Infiniti Could Follow Cadillac and Lincoln by ditching 'Alphabet Soup' Car Names

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half_regard@reddit

they could also start making good cars, but... yeah

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yootapo@reddit

They have started making good cars.. the QX60, QX65 and QX80 are compelling and competitive products..

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Repulsive-Club7866@reddit (OP)

Their upcoming products future plans sound great to me way better than the previous years.

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half_regard@reddit

plans are always supposed to sound good, there'd be no point in announcing them if they were bad (unless you're ford)

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GlobalistCabal@reddit

But even Jaguars plans sound bad now.

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GearhedMG@reddit

That was the point of them entering the chat.

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GlobalistCabal@reddit

Oh after re-reading that you’re right.

I completely missed the joke.

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weirdbutinagoodway@reddit

I think Jaguar is just really confused and probably on drugs based on that commercial awhile back.

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pusch85@reddit

Their concepts and intentions always sounded good, but everything they delivered after the G/FX series has been mediocre at best.

Naming conventions aren’t gonna make for a better car. They just need to make better cars.

Give us modern G35s and FX35s.

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Shallow_wanderer@reddit

With the new "FX Successor" being a 4cyl FWD crossover

Yeah I'm not holding out hope for new Infiniti products anytime soon

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pusch85@reddit

I’ve completely written them off, which is sad considering how much I loved my G35 coupe.

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Mnm0602@reddit

I don’t think announcing overly complicated engines and CVTs would constitute “good” concepts and intentions. Everyone knew it was a shit strategy, and surprise, they performed terribly.

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BioDriver@reddit

I’m cautiously optimistic. I don’t know why but something about Espinosa’s roadmap seems like it’ll actually work and push Nissan back to their 90s glory days.

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

The 90s days were actual nightmare for Nissan, they were losing money and couldn’t find right way actually…

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Tony_Lacorona@reddit

So exactly the same place they’re in right now?

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No. The 90s, their supposed 'glory days,' actually left them $20b in the hole before Ghosn took over. He had Nissan profitable again in pretty short order, plus got us Zs and the GT-R. The success wouldn't last, but Ghosn dudn't just run things into the ground from the start.

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Lower_Kick268@reddit

Yeah but they here losing way more money, Nissan is going to survive this, before Ghosn they were borderline out of business

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cat_prophecy@reddit

Doing cool shit is one thing. Making money while doing it is quite another. You need to sell a lot of base models to make up for mostly losing your ass on one "halo" car.

It's a small wonder Nissan has some of the longest lifecycles in the industry. The GT-R was in production with only minor changes for EIGHTEEN YEARS.

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

Doing cool shit is one thing. Making money while doing it is quite another.

Everyone loves to meme Stellantis but all of those Wrangler Sports sold to sorority sisters are bankrolling 392s. I personally love a fleet of never-offroaded Jeeps that share parts with mine, nothing but acres and acres of parts pulls in the future.

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PozhanPop@reddit

But the 300ZX : -()

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roman_maverik@reddit

While an engineering marvel for the time, it wouldn't surprise me if Nissan lost money on each 300zx sale.

I do know that they lost money on every 370z sale until around 2017, which is why they extended the life cycle for so long.

The 2007 financial crisis really handicapped the margins on sports cars

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BioDriver@reddit

So an improvement!

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cubs223425@reddit

promising and delaying their EVs

Buick moment

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ThiefofNobility@reddit

To Nissan's credit... they seem to be trending upward.

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Several-Eggplant4460@reddit

The problem with Nissan isn't so much their cars as it is /r/Nissandrivers

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ThiefofNobility@reddit

Agreed, but their new CEO seems to really caring about the brand.

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FunSignificance3034@reddit

He could always rebrand to Datsun

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Lower_Kick268@reddit

They had a CEO that cared about their brand 10 years ago too, but they decided the best way to show their gratitude was to get him banned from the country the company was based in. Looking at the evidence I'm not sure if Ghosn was guilty of anything, to me it looks like he got set up because he wanted Renault and Nissan to become more intertwined so they would both live.

