Jim Banville

I'll soon be leaving the fold...

MapleOne

Infinity eh?

My brother sells these cars and they are not what everyone makes them out to be.

Nissan only uses a few different engines and platforms and then builds all the cars on them.

Sticking different badges on a car does not make it a different brand.

I would never buy this overpriced Nissan.

Sorry, but just my opinion.

AlpharettaC32

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Nissan Shoe!

tifosiv122

Good luck with the new car. I had a Nissan for several years, they are very dependable.

Erik

neptunespeed

I'm a big Nissan fan myself. Before this C230 sedan, I owned a '95 240sx and a '95 pickup. Both great dependable cars. I think you'll be happy. Keep us updated!

-Thach

Jim Banville

That's funny! I too thought it looked like a high top tennis shoe when I first saw it. The design does grow on you though. The seats are MUCH more comfortable than our C240. We'll be getting black exterior. Our first choice was black interior, but the brick color has a little bit of whimsy to it

JimB

with 99,000= miles and still running fine no oil leak what so ever

Good luck on your purchase. And I will be hanging out here more often because today is the day I' getting my '03 C320 Sport Sedan After 5 months of waiting, why? It's a factory order. Option added: C2, Teleaid, C4 and CD Chager, I am waiting for the MB driver to pick me up....Online purchase BTW

p.s. Hey Jim Banville...favor before you leave us can you post the picture of your flat hodd emblem and the sport grille? If you have time ..I missed that if you post this before

TY,
JimB

Jim Banville

MapleOne,
Could you give me more details on this? I understand that the FX is built on the platform for the G35, which is an excellent car in itself (I just talked a friend into getting a 6 speed silver/black G35 coupe), so rather than a "problem", I see this as a BIG plus! The FX35 we're looking at uses the same 280HP engine as my buddy's G35 coupe. What is it that these cars aren't? A sportscar handling SUV? That's what the professional reviews say. Are they lying? The Nissan Murano is probably a near twin of the FX, but it is either FWD or AWD, whereas the FX is either RWD or AWD. The bodies don't look that similar either.

tifosiv122

I think what he saying is Nissan uses the same parts as much as possible.

The 3.5 v6 is in:

Altima
Maxima
350z
g35
g35 Coupe
fx35
murano

There might be more...but thats a lot of cars for one engine, but this is how they save money and keep quality up.

Erik

jpb5151

Jim: why? Just Curious.

Also, could you post your impressions of the new vehicle after a week or so?

brianhn1

The Nissan Murano uses the Altima platform while the Infiniti FX35/45 uses the G35 platform. Notice that the Altima is front wheel drive while the G35 is rear wheel drive.

True that the Murano and the FX are close twins but both uses totally different drivetrains, different platforms, and have different engine positions.

Jim Banville

Well, we were driving Ford Expeditions for several years before going to the C240 (we can only afford one nice/main vehicle - we also have a '91 Nissan 240SX which spends most of its life parked). I'm a car guy and wanted a European luxury car, thus, the C240. The C240 has gotten figuratively smaller over the last year we've driven it. While we still enjoy its ride quality and overall reliability, my wife (and me also, to a degree) is ready to go bigger again. She likes to ride high, and since I drive a company car, she drives the main car (to work and carrying our two children to school and soccer) most often. I hated the floaty ride of the Expedition and wanted something more car-like. She also didn't want to go SO big as the Expedition again. We were looking at the Volvo XC90 when we came across the FX while helping my friend buy his G35 coupe. The style is unique and all the reviews are positive. The seats are comfortable, but we didn't have time to drive it. We wil be going up to Birmingham, AL next week and will drive it. If we decided to get one, it will be a few months out. On a related note, I don't know if its the introduction of the C230K sedan, but the resale on our C240 has tanked

tifosiv122

Thats exactly what happened.

Erik

AlpharettaC32

I'm just teasing you, Jim. You've been a good defender of the line and I had to rib you for jumping continents.

I've seen the car/truck/van (what the hey do THEY call it, anyway?) for a while, and I can't say I like it..but I won't be driving it or riding in it, so my opinion matters for naught!

