So today I made my journey to the far freaking north west side of town in heavy traffic to pick up an oil filter at Wendle Infiniti (and get four tires installed at another place on the way back).

After I got my filter at the parts dept., I drove around the lot observing all the new vehicles they just got. For a long time, this dealer's selection was rather sparse with mostly I30s and nothing else. I leaned over and looked into an FX35... gorgeous! And the interior is just right... plenty of room for people and things without being a big empty wasteful ugly box, and without being a nerdy wagon.

The sales guy came up and started telling me all about it... but as a sedan man I naturally lost interest.

Now, this dealership is setup like a temple. The showroom sits very high and tall atop a hill with a very long flight of stairs. From the showroom, you can look out and see the entire lot.

At the top of this flight of stairs was a shiny silver M45, BEAUTIFUL, sort of nagging at me to come closer. The sun was shining on it at a perfect angle. The sales guy and I (he was very friendly and helpful) walked over there with me, and he grabbed the key.

First, I asked him where the key was. He showed me this nifty device with a nub on the end that you stuck in the ignition. Basically, take a keyless entry key fob and stick an electronic nub on the end of it, and thats the whole key. QUITE nifty!

I told him there was no way I'd be able to afford it for a couple years, and went on and on and on talking about how much I adored my 92 Q and vowed to drive it into the ground and how she and I would never part.

Sat in the M45 and looked all around, and did a walk around too. In photos, I didnt care for the way it looked. In person... this thing is gorgeous!!!! The rear is sleek while the front is muscular, and the whole car makes a dashing, bold statement. Imagine seeing an M45 in your rear view mirror... very intimidating. Unlike the BMW Z4 or 7-series, I didnt have to adjust the light and look at it from a specific angle to make it look good.

Its not quiet as roomy as my Q but isnt supposed to be. Seats are exceptionally supportive with adequate side bolstering and a soft enough seat. At first, I didnt like the photos of the center console in the Q and the M, because it seemed to put everything in one pod and leave a hollow space below, whereas my 92Q wrapped around me like a coccoon. Once inside, it was quite nice, and what I thought was an overcomplicated cluster of random buttons turned out to be a very intelligently laid out panel.

The screen wasnt fussy and clogged with data, and the buttons operated naturally the way I expected them to. I often confused the climate knob with the volume knob (my Q has climate buttons instead of knobs) but that was easy to adjust to. Even the voice commands were neat. People often call the gauges "ghoulish" but I do like the bright orange. I consider the ones on my Q to be rather sleepy. One downside? FM radio reception was weak. Oh well, since getting XM I never listen to that local crap anyway.

I again said to the guy that I'd never be able to afford it. I'm getting laid off (screw Microsoft!) and moving to St Louis to mooch off Mom and go to school full time. But he insisted that I take it for a spin. We got into another one, same color, fully equipped, and took it on a back road. Then we went to the other end of town and hit the freeway. I did my best to stress the tires on onramps, and hammered the hell out of the car and slammed hard on the brakes whenever I could.

Now, when I drive my Q, I catch myself smiling and on occasion blurting out "Booyeah!"

Maybe its because I'm single and dont have kids so I dont have anything like a wedding or childbirth to compare to, but today was possibly the most joyous day of my entire life. Without some degree of self-control I would have cried tears of joy! This damn car was a thrill times three!

When we got back, he tried to sell me an Anniversary Edition Q45 with 25k, but I wasnt that interested. Gorgeous and powerful but it isnt for me. Its missing that cat-like stance of the original Q, which the M45 has.

Thanks to Wendle Infiniti for showing me a great time and entertaining a kid. I'll be back when I finish law school to pick up my M45.

-Jesda

What a great write-up!You should tell them to come here and look at it.

Fred..:thumbup

I think I'll write a letter.

definitly a great write-up!!!!! i got in a small argument with my girlfriend when she said that the new Q is better looking than mine and i'm only saying that cause' i don't own a new one. the truth is, i agree with you jesda that there is something more striking and aggressive with the first gen Q compared with the third gen. if i was in the position to buy new though, right now, it would be a toss-up between the M45 or the G35coupe/350Z. also like yourself jesda, i'm not married or have kids, and on occasion while behind the wheel of my Q, i do hold back tears of joy(especially when my girlfriend is in the car, she just doesn't understand!!!) most recently when some wacko in a jeep suv thought he could follow a little too closely while driving on an on-ramp to the highway. he tried to keep up for about 5 seconds but lost the will to fight when the Q hit about 120 mph and he saw my rear bumper get smaller and smaller!!!!! they never learn. again, nice write-up! jeff

That was great, maybe you should be a writer. But hey I'm sure when you get done with law school and get into some work you'll have that M in no time!!!

http://www.autosite.com./editoria/asmr/ ... .aspSample of sales shown at this site YTD, by month etc.Oldsmobile Aurora 319 1,154 1,964 4,556 Infiniti M45........... 298 ........ - 1,645 ..... - BMW M5 ...............227..... 132 ....892 .... 818 Infiniti Q45........... 190 ..... 294 1,008 1,676 Lexus GS 430....... 190..... 277 852 ... 1,052 Audi A8................. 142..... ..84 396...... 456

So the Q45 isn't quite the sales bust all assume, given it's competition.

Audi A8 142 84 396 456 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 1,989 2,002 9,281 8,642 BMW 7 Series 1,973 2,209 8,358 8,888

But everything is losing to the MB S class and LS 430.

Categories are 2003 current month/2002 current month/2003YTD/2002YTD, left to right.

Keep iDrive in the 7-series, and Infiniti and Audi will win over new buyers in no time.

PtM03m45 wrote:That was great, maybe you should be a writer. But hey I'm sure when you get done with law school and get into some work you'll have that M in no time!!!

That's basically my plan as well.

I didn't wait until after law school. I got my new G 35 already and I start law school in a few months. I say go for it now. You will be the envy everyone in your class. Heck you will already be driving like an attorney. Who needs the dang JD?

I know what you guys are talking about. Every time I take my 95 Q into the revs in 3rd I say to myself "holy s**t". I added 18"s Tokico Blues and Eibach springs. That night for the test drive I left an Acura at a stoplight then absolutely lost him as I launched the car thru a clover leaf hitting close to 60 out of the end.

No need for another car until my darling Q is DEAD and DONE.

-Jesda

Hopefully, the student loans won't bust you when you're out. Otherwise, you may be dreaming about your M for quite a while, even after the JD.

Whew! Thank goodness I'm (very gratefully) mooching off my millionaire mother for school and living expenses.

Jesda, great writeup. I drove a M45 a few months ago and liked it too. But one question, why "screw Microsoft" what did they (err me, I started working for them 3 months ago) do to you?????? We're really a much kinder place now

Here in Washington, I work for a company that had a contract with Microsoft. My job got shipped to India. My company therefore had to let go of a few hundred people.

India is a neat country full of some bright people. Im even 10% Indian. But theyre not as bright as us!

-Jesda

MS if shifting all Tier 1 support offshore, like most American companies are doing for their customer service.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t

Discover the power of the button!

Tier 2 is going offshore two weeks afterwards. Customer service has been sent there. Companies in India are propositioning American companies to outsource developers (I saw a presentation). Oh well.

BadQ45t... you Microserfs are all very bad people! Shame! :P

-Jesda

maxnix wrote:MS if shifting all Tier 1 support offshore, like most American companies are doing for their customer service.

Hope they will keep development here. At least that is a current policy. I was thinking to join MS any time soon if my gigs will end.