My mom got a new one in 1991. It was a gorgeous car with dark green paint, off white leather and gold BBS lace wheels. I felt like such a bad ass when she picked me up from school.
+matt k I didn't even pay attention to cars at that age. And judging on the year, I am probably about your age. I really only started caring about cars in high school.
matt k how did your mom have such good taste? My dad makes $135K a year and my mom always insisted on driving the shittiest Ford Windstar or Buick Rendezvous, both in base trim.
Acura Legend too!! Cadillac and Lincoln had a dated style back in the 90s they still had the 70s and early 80s boxy styled cars, but both of them got their act together and started updating their car styles
I love this car. My first job as an auto mechanic at 18 was at an Infiniti dealership, by 19 I was an ASE master technician. The engines where outstanding. Anything close was the Corvette ZR1 engine. I used to love the test drive after the work was done. Very enjoyable car to drive. The best version of this car was the Q45a which had the active suspension setup similar to F1 at the time. You could go hard into a corner and you would have literally 0 body roll. If you ever get a chance to drive an 'a' do it, it's a trip.
I never understand why people thumbs down these vids. These are classics we've all watched for years and years. That someone hated this enough to hit the dislike button just amazes me :/
jtb1990419 big difference then to now for you - shit I was born twenty years before you and the cars of the 80's and 90's were what I grew up with and learned to drive. I'm glad you can appreciate these vehicles - many innovations from these times that were considered 'rare' have found there way into cars of today. Nowadays multi cam VVT V8s are everywhere but were still hi-tech in cars like this Q :)
Chris Dooley this period of cars were my favorite as they were the last era before the bubble shape took over everything, making all cars look the same. You are also correct about the technology of this era. No one thought that DOHC 32-valve V8 engines would be popular. Now they are relatively common. I would have loved this Q45 or a Lexus LS400 from the era as my first car, but my budget didn't reach that far. My first car was a 1994 Buick Park Avenue Ultra in all black with the supercharged 3.8. It was a boat, but I loved its looks and performance. Now I have a 2006 3.3 DOHC V6 Hyundai Sonata, which I also love but don't feel that it is as unique. It is like a bouncy castle on wheels with six airbags in the seats, side curtain, and the standard driver and passenger areas. I would have called someone crazy when I was a kid if they would have told me that!
I bought my 1990 Q45 in 2003 and had it until I sold it about 3 years ago. I hated to get rid of it, and still miss it. I kept it immaculate for it's age, and the guy that bought it from me actually gave me an additional 100 dollars because he couldn't believe the condition. If money was no object, I'd buy it back if it was still in the same condition. The problem with owning a sport luxury sedan that is 25 years old, is, everything is getting old....all rubber, suspension parts and components. Starts to get very expensive, and with a spouse that doesn't understand holding on to a 25 year old vehicle....that becomes a tough sell....
"Taller passengers will find rear leg room limited" says John Davis as the guy models half an acre between himself and the front seat. Ah, how standards of rear-passenger comfort have diminished over the years...
I always like mustangs but 220 hp from a 5.0 compared to this ? Amazing machine from nissan they should have put it in a sports car i know the v6 tt its nice but still.
Sure was!! I drive one for 3 weeks back in 1995. The big boat could move. And was rear wheel drive so mine would sometimes fish tail if pushed too hard. Would scare me half to death!
They criticized the armrest-mounted trunk and gas tank door release buttons. But the placement of these buttons was actually ideal for effortless use when opening and exiting the driver’s side of the car. My old Maxima had this same setup and I loved it.
Part of the trouble with the lack of character today is that the brands have tended to converge on a single idea for what each class of car should drive like. Back then a midsize luxury car from any of the luxury makes would drive very differently from one another. Today they drive pretty similarly, the main difference is how they are "dressed."
Wait a second, I'm confused. Q45? This moniker makes too much sense. Q stands for Q-ship or Flagship and 45 represents the 4.5 liter, 32v V8 under the hood. I hate it when naming conventions make sense. What a stupid idea. I'm SO glad that Infiniti's entry level sedan is now called the Q50. It's so obvious a compact executive sedan with a 3.7 liter V6 should be called a Q50. After years of improperly named models, Infiniti finally got it right.
+di foo!! That 7 Liter Inifinity Q70! Hot damn! I know it comes in 3.7L and 5.6L and a 3.5L hybrid. I totally agree that a Q56 would make the most sense to cars gars and Infititi past customers but it appears they are taking the route the Germans are and keeping or bringing back numbers of the past to reconnect the buyer with the old one but that's just confusing! Displacement is important which is why I call every original 5.0 Mustang it's proper 4.9L name.
di foo!! I know, right? Infiniti even had a "good" idea with the late 90's with the revised 4.1 liter Q45. They probably had to join the BMW and Mercedes bandwagon of naming their cars after engine displacements that were wrong.