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

Crawling inside luggage is never usually the best way to make it known that you're not guilty of anything.

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BikingEngineer@reddit

So you’re not familiar with the Japanese justice system then? If you’re suspected, you’re nearly guaranteed to be found guilty. It wasn’t a great look escaping the country in a set of luggage, but it’s a better alternative than going to Japanese prison for the rest of your life on iffy charges.

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Lower_Kick268@reddit

Exactly, and quite honestly Ghosn may not have even done anything wrong. Looking at the evidence I really don't think he did anything at all, I think he was either a fall guy or set up

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Lower_Kick268@reddit

Yeah well when they're illegally holding you in solitary confinement for way longer than legally allowed, grant you bail with the restriction you can't leave the country, and you know you're gonna be found guilty because it's Japan I can't blame the guy

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quiksi@reddit

They’re mostly an also-ran running on old platforms these days, which is sad compared to where they were in the early 2000s.

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intothegoal1@reddit

Some variation of this is top comment on every Nissan and Infiniti post regardless of what the post is about. You guys are real funny..

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evosthunder@reddit

Now, now, they'll switch it up a bit with the Z and spam some variation of "I don't see these ever."

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Several-Eggplant4460@reddit

I mean... It's not funny, but if everyone repeatedly complains about it, that's a testament to how true it is, no?

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

that's a testament to how true it is, no?

If people who have actual experience do it, yes. If they're just repeating a meme, that's just propagating a meme.

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Lower_Kick268@reddit

They already do, the QX80 is the best fullsize on the market!

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drfsrich@reddit

Best I can do is an Altima with a funny face.

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brianSIRENZ@reddit

Regurgitating 20 year old trends...

Why are you even in this thread?

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Unkn0wnTh2nd3r@reddit

i mean.. aren't they technically a subbrand of Nissan? aka.. cars that have already always been kinda shit?

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kilertree@reddit

No. The Z and Frontier are solid. Nissan's without CVTs are okay. Nissan's VKK56 is starting to become popular with Hotrodders because they're dirt cheap and will make decent power with boost.

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narwhal_breeder@reddit

The "Nissan CVTs are all garbage" is outdated.
Modern Nissan CVTs are fine. 2017+ through 2019+ (depending on model) are all robust.

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narwhal_breeder@reddit

anything but that!

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RockysHotChicken@reddit

Infinity does make good cars.

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rohaniscoo1@reddit

can acura be next good lord

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gor134@reddit

Infiniti Skyline? 👀

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stoned-autistic-dude@reddit

The Skyline was just the G35 in Japan. People don’t seem to realize the Skyline was an economy car that got heavily modified for the GTR spec. It’s like a base Civic versus a Type-R (this is called an analogy, guys—relax). Yes, they’re fundamentally the same car but in essence have major differences between them.

So if they make an Infiniti Skyline, half this subreddit will rage that it isn’t a GTR when the reality is most Skylines sold were GTRs. Ever.

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T-Baaller@reddit

Having a halo trim with very high performance engineering and more pedestrian and affordable trims sharing essence is good and successful recipe.

Look at the Mustang: barely 1/2 the unibody is common between the ecoboost and the GTD, but that is enough for all of them to share some brand impression and that lets people that only afford a basic version feel good about wanting and owning them because of the shared 'essence'

I call bullshit that 'half the subreddit would rage' if Nissan corrected their error and made an R36 skyline+GTR a family again.

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stoned-autistic-dude@reddit

From experience, this subreddit rages at a lot less. They will absolutely complain. They'll find something.

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T-Baaller@reddit

Oh I wouldn't be surprised if someone threw a fit their GTR "feels less special" if someone can throw 50k at an infiniti dealer to get something that looks very similar.

I would expect most of this subreddit would clown on such a person though.

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3rdreprieve@reddit

I don’t know about “economy car”. I think it was clearly an executive sports sedan to fight against cars like the Toyota Chaser and the BMW 3 Series.

