A Luxurious Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
To many auto enthusiasts there is no sound sweeter than the baritone growl of a high performance, 32-valve, fuel injected V8 approaching redline. Count me in!
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| Mix the growl of a 32-valve V8 with taut handling and a wide assortment of luxury features and you have the Infiniti Q45. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Inject the aforementioned powerplant into a taut handling, superbly engineered, well-balanced four-door family sedan packing oodles of luxury features and you have what Infiniti calls a Q45
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| In 1991 the "Q" was introduced into Canada, preceded by an unorthodox and unfortunately ambiguous marketing campaign. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
For model year 1991, Infiniti introduced the newly minted Q45 into Canada. The "Q", as it is affectionately known among car-buffs, emerged alongside the Lexus LS 400. Both were the flagship models for what were recently formed upscale brands, with Nissan parenting Infiniti and Lexus the offspring of Toyota. Not to be left out, Honda gave birth to Acura around the same time. The goal of these manufacturers was to meet the Europeans, specifically the Germans, head-on in the game of automotive one-upmanship. This new breed of Japanese car caught the attention of the automotive world in the early 1990s and has held it ever since.
Although a remarkable automobile in just about every respect, the Q45 entered the world in a quirky sort of way which undoubtedly affected sales. Those paying attention will recall the rather peculiar marketing campaign adopted by Infiniti. The marketing gurus formulated a plan expected to build excitement and curiosity for the new Q, with TV ads that were narrated by a graying exec-type, highlighting nature and scenic roadways without ever showing the Q45. The print ads were equally ambiguous. Unfortunately the esoteric campaign likely contributed to the car's initial lackluster sales, a problem the model has had trouble shaking to this day.