@@shawndon7374 I liked the muscle car V-8s from 1971 and earlier, but their ratings were in GHP (gross HP), which was done by testing the engine independent from the vehicle it's installed in, and such tests were done with the flywheel alone with no accessories attached.
Because these were so shunned by the market, these old q's are probably the best car for the money you could ever buy now. The body was incredibly solid, and very rust resistant. If you know how to diagnose and repair cars they are easy to keep going. They are very reliable once you fix the common (age related) issues. Even by today's standards, the performance is good. The clincher is you can pick up a really nice one for around a grand.
I agree. I can easily see one of these lasting 50 years with proper maintenance and repair, the bodies simply do not rust. As far as the supposedly way better LS400, time has proven that myth wrong. Infiniti sold less than 60,000 q45's between 1990 and 1996, probably less than a third of LS400 sales over the same time period, so why is it an even rarer sight for me to see LS400's? I still see the odd q45 roaming around...
Maestro_T he has a bespoke oil pressure gauge in a pocketwatch case that he will hand hand down to his grandson one day, and his grandson will treasure it forever
I remember when the Infiniti Q45 first hit the US market. At the time, I found it *less* attractive than Toyota's Lexus LS400. Looking back on it, I find it *more* attractive than today's Infiniti cars and SUVs.
My wife and I test drove a '98 model last summer when we were shopping used cars. Beautiful, solid vehicle; it was like Japanese luxury-meets-American muscle! We ultimately didn't want to deal with the RWD in our harsh West Michigan winters, but it was a blast to drive.
I’ve been watching this show forever. I’m 42, and since I was like 8ish, I watched this show on the local PBS affiliate KQED (probably starting around 1984) since Day 1, John and Gosses Garage have been a treat to watch! They still make the TV show!
It really is a shame that Infiniti failed the Q45 with the moronic ad campaign that didn't feature the CAR prominently in advertisements. It was a beautiful, unique, and innovative design with remarkable performance and tech.
My dad bought a new Q45 in 1990 when I was 5 years old. Other than routine maintenance the car was comfortable, reliable and safe for 7 years. My older sister learned how to drive in it and it saved my sister, myself and my mom when we were rear-ended by a Cadillac when the driver took his eyes off the road.
Always loved the first gen Q45 (before the facelift which made it less distinctive imo, not more as was the plan), it was an incredible car for its time and so underrated. Its also nice to have a higher quality version of this review now. I want one. Also I don't think it really needs an engine swap, its perfectly fine the way it is. Weren't 278hp underrated anyway, I read somewhere that it actually must have been closer to 300?
Always thought the emblem up front over the top. It was like a fine piece of jewelry on a woman's dress. Had a M30 drop top back then.... a trouble free beauty.
This car does it in 6.9 sec not 7.2. These Infiniti cars in the early 90s were ahead of competition. Their build quality and materials were better than the competitors too. Infiniti Q45 and J30 drew a lot of attention.
@@ScubaSteveM45 The Emperor has the grille-less front end of the Q45 (almost unique to the Q45, except for a Passat of the same time) as well as the taillights. The Merit was probably the Mazda 929 from the '90's. It had curvy lines.
@@MaestroTJS I'll have to look for one next time I play. I owned a 1994 Q45 with the bigger chrome slat grille and that does match the Merit in the front and sides pretty well
That was my first car a 1990 Q45 got it with 102,000 miles in 1999 that car was fast as hell. I had a car phone lol never had it hooked up i used to fake like i was talking to people on it lol
I had a 1994 version. Gorgeous car with very, very good handling and well ahead technologically for its time. The engine has a lot of power once you are at high way speed. Transmission is slow off the line, but once you get going however, it was a fast car. A gentleman's sports sedan
It's always amazing seeing how good of condition these and the 1st gen Lexus LS still are compared to their competitors. They've held up very well interior materials also
That dig at the beginning about the car’s ad campaign is a fair bit more tongue in cheek than I would expect from Motorweek, but to be honest, Infiniti deserved it. What a terrible way to market a car.
I remember a few years ago someone wanted to give me this car for free, needed a couple of things, tires and brakes with some paint issues. Never took it. Good car for its time.
I owned a new gold one all options and in the dry weather it was awesome, comfortable vehicle on my many trips. The one complaint, don't drive it in the snow
Excellent car, only victimized by a weak ad campaign. Lexus advertised the hell out of the less-expensive 1990 LS, and won the crowd, like Maximus did in "Gladiator".
I had one of these back in the day. I'll never forget, it was two days old when my maid Millie crashed it into a brick wall and totaled it! I replaced Millie with Zoila and replaced the Infiniti with a Jaguar XJ6
bliglum I agree on that. I'd love to have one and have almost bought one in the past. The Q45 is also good, though, and I'd love to have a '94 model with the updated styling. A '94 BMW 740 is the grail for me, though!