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takao-obi@reddit

Nissan not using the Skyline branding worldwide still is a mystery to me.

That name would have enough brand strength to sell plenty of non-GT skylines Sedans/ lower powered coupes to people who grew up on Grand Tursimo, Need for speed, Fast and furious etc.

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SlayerSEclipse@reddit

Even their CEO acknowledges that. Their margins are higher on Infinitis so they’re pushing that. Ideally for the consumer they make a Nissan Skyline and an Infiniti G like they’re doing with their SUVs.

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Ninesixx@reddit

If they make it, and its not terrible, that car would sell like crazy just based on name value.

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666Blonded@reddit

It's just the Japanese name for the g37/g37/q50

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Ninesixx@reddit

Im aware...

Doesn't change the fact that the Skyline name carries a lot more cache than whatever alphabet soup they name their cars now.

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

Infiniti Fuga and Cima also sound not bad. Unfortunately, we don’t think Nissan would make limo sedans anymore, M/Q70 was sold so poor in America and other world.

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PlatinumElement@reddit

Oh please yes.

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TripleShotPls@reddit

Not sure names are the issue here… was it less confusing with the FX and M, and J, and QX4? FX sold decently. The G sold well. Not the names that are the issue, is my guess. Having only two vehicles in the lineup isn’t helping. Then there’s the fact the QX50 wasn’t terribly compelling.

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BigMack1993@reddit

Bring back the name G35 or Skyline for the new q50. It would sell more.

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Ididntevenscreenlook@reddit

They are working on “a sports sedan with a optional manual”

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Pepalopolis@reddit

And it’ll be wildly overpriced and no one will buy it

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BigMack1993@reddit

For it to be successful, it will have to undercut the germans.

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Moth92@reddit

it will have to undercut the germans

That won't be enough. Too many people are fucking brand whores. The Germans have to fuck up badly.

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ZaheerAlGhul@reddit

Mercedes already fucked up with the C63 and they're not beating BMW except for maybe looks.

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Moth92@reddit

It can't be one trim level, it has to be the entire lineup. Like a fuck up so barz that MB looks like Hyundai in the 90s

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max_power1000@reddit

I mean they have everything they need between the current Q50 and the Z, just need to slap it together. A 340i stickers at 66-70k around me. No reason they can't come in under $60k when a base Z with the powertrain is $40k.

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BigMack1993@reddit

And Nissan just announced a new skyline so that will be it

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quiksi@reddit

Nah, Infiniti just needs MORE Q’s

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ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit

Cadillac is just naming cars after strippers. What would a Japanese stripper's name be?

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nar0@reddit

A Japanese stripper in Japan or in the US? Considering Infiniti doesn't exist in Japan.

Naming scheme for strippers is also different between the countries.

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Uptons_BJs@reddit

Funny - Infiniti and Cadillac both got their naming schemes reformed by the same guy. Johan De Nysschen, who succeeded at Audi when they reformed their naming schemes. It seems like Johan believes that the Letter+number name was a big contributor to Audi's success.

But I think Infiniti using alphanumeric names makes more sense than Cadillac did. Infiniti is Japanese, their name is a misspelling of a common word, their customers skew younger, and they don't have any heritage names like Cadillac did.

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ChasedWarrior@reddit

Plus Infinity has always used numbers and letters since its inception. So there history there.

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Uptons_BJs@reddit

I actually like the QX names to some degree too. Bigger number = bigger car. It's no less intuitive than BMW with their numbers.

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Ramuh@reddit

However BMW and merc for lack of a better term are grandfathered in. Also I think theirs make more sense than infiniti.

There’s only so many combinations you can make with just numbers and letters and if Mercedes and bmw have the best way and Audi has an ok way the others kind of have to be worse.

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mada447@reddit

Mercedes numbers haven't made sense after they quit making the numbers related to the engine. A GLE450 has a 6 cylinder engine. A GLE450e has a 4 cylinder. WTF??