(But I'm WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY faster than it. )

Enjoy it! Nissan/Infiniti have super build quality and reliability.

bagwell

did you try CARMAX....how much ???

xyzpl

Nissan's are great!! I've own a 1992 300ZX TT, a 1990 240SX SE, 2 1995 240SX's, and they have never given me any problems at all.

and the 1995 240Sx's are my race cars, I drove them HARD!!! The engine from nissan is just like a big block of iron, they work hard and are vertualy indestructable!!!

You'll love your Nissan, enjoy it!!!

LorinserCClass

The Infinity FX is one of the few cars that I STILL do a double take and stare in awe! I was considering one of them but for some reason I ended up w/the Audi. Careful w/them "packages"! They get very $$$. Also the Infinity dealers tend to very easy to negotiate with

jpb5151

Oops, sorry Jim, we got one of those 230k sedans...

Why you're getting it makes a lot of sense.

If you've got time, maybe you could squeak out an extra couple thousand from the 240 by selling it privately?

MB-BOB

Now, let's see. Mercedes Benz uses it 3.2L V6 in:

C320
C32 AMG
C320 Sport Coupe
SLK320
SLK32 AMG
CLK320
E320
ML320
S320

Maybe more, including some Chrysler cars (Crossfire)?

Using common engines across several model lines is nothing new, regardless of "Brand"

All the Nissan V6 engines can be traced, not only to the current crop, but back to the genesis motor... the 3.0L SOHC V6 I had in my 1984 Nissan 300ZX, the first production Japanese V6. They've since added DOHC, and several other improvements, finally increasing the bore this year. Point is, they must have done something right to keep that motor in the inventory so long.

Although I'd buy it in a G35 Coupe before would buy it in the FX, but that's just me.

tberry

i guess if i have to get an SUV and can afford a premium brand it'd be the FX45! I like the look, not very utility though from the shape but it stands out. VW is also bringing out their Toureg did u look into it Jim? shoot exterior wise i'd rather have FX45 over the Cayene. A good conservative btwn the two is the X5 of course...time for MB to update the ML

*My borther has a 97 Maxima and that thing has been a POS since day one. He's getting rid of it soon and thank god for extended warranty (still no loaners of course)

Kar don

How about an RX330? I think that is a much better choice than the FX35. I love the new look of it and am thinking about getting one myself.

MarkL

Jim, good luck if you go forward with your plan. I haven't been much of an "SUV person" until now, but the Murano/FX has really caught my eye. Overall, the Infiniti version has a stronger appearance, especially the front, IMO. Black w/ the copper will be awesome!

The only Nissan I ever owned was a 1991 G20. It was reliable and nice for a while, but I got bored with it, especially due to its lack of low-speed power. But, it held its value -- I pushed a hard deal to get it for about $17,500 and sold it 4 years later (privately) for $12,300.

Mike T.

These things are quite....errr....interestingly styled. They (the Murano in particular) actually show more than a passing resemblance to some of the hideous Patrick Le Quement designs coming out of Renault (Nissan's parent company) these days. The blobular look of the Infiniti version is old, looks early 1990s to me (Mazda 626, droopy bum Infinity J series, etc)

I predict that vehicles like these will date rapidly and the fashion lemmings will migrate en masse to some other sort of vehicle architecture soon. In fact I think it's already happening to some degree, witness the new crop of wagons that are popping up here and there.

However, styling is evidently subjective and if you like this Franco-Japanese look go ahead.

I can understand being bored with a C 240 though. I'm glad we went the C 230 K route instead.

Don't expect miracles with reliability either. Nissan is nowhere near as good as Toyota or Honda in that regard. But hey, if you change your cars this often, this won't matter too much.

Good luck.

viper

This is so true. We should appreciate the fact that MB does not radically change their styling when they redo a model. They keep their styling clean and sophisticated. Over in BMW land the Chris Bangle inspired changes have not been overwhelmingly successful.

CRB

The new look is great, except for the upward migration of the taillights. Yuck-O!

On the FX twins, I'm not a big fan of Renault/Nissan/Infinity's latest wave of cars styling-wise. If you opt for the V-8 model- It has a real nice engine, though.

Best of luck to you and I hope your R/N/I is as VERY RELIABLE as your old M-B.