I owned two 1st gen Q45s. These cars had the fuel tank mounted above the floor between the trunk and rear firewall, you could access the tank through the trunk. This setup gave them a tendency to get tail happy at the limit due to the higher center of gravity, especially with a full tank. 1st gen Q45s and the mid to late 90s Maxima were still the best cars Nissan ever produced.
Im a Infiniti master technician from the early Infiniti years, that car was a amazing vehicle and that engine could easily push 500hp with the ecm reflash for racing.the best Q45 was the 1994 year model for the fact that the transmission was designed to take of in first wear instead of second like the previous years.
David Wendel I know right? I drove one and I wasn't impressed until I slammed the pedal to the floor. Bottom end is lacking but man...once it gets up there it's something to behold. Only thing is nissan/infiniti is known for complicating things to no end. I tried repairing one of these and couldn't find the issue. I thought I was a failure until the customer reported several shops had it for days at a time and never figured out the reason for it's failure. It had the strangest no-start condition I've ever seen. Only thing i figured could be the issue was the igniter but the customer told me a shop ruled it out (not sure if that's true or not). She ended up selling it for 500 bucks. -_-
'sensor' on the gear shifter telling the car its 'in gear' tgerefore wont start... i bet sometimes it started and sometimes it didnt tap the gear shifter forward while in park and then try to start it for future refrence.
I've seen so many Nissans/Infinitis from the 90s onward with that 'Econ' button in the automatic temperature control and always wondered if anyone ever used it.
Supercars? No, I think you mean high-end luxury cars. Even Nissan's own 300ZX turbo at this time could do a 5.5 second 0-60 time. But true luxury cars prior to this point were underpowered poor handling boats. This changed the game, particularly with American manufacturers.
@@VideoAmericanStyle actually @Doobie1975 is correct. In the real world any fast car of this era with an automatic transmission had a huge advantage to sports cars with manual transmissions because even though they might have been slightly quicker on paper there was a 90% chance on the street the people driving them wouldn’t be able to drop the clutch at high RPM and hit every gear perfectly. I remember Car and Driver Magazine got 0-60 in 6.7 seconds for their Q45 in the day. If a Ferrari Testarossa was 5.3 and a Lamborghini Countach was 5.5 I guarantee you in 90% of conditions there wouldn’t be much in it between these cars as both of those were notoriously hard to get out of the hole without causing expensive clutch wear
I love the interiors of Japan premium cars from 90's, this, Camry Ls400, GS, Legend. Visually they are very similar, ex this gauges look like in 4th gen Camry
Wanted the Q until I laid eyes on the M30 drop top. Traded in my 300Z for one in pearl white with tan interior. The car turned a lot of heads. Longest I ever kept a car.
I beg to differ on the opinion of the Q45 being less luxurious inside than the LS. The LS felt claustrophobic inside. I think the Lexus looked nicer in pictures but the Q45 FELT nicer sitting inside. In the brochure from Infiniti, they mentioned how a team of engineers designed the interior of the Q to have a pleasant tactile sense. They succeeded. Every surface in that car was wrapped in padded grain vinyl. The door pockets had no hard plastic edges. The door handles were real metal and felt like like a firm hand shake as they were designed to do. Every switch had a soft notch feedback. The seats had inverted seams along where your spine sits to avoid fatigue or irritation. Infiniti purposely skipped the tacky wood grain and cupholders in that 1st gen Q because they considered the use of wood to be wasteful, it's reflectivity causes glare and increases noise. They also didn't think we should be drinking anything while driving 😆. The general public demanded the wood and crappy seats that came along in 1994. Aside from the plastic timing chain guides (that should have been metal coated in plastic) from 1990-1993 these cars were wonderfully over engineered in typical Japanese fashion of the time.
Genuinely surprised John didn’t comment on the lack of a grille. In my memory, it was deemed “too weird” for the American market, and this was changed during the first facelift.
In the beginning they went after Cadillac and Lincoln buyers. But didn't understand their desire for more conservative looks. If they had tried marketing to BMW/Mercedes drivers, like they did later, the grill (or lack of) would have been easier to accept.
Couple of things here...1st of all it seemed like a pretty decent amount of leg room to me? Secondly, it's interesting he mentioned the sharing of switchgear with the Maxima...looking at luxury cars of the time; they all did the same. Cadillac used the EXACT signal stalk as other GM vehicles for ages..Lexus did and STILL uses the EXACT cruise control stalk as every other Toyota product. Pretty much any carmaker that uses mainstream models as the basis for their luxury brand...