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max_power1000@reddit

The problem started when they were putting forced induction on everything. If you had an E500 one year with a 5.0L V8, but move to a more powerful 3.3 V6 twin turbo in your next refresh, it's a hard sell to a customer that a E330 is better.

BMW is just as guilty. The 2nd and 3rd number used to indicate displacement until the E90 came out, and then we had a 335i with a turbo 3.0L, and now a 340i with a turbo 3.0L.

The Infiniti/Audi paradigm where you have a letter for sedan, different letter for SUV, and then a number denoting the vehicle size works great and is far less confusing - you just throw some badging on elsewhere telling everyone about the engine and drive configuration.

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Captain_Alaska@reddit

The 2nd and 3rd number used to indicate displacement until the E90 came out, and then we had a 335i with a turbo 3.0L, and now a 340i with a turbo 3.0L.

There isn’t a single generation of 3 Series where every badge matched the displacement. The 335i isn’t even the only exception on the E90 lol.

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tbOwnage@reddit

The Infiniti/Audi paradigm where you have a letter for sedan, different letter for SUV, and then a number denoting the vehicle size works great and is far less confusing

It's funny to see this because I feel the opposite. BMW and Mercedes make sense to my brain because reading them left to right denotes sedan/coupe/suv, model, trim. Whenever I read Audi and Infinity especially it doesn't make the same sense. Not saying either is correct or not, just neat to see the other side of the coin.

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Drdres@reddit

Sedan/coupe/estate all share the same name within the range though. BMW even ”tried” to fix that with the 4 series being coupe only but they ended up making a 4 door version regardless.

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Ramuh@reddit

Power Level 🥸

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mada447@reddit

No. A 4 cylinder engine is a downgrade from a 6 cylinder, full stop.

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Medical-Gate-9978@reddit

That little “e” indicates an electric motor, which you conveniently left out. Mercedes naming class makes complete sense: GL:A,B,C,E, S.

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mada447@reddit

We're talking about the numbers, not the letters. You have two cars with 450 but completely different sized motors. If they wanted a 4 cylinder hybrid, it should have been GLE350e.

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_FUCKTHENAZIADMINS_@reddit

The GLE450e is more powerful than the 450, if anything they should be calling the 6 cylinder the 350, no?

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

Which is why its a 4cyl w a 134hp electric motor

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trackdaybruh@reddit

Yup, they left out that the 4 cylinder is matted with an electric motor which outputs combined power a bit more than the 6 cylinder 450

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guisar@reddit

It was displacement, not cylinders ever

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jondes99@reddit

Same with BMW playing fast and loose with the 2nd and 3rd digits in recent years. I know turbos are the excuse but the application is still inconsistent.

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Bassracerx@reddit

Bmw does the same thing.

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Uptons_BJs@reddit

I mean, infiniti's naming isn't that confusing - bigger number = bigger car.

QX50 is small, QX60 is medium, and QX80 is big. No different than Audi (A4 = small, A6 = medium, A8 = big), or BMW (X3 = small, X5 = medium, X7 = big).

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cat_prophecy@reddit

The numerals used to refer to the engine size. G35 had a 3.5L V6. M45 had a 4.5L V8. Etc etc.

Then they lost the plot and started throwing random digits on everything. The Q50 doesn't have a 5.0l engine and the QX80 obviously doesn't have an 8 liter one.

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5tudent_Loans@reddit

Agreed. Then you have Mercedes who wants to fuck all our brains with their model naming scheme

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jondes99@reddit

Yes, this comment is way too far down. So are they bringing back the rest of the alphabet or are they assembling whole words?

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Saggy_G@reddit

G Money in the G20

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BeigeChocobo@reddit

One of life's greatest mysteries for me is how that dude managed to fail upward for so long.

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Uptons_BJs@reddit

He's out of the car business and works at a camera company now lol. But I can see it - He turned Audi from an also-ran into a major force. Failed at Infiniti, but probably explained it as "Infiniti was doomed anyways". Cadillac was the last straw, and after that, he's out.

