runner. . so I was a little upset. .

You're right about them trying to charge more. . a mechanic tried to charge me almost 900 bucks to replace my front struts. This was a mechanic that I had trusted in the past. . I tallied up the price of parts, and then tried to figure out how he was intending to charge 600 for labor. . . just to install front struts. I know our springs are a *****, but I've done struts before on other vehicles. . it's not 600 bucks hard.

I have a feeling if I were driving a Pathfinder XE, he'd have offered a more reasonable price.

[fueler]

Yes, mechanics know that Pathfinder owners are usually broke-asses. Thats why i say that! Just kidding! (not really!)

but don't be offended, i am more broke than most homeless people around here. They ask me for change, i tell them THEY should be giving ME change!

[AlabamaDan]

Q by 4. I like it, but technically since it doesn't have lockers doesn't that make it a Q by 2? I know "I'm a geek."

[KoukiS14]

Q by 4. I like it, but technically since it doesn't have lockers doesn't that make it a Q by 2? I know "I'm a geek."

Nah, you're right. . just don't remind me, the truth hurts

[MagicM]

HAHAH Q by 4, From now on when i talk to Q by 4 owners and see it one the road iam going to say " hey look it's a Q by 4."

[KoukiS14]

http://www.theautochannel.com/....html

5th paragraph -- this is the article I read that I was talking about.

[bmlawless]

Plus, most mechanics know they can charge more with names like Lexus, Infiniti, versus Toyota and Nissan. I try to avoid that!

When I asked my mechanic of 12 years if he worked on Inifinitis he said, "No, I cross-reference the parts and work on Nissans. If I worked on Infinitis, I would have to charge you double." He also did my pre-purchase inspection. 45 minutes, 2 mechanic including him, no charge.

He's built his shop up from a two-bay crap-shack next to railroad tracks where they worked on cars outside to a state-of-the art facility that can fit 10 vehicles. He has kept 3 of the same mechanics as long as I have know him and has only raised his rates $15 in 12 years. He has a 3-week waiting list yet whenever I call him, the answer is always the same. "Bring it over and we'll squeeze it in." A day or two later it's fixed.

It's good when you find someone you can trust.