Looks for the Q45 were fairly controversial back in the day. The front looks specially weird with that big infiniti badge. Get rid of it and the car would look 10x times sleeker. If you still want a badge get a smaller one that is just the metal badge without a background
This was a great car sabotaged by a weird ad campaign showing Green rain forests, and I think raindrops slowly dripping of leaves, no voice audio maybe birds chirping here and there, and no showing of the car just the Infiniti badge at the end, absolutely strange. They should have advertised its performance over the ls400. Look at its superior acceleration, handling, and nearly nonexistent brake dive when compared to motorweek's test of the ls400. I remember the first time seeing a q45 on the road I was on the 15 in my 240sx going to Vegas at about 85 mph when one passed me going about 120 mph. I passed it though a little while later when it was stopped on the side of the road with a mustang cop car behind it. It happened to be a nice looking blonde driving the q45---probably got off with a little "work" lol. Ls400 had the very best quality but the Infiniti was very close there too. That ad campaign really got Infiniti off to a slow start.
I never could warm up to the front end styling on this car, it looked kind of tacked on. The same car in Japan is called the Nissan President, it has a much more formal look with a big chrome grill, the hood doesn't taper down, bigger headlights, hood ornament, lots more chrome all over the car. And it was on a much longer wheelbase, IMO that's the model they should have sold here, it looked like a million bucks. Nissan missed the mark with this car, the more luxury oriented and traditional Lexus LS400 handily out sold this car. Even traditional luxo barges like the Deville and Town Car were selling like gangbusters in the early 90's, really I don't think the market was there for something so different. Also didn't help that Infiniti's ad campaign sucked. They were making fun of it at the beginning of the video.
Like the z32 300zx, the q45 was a gorgeous car when introduced. It had more personality and driver appeal than the Mercedes look alike ls400. Its lack of a garish and shiny chrome grill and gaudy wood grains on the dash didn't win many friends in the u s. It really was a blast to drive and much more stable than the lexus .
I've been looking for this review for a long time! I love the quirky styling of this generation. Any review of the Infiniti J30? Another really cool looking Infiniti from the 90s.
Didn't these cars have transmission issues... a lot failed before hitting a 100k but most of all it was also notorious for another problem that was very common and costly to repair which made them way cheaper to buy used 5-10 years after new then a ls400. The early 90s ls400 was way more reliable then the q45,I still see a few early 90s here and there. Late 90s are common too but I don't see q45s at all not even the late 90s one or the early 2000s which was the last gen of them. My friend had an 03 I think and it was nice all around with the cool headlights and the nice interior,I think they all came stock with a screen to control things,way before everyone started doing that
larry Zeldin I own a 1992 and a 1997 touring. The only problem I’m aware of was the plastic chain guides in the 1990 that would become brittle and need replacement with metal ones. The 1997 however, perfect in every way.
I would say quite impressive for 1990, just add a sat-nav and a couple more airbags and you have a modern car. But again, $40,000 was a tidy sum back then. Exterior design was a wonderful blend of 80's and 90's styling fashion, clearly a transition model.
Almost $92K today. That's a big ask for a relatively new name. Yes, they were far better than what Nissan was producing at the time, and Lexus had shown what a Japanese company formerly known for economy cars could do. But Lexus also had a two year head start and was the darling of the automotive press right from the beginning.
My mom got a new one in 1991. It was a gorgeous car with dark green paint, off white leather and gold BBS lace wheels. I felt like such a bad ass when she picked me up from school.
+matt k I didn't even pay attention to cars at that age. And judging on the year, I am probably about your age. I really only started caring about cars in high school.
Shaun damn
I know the feeling man. My mom had a 2005 one. instead of feeling embarrassed when my mom picked me up I was proud xD
matt k how did your mom have such good taste? My dad makes $135K a year and my mom always insisted on driving the shittiest Ford Windstar or Buick Rendezvous, both in base trim.
My Dad got a black on black 91 Caprice that year. You may have felt like a badass in your mom's Nissan, but I can assure you that you were not.
Both the Q45 and the LS400 were luxury game changers in the 90's!
@SuperRegal79 without a doubt…
Acura Legend too!! Cadillac and Lincoln had a dated style back in the 90s they still had the 70s and early 80s boxy styled cars, but both of them got their act together and started updating their car styles
@DC Williams You sure about that?
@DC Williams they're all ugly as hell.
I HATE HATE HATE A pillars the size of 4x4 lumber posts...
For about 2 years until the Germans brought their V8s. Infiniti V8s were famous for blowing up if you drove them hard at all.
I love this car. My first job as an auto mechanic at 18 was at an Infiniti dealership, by 19 I was an ASE master technician. The engines where outstanding. Anything close was the Corvette ZR1 engine. I used to love the test drive after the work was done. Very enjoyable car to drive. The best version of this car was the Q45a which had the active suspension setup similar to F1 at the time. You could go hard into a corner and you would have literally 0 body roll. If you ever get a chance to drive an 'a' do it, it's a trip.
I love how mine drives. even on the OE struts. the lack of roll is astonishing.
Haven't seen a Q45a on the road in probably 20 years.
777jones haha yeah if only I could fix the active on mine.