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Noobasdfjkl@reddit

Ferdinand Piech deserves significantly more credit for Audi’s surge in esteem in the ‘00s than De Nysschen does. You could even argue that Martin Winterkorn was also as responsible for their success as De Nysschen does.

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crunchynibbas@reddit

And Infiniti has always had alphabet soup naming since their inception. Honestly I think it's less the random mismash of characters and more that they switched the model names for no good reason. The G35/37 were iconic names. Switching them to Q50 didn't really do anything.

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flapsmcgee@reddit

It should have always been the Infiniti Skyline. Idk why they didn't do that.

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MikeofLA@reddit

Infiniti's earlier alphanumeric model names, EX, G, M, Q, FX, and QX, while not great, were pretty good. Then they threw all of that brand recognition and good will away and changed everything to either Q-- or QX--.

That is the antitheses of memorable or interesting names.

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TEG24601@reddit

They are still Nissans... so no.

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skinnies@reddit

and lamborghinis are just vws

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TEG24601@reddit

Except Infinities are just rebadged Nissans. Lambos are their own thing.

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skinnies@reddit

so which car in the US nissan lineup is the rebadged Q50? Q60?

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robmox@reddit

Why single out Infiniti when the same applies to Mercedes and BMW?

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MoistBaguetteLawyer@reddit

Good. I have no idea what they, Mercedes, or BMW call their goddamn vehicles.

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RiftHunter4@reddit

To be blunt about it, the number soup thing only works if you actually have a broad product catelog. I dont understand why co.oanies do it if they aren't selling lots of variations across their product lines.

Infinit currently only sells 3 SUV's. Whats the point?

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MarsRocks97@reddit

They also have to make sense. Mazda calling their cars CX3, CX5, CX7, CX9 actually makes sense since they just represent increasing larger vehicle models. Other car companies are all over the place.

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max_power1000@reddit

And then you have the 3, and occasionally 6 as sedans as well. It's still weird how they added the CX-30/50/90 to the mix which are the same size as the CX-3/5/9 but I guess more butch?

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Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit

CX-3/5 = in theory povo spec

CX-30-90 = in theory fancier

Of course it looks like there's a decent chance the 2/CX-3 replacement will be the CX-20 and their cheapest car outside of rebadges and commercials, so I don't bloody know.

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TalbotFarwell@reddit

Imagine a Mazda CX-500 and it’s based on the GM Chevy Tahoe platform, lol. (The CX-900 is a Mazda ‘burban.)

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FlourCity@reddit

The number soup thing also starts to fall apart as catalogs get too large. just look at BMW and Mercedes. It's not complete garbage, but the letters and numbers are almost meaningless now and have changed half a dozen times over the past decade or two.

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mdp300@reddit

Audi did the same thing.

A4/6/8 were the small/medium/large sedans.
A3/5/7 were hatchbacks. But then they started making an A3 sedan, too.
Q5/7 were SUVS. Then the Q8, which is a sport back version of the Q7.
TT and R8 were unique sports cars.

Then they changed it ao even numbers were EVs, odd were gas. But now they might go back on that?

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DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit

Technically, right now, Infiniti only sells 2 SUV's. The QX65 hasn't hit dealers yet.

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thefanciestcat@reddit

After the big naming switch, I think of them more as a truckload of Alpha Bits scattered across a highway.

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zeekayz@reddit

What? Nothing better than the new Mercedes CLA250+ EQ

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cjx_p1@reddit

Infiniti’s scheme made a lot more sense before everything was a Q or QX

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k_dubious@reddit

Their problem is actually the opposite of alphabet soup. Nobody knows what any of their models are because they all start with the same letters.

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max_power1000@reddit

I think it's easier now actually. Q=car, QX=SUV. bigger number=bigger vehicle. It works just fine for Audi's whole lineup and BMW's SUVs.