Good luck finding one
I never understand why people thumbs down these vids. These are classics we've all watched for years and years. That someone hated this enough to hit the dislike button just amazes me :/
Chris Dooley I think that it's really cool to see the cars that came out when I was a kid. This Q45 came out the year I was born.
jtb1990419 big difference then to now for you - shit I was born twenty years before you and the cars of the 80's and 90's were what I grew up with and learned to drive. I'm glad you can appreciate these vehicles - many innovations from these times that were considered 'rare' have found there way into cars of today. Nowadays multi cam VVT V8s are everywhere but were still hi-tech in cars like this Q :)
Chris Dooley this period of cars were my favorite as they were the last era before the bubble shape took over everything, making all cars look the same. You are also correct about the technology of this era. No one thought that DOHC 32-valve V8 engines would be popular. Now they are relatively common. I would have loved this Q45 or a Lexus LS400 from the era as my first car, but my budget didn't reach that far. My first car was a 1994 Buick Park Avenue Ultra in all black with the supercharged 3.8. It was a boat, but I loved its looks and performance. Now I have a 2006 3.3 DOHC V6 Hyundai Sonata, which I also love but don't feel that it is as unique. It is like a bouncy castle on wheels with six airbags in the seats, side curtain, and the standard driver and passenger areas. I would have called someone crazy when I was a kid if they would have told me that!
because people cant appreciate anything.
This aged well
I bought my 1990 Q45 in 2003 and had it until I sold it about 3 years ago. I hated to get rid of it, and still miss it. I kept it immaculate for it's age, and the guy that bought it from me actually gave me an additional 100 dollars because he couldn't believe the condition. If money was no object, I'd buy it back if it was still in the same condition. The problem with owning a sport luxury sedan that is 25 years old, is, everything is getting old....all rubber, suspension parts and components. Starts to get very expensive, and with a spouse that doesn't understand holding on to a 25 year old vehicle....that becomes a tough sell....
that sucks lol get rid of the spouse… i’ll never sell my ls400
Time to go enjoy some newer beauty, many great cars have come and gone since these and many were better in every way.
"Taller passengers will find rear leg room limited" says John Davis as the guy models half an acre between himself and the front seat. Ah, how standards of rear-passenger comfort have diminished over the years...
I had a 91 back in the day. That thing was an absolute beast when you put your foot down, and had a wonderful exhaust growl from that V8.
0-60 in 6.9 sec bebe
noobz My '15 V6 Cadenza can do that and get 34 mpg on the highway. My how cars have progressed.
I always like mustangs but 220 hp from a 5.0 compared to this ? Amazing machine from nissan they should have put it in a sports car i know the v6 tt its nice but still.
Sure was!! I drive one for 3 weeks back in 1995. The big boat could move. And was rear wheel drive so mine would sometimes fish tail if pushed too hard. Would scare me half to death!
Then they all blew up, didn’t even make 50k most of them.
"We're in Arizona!" ---> still wears the same supersize coat and sweater combo.
lol
kz1000ps its cold in zonieland in winter
actually the colors change! just not the style.
yep
he just lies about the location.
They criticized the armrest-mounted trunk and gas tank door release buttons. But the placement of these buttons was actually ideal for effortless use when opening and exiting the driver’s side of the car. My old Maxima had this same setup and I loved it.
I get nostalgic when I watch these old retro motorweek reviews. Cars today lack the character I think of these older cars.
I agree. Cars nowadays are going for that futuristic spaceship look. They are starting to look the same.
+jeffrey exposito everything after 2005 maybe 2008 started looking cookie cutter.
+Mike Czenkus Cars don't look futuristic, we just live in the future.
@@kupidzheart My Charger still sets itself apart. A RWD V8 powered sedan is a dying breed.
Part of the trouble with the lack of character today is that the brands have tended to converge on a single idea for what each class of car should drive like. Back then a midsize luxury car from any of the luxury makes would drive very differently from one another. Today they drive pretty similarly, the main difference is how they are "dressed."
I still see 1st gen LS400s all the time. I've literally never seen one of these on the road, even when they were much newer.
Wait a second, I'm confused. Q45? This moniker makes too much sense. Q stands for Q-ship or Flagship and 45 represents the 4.5 liter, 32v V8 under the hood. I hate it when naming conventions make sense. What a stupid idea. I'm SO glad that Infiniti's entry level sedan is now called the Q50. It's so obvious a compact executive sedan with a 3.7 liter V6 should be called a Q50. After years of improperly named models, Infiniti finally got it right.
di foo!! Your sarcasm has been noted.
Hahaha. you slay me.
lmao. I love how its not related to the engines anymore. 😂
+di foo!! That 7 Liter Inifinity Q70! Hot damn! I know it comes in 3.7L and 5.6L and a 3.5L hybrid. I totally agree that a Q56 would make the most sense to cars gars and Infititi past customers but it appears they are taking the route the Germans are and keeping or bringing back numbers of the past to reconnect the buyer with the old one but that's just confusing! Displacement is important which is why I call every original 5.0 Mustang it's proper 4.9L name.
di foo!! I know, right? Infiniti even had a "good" idea with the late 90's with the revised 4.1 liter Q45. They probably had to join the BMW and Mercedes bandwagon of naming their cars after engine displacements that were wrong.
"This car will be around for a long time!"
RIP, 2006.
It lasted a long time.
It's a shame that they did not sell well. I loved the fact that it handled so beautifully!
Why did the Q45 fail to take the crown from the Maxima, anyway?
@@ClassicTVMan1981Xbecause people don't appreciate RWD cars with v8s anymore sadly. Same happened with lexus GS. The ES outlived the sporty GS.
@@shawndon7374 I liked the muscle car V-8s from 1971 and earlier, but their ratings were in GHP (gross HP), which was done by testing the engine independent from the vehicle it's installed in, and such tests were done with the flywheel alone with no accessories attached.
Wow. This car has aged well for an over 25 year old car. I really like the interior on this one.
Me too. No wonder many didn't like the q45 as most people have gaudy taste for chrome and wood.
Because these were so shunned by the market, these old q's are probably the best car for the money you could ever buy now. The body was incredibly solid, and very rust resistant. If you know how to diagnose and repair cars they are easy to keep going. They are very reliable once you fix the common (age related) issues.
Even by today's standards, the performance is good.
The clincher is you can pick up a really nice one for around a grand.
"If I ruled the world and everything in it, sky's the limit, I'd push a Q45 infinite".- Nas(it was written)
🙌🙌👌👌👌😁😁😁
These were so durable and downright reliably built. I'll never forget it... Nissan made such an innovative vehicle.
I agree. I can easily see one of these lasting 50 years with proper maintenance and repair, the bodies simply do not rust.
As far as the supposedly way better LS400, time has proven that myth wrong.
Infiniti sold less than 60,000 q45's between 1990 and 1996, probably less than a third of LS400 sales over the same time period, so why is it an even rarer sight for me to see LS400's?
I still see the odd q45 roaming around...
Nissan clearly went downhill in the last 25 years. I think Toyota did too.
The days before CVT transmissions in a Nissan or infinity
Thank heavens, thus why some are on the road still.
I wonder when he decided to give up on the oil pressure and volt gauges.
Timothy Horning not for many years lol
I wonder if he still secretly pines for them.
Maestro_T he has a bespoke oil pressure gauge in a pocketwatch case that he will hand hand down to his grandson one day, and his grandson will treasure it forever
I remember when the Infiniti Q45 first hit the US market. At the time, I found it *less* attractive than Toyota's Lexus LS400. Looking back on it, I find it *more* attractive than today's Infiniti cars and SUVs.
My wife and I test drove a '98 model last summer when we were shopping used cars. Beautiful, solid vehicle; it was like Japanese luxury-meets-American muscle! We ultimately didn't want to deal with the RWD in our harsh West Michigan winters, but it was a blast to drive.
I love these original Q45s. I worked at an Infiniti dealer briefly, these were pretty fun to drive.
Has anyone else been watching enough of these retro reviews that they hum along to each of the various era's intro music? No? Just me?
+Mathew Saenz I just started watching these. I have a feeling I'll be up all night watching!
That was the sound of YOU humming along.
You're not alone I'm watching one after another 😂
I’ve been watching this show forever. I’m 42, and since I was like 8ish, I watched this show on the local PBS affiliate KQED (probably starting around 1984) since Day 1, John and Gosses Garage have been a treat to watch! They still make the TV show!
Mathew Saenz : I made lyrics to it and sing it in the shower...
Finally, we get to see this bad boy review. Love that over the top front belt buckle badge!
It really is a shame that Infiniti failed the Q45 with the moronic ad campaign that didn't feature the CAR prominently in advertisements. It was a beautiful, unique, and innovative design with remarkable performance and tech.
108ft 60-0 was UNHEARD OF THEN. wow.
Not only that but this model Q45 did it in 6.9 sec 0-60. That's dang fast for its time.
@@rockefelleragent1357 not really...
theodore Dow-man that's faster than a 1990 golf gti
My dad bought a new Q45 in 1990 when I was 5 years old. Other than routine maintenance the car was comfortable, reliable and safe for 7 years. My older sister learned how to drive in it and it saved my sister, myself and my mom when we were rear-ended by a Cadillac when the driver took his eyes off the road.
Incredible how modern it is for an almost 30yr old car, especially the interior and the engine.
We've come here to escape the cold weather in the east... Still wears a huge coat with a sweater underneath
Always loved the first gen Q45 (before the facelift which made it less distinctive imo, not more as was the plan), it was an incredible car for its time and so underrated. Its also nice to have a higher quality version of this review now. I want one.
Also I don't think it really needs an engine swap, its perfectly fine the way it is. Weren't 278hp underrated anyway, I read somewhere that it actually must have been closer to 300?