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ISwearNotANarc@reddit

It didn't make sense for a bit because the QX70 (FX37 rebadged) was smaller than the QX60 (JX37 rebadged)

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SlayerSEclipse@reddit

It’s related to price/hierarchy, not size. I never really understood EX FX JX QX

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max_power1000@reddit

Well that was their fault initially for being stupid about it lol

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Captain_Alaska@reddit

It works just fine for Audi's whole lineup and BMW's SUVs.

Neither of your examples use the same letter at the start lol. BMW doesn't even have a letter for their sedans and Audi is A for car and Q for SUV.

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cilantno@reddit

Same with Volvo.
S/V and XC with numbers for size

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kograkthestrong@reddit

Such a stupid move

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kevinxb@reddit

I think about this blog post whenever this comes up

https://www.autoblog.com/news/infiniti-queues-up-questionable-q-and-qx-naming-scheme

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MTLMECHIE@reddit

Both naming systems were invented by the same guy, and it only worked with his old company, Audi. If they went QX, JX, FX and G again, it would make sense.

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Whatwhyreally@reddit

How innovative

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NetLumpy1818@reddit

Please do. I finally want a car named after a hungry old Greek broad

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VariationAgreeable29@reddit

Escalade is probably one of the most recognizable names in the entire industry. Numbers are pointless except for the 911, the 3 series, and the 7 series.

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DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit

What about the 5 series?

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peopeopeopeo10@reddit

TIL that Lincoln still exists

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max_power1000@reddit

Lincoln and Cadillac at least had a history of cars with actual names. Infiniti has been alphanumeric their entire history.

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s4ltydog@reddit

God I’d actually consider an Infiniti Skyline……

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

Except that Infiniti has ALWAYS been alphabet soup - the problem is that their nomenclature no longer makes sense and it's attached to mediocre also-rans.

Build better vehicles and make it so the average mouth-breather understands that more letter / bigger number equal more money and you're fine.

Porch calls the top trim Taycan "turbo", FFS.

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

If Acura can go lazy way, why Infiniti can’t ? Do many people still not know Honda sold their luxury models with same nameplates with different badge ?

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ghost6007@reddit

Alphabet soup used to mean something, usually indicated the class of car with engine displacement. The guys over at MB and BMW have been doing that as well.

Then came the idiot leader that basically threw that convention out the window and labeled everything "Q".

Granted in this idiotic area of combination power plants, those that still follow alpha numbers do not directly translate to engine displacement, they still indicate the class of car and relative power. Like MB S650 (S Class, 6.5L V12) or the BMW 750 (7 series, 5.0L V8).

Infinity idiots on the other hand, had the same thing, a G35 was a G series with a 3.5L V6. Now who the fuck knows that Q50 is a V6 and not a 5L V8.

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fiero-fire@reddit

Cadillac or I guess Cadillaq now could still use some work in the naming department

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braytag@reddit

I liked infiniti old name better, I knew what a fx was...

Now you have to think, which one is this again?

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aka_mank@reddit

Q was stupid

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theknyte@reddit

At least have the "alphabet soup" names make some kind of sense, like they used to.

Like Ferrari's numbering system usually involves engine size and/or cylinder count. Ferrari 599 = 5.999L V12, Ferrari 458 = 4.5L V8, Dino 156 = 1.5L V6.

The only time it got weird, is when they tried to tie Cylinder Displacement in the names. Ferrari 250 = (2963ccm/12cyl = approx. 250ccm/cyl) 330, 365, 488, and others followed this scheme.

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Ididntevenscreenlook@reddit

I know my flair makes me biased but I’ve owned plenty of brands and types of cars. Nissan has always done right by me and I’m genuinely excited to see what 2027+ models look like

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IAmWellBehaved@reddit

I mean, we'll see, but it sounds in the article like they'd just revert back to their original naming system, which also was alphabet soup. Is the new car really going to sell any better because it's called G35 rather than Q50? At least the Q/QX system showcases a certain hierarchy, even if I don't like it.

Cadillac and Lincoln had a rich legacy of giving real names to their vehicles. Infiniti, like Lexus or Volvo, does not.

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