Always thought the emblem up front over the top. It was like a fine piece of jewelry on a woman's dress.
Had a M30 drop top back then.... a trouble free beauty.
This car does it in 6.9 sec not 7.2. These Infiniti cars in the early 90s were ahead of competition. Their build quality and materials were better than the competitors too. Infiniti Q45 and J30 drew a lot of attention.
Oh...This is the Emperor from San Andreas :D The Q45 is one of my favourite Cars :)
DB103Freak no. The Emperor is the Q45. Not the Q45 is the Emperor
DB103Freak haha i had one in white in one of my garages
Nah, Q45 is the Merit from San Andreas
@@ScubaSteveM45 The Emperor has the grille-less front end of the Q45 (almost unique to the Q45, except for a Passat of the same time) as well as the taillights. The Merit was probably the Mazda 929 from the '90's. It had curvy lines.
@@MaestroTJS I'll have to look for one next time I play. I owned a 1994 Q45 with the bigger chrome slat grille and that does match the Merit in the front and sides pretty well
That was my first car a 1990 Q45 got it with 102,000 miles in 1999 that car was fast as hell. I had a car phone lol never had it hooked up i used to fake like i was talking to people on it lol
I had a 1994 version. Gorgeous car with very, very good handling and well ahead technologically for its time. The engine has a lot of power once you are at high way speed. Transmission is slow off the line, but once you get going however, it was a fast car. A gentleman's sports sedan
If I Ruled The World And Everything In It! Skies The Limit! I'd Push A Q 45 Infinite! - Nas
K Bed Love this reference.
He don't think what to drive. Lexus way better
My hoopdie rolln tailpipe dragging.
That's the line that brought me to this video
First thought that comes to mind every time I see this car.
Definitely not as handsome or luxurious as the LS400, but much better performance all around.
Q45 had more personality. Its not a shameless Mercedes lookalike.
I wonder why auto makers stopped making the tilt vent in the sunroof shade....that was nice
It's always amazing seeing how good of condition these and the 1st gen Lexus LS still are compared to their competitors. They've held up very well interior materials also
That dig at the beginning about the car’s ad campaign is a fair bit more tongue in cheek than I would expect from Motorweek, but to be honest, Infiniti deserved it. What a terrible way to market a car.
Funny how without the wood veneer the interior has aged better than contemporaries.
278 HP V8 and 4WS?
Sign me up!
278 HP was such beast for 90 and decent for today
I remember a few years ago someone wanted to give me this car for free, needed a couple of things, tires and brakes with some paint issues. Never took it. Good car for its time.
Just bought a '96.
I love it.
I owned a new gold one all options and in the dry weather it was awesome, comfortable vehicle on my many trips. The one complaint, don't drive it in the snow
Why "don't drive it in the snow"???
Excellent car, only victimized by a weak ad campaign. Lexus advertised the hell out of the less-expensive 1990 LS, and won the crowd, like Maximus did in "Gladiator".
@admiT iT i makE yoU hornY No, it wasnt... Just a mistified Mercedes copycat.
I had one of these back in the day. I'll never forget, it was two days old when my maid Millie crashed it into a brick wall and totaled it! I replaced Millie with Zoila and replaced the Infiniti with a Jaguar XJ6
I remember those early commercials, which puzzled me as they gave me no hint of what they were advertising.
My partner had a 91....always used a pillow to get comfortable in his lower back...Pretty sporty for it's day!
Funny that one thing mentioned in this review still holds true for Infiniti today. "Lacks controls that are specific to one model"
LS400 has aged much more gracefully imho.
bliglum I agree on that. I'd love to have one and have almost bought one in the past. The Q45 is also good, though, and I'd love to have a '94 model with the updated styling. A '94 BMW 740 is the grail for me, though!
You can get an excellent example of any o those for $3000, but you will have to search a long time to find any good one.
'94 BMW 740 is the grail for you? That's quite attainable man!! Go and get it! Life's too short to wait.
Lmao 😂
Been waiting on this! MW just made my day!
I lusted after that car with the active suspension that came a few years later. Never got it. Upload the J30 please!
I owned two 1st gen Q45s. These cars had the fuel tank mounted above the floor between the trunk and rear firewall, you could access the tank through the trunk. This setup gave them a tendency to get tail happy at the limit due to the higher center of gravity, especially with a full tank. 1st gen Q45s and the mid to late 90s Maxima were still the best cars Nissan ever produced.
Woooo..... the burn out and figure 8's in this car was amazing. The Hippo that knew how to dance. I miss my Q45 ....and my J30.
The braking is good by even today’s standards.
Just bought my first Infiniti this year and all I can do is smile! Love my car think I'll stick with Infiniti for a while!!
about 12 years ago, there was one of these rolling around the west side of vegas with "Nissan Cima" badges on it
Im a Infiniti master technician from the early Infiniti years, that car was a amazing vehicle and that engine could easily push 500hp with the ecm reflash for racing.the best Q45 was the 1994 year model for the fact that the transmission was designed to take of in first wear instead of second like the previous years.
I drove this car in mid-90s and I was amazed ❤️❤️❤️ for me personally it's best in his class
I lusted after this car while I was a college student. Decades later in 2022, the car still has beautiful lines,
Ravi Peiris M.D.
I love this car. It's way better than most cars in this class.
+nezerac Especially for the 1990 year!
David Wendel
I know right? I drove one and I wasn't impressed until I slammed the pedal to the floor. Bottom end is lacking but man...once it gets up there it's something to behold. Only thing is nissan/infiniti is known for complicating things to no end. I tried repairing one of these and couldn't find the issue. I thought I was a failure until the customer reported several shops had it for days at a time and never figured out the reason for it's failure. It had the strangest no-start condition I've ever seen. Only thing i figured could be the issue was the igniter but the customer told me a shop ruled it out (not sure if that's true or not). She ended up selling it for 500 bucks. -_-
'sensor' on the gear shifter telling the car its 'in gear' tgerefore wont start...
i bet sometimes it started and sometimes it didnt
tap the gear shifter forward while in park and then try to start it for future refrence.
I had a 94 ..when the Rpm hit close to 4 it literally did feel like it rockets off lol
I've seen so many Nissans/Infinitis from the 90s onward with that 'Econ' button in the automatic temperature control and always wondered if anyone ever used it.
Here in 2021. Owned the last gen Q45. That car ROCKED
While the acceleration may not seem to be so great by today's standards but in 1990 that was almost on par with the fastest supercars.
Supercars? No, I think you mean high-end luxury cars. Even Nissan's own 300ZX turbo at this time could do a 5.5 second 0-60 time. But true luxury cars prior to this point were underpowered poor handling boats. This changed the game, particularly with American manufacturers.
Uh, no, not really.
@@VideoAmericanStyle actually @Doobie1975 is correct. In the real world any fast car of this era with an automatic transmission had a huge advantage to sports cars with manual transmissions because even though they might have been slightly quicker on paper there was a 90% chance on the street the people driving them wouldn’t be able to drop the clutch at high RPM and hit every gear perfectly. I remember Car and Driver Magazine got 0-60 in 6.7 seconds for their Q45 in the day. If a Ferrari Testarossa was 5.3 and a Lamborghini Countach was 5.5 I guarantee you in 90% of conditions there wouldn’t be much in it between these cars as both of those were notoriously hard to get out of the hole without causing expensive clutch wear
I love the interiors of Japan premium cars from 90's, this, Camry Ls400, GS, Legend. Visually they are very similar, ex this gauges look like in 4th gen Camry
Wanted the Q until I laid eyes on the M30 drop top. Traded in my 300Z for one in pearl white with tan interior. The car turned a lot of heads. Longest I ever kept a car.
And today Infiniti is top shelf in the VIP/Luxury muscle car world
Strangest grill emblem I've ever seen...
Gary James OMG Youre right!
The 1994 refresh looked better and had more of a mature fancier appeal than the 1990-1993 grill
"If I ruled the world and everything in it sky's the limit I'll push a Q 4 5 Infint" Nas
I beg to differ on the opinion of the Q45 being less luxurious inside than the LS. The LS felt claustrophobic inside. I think the Lexus looked nicer in pictures but the Q45 FELT nicer sitting inside. In the brochure from Infiniti, they mentioned how a team of engineers designed the interior of the Q to have a pleasant tactile sense. They succeeded. Every surface in that car was wrapped in padded grain vinyl. The door pockets had no hard plastic edges. The door handles were real metal and felt like like a firm hand shake as they were designed to do. Every switch had a soft notch feedback. The seats had inverted seams along where your spine sits to avoid fatigue or irritation. Infiniti purposely skipped the tacky wood grain and cupholders in that 1st gen Q because they considered the use of wood to be wasteful, it's reflectivity causes glare and increases noise. They also didn't think we should be drinking anything while driving 😆. The general public demanded the wood and crappy seats that came along in 1994. Aside from the plastic timing chain guides (that should have been metal coated in plastic) from 1990-1993 these cars were wonderfully over engineered in typical Japanese fashion of the time.
Still one of the best looking cars of all time
Genuinely surprised John didn’t comment on the lack of a grille. In my memory, it was deemed “too weird” for the American market, and this was changed during the first facelift.
In the beginning they went after Cadillac and Lincoln buyers. But didn't understand their desire for more conservative looks.
If they had tried marketing to BMW/Mercedes drivers, like they did later, the grill (or lack of) would have been easier to accept.
No back up camera or Bluetooth? Haha just kidding, love these old car reviews!
Has MW reviewed the Y33 platform ('97-'01)? The second-gen Q45 is my favorite out of all of them.
Couple of things here...1st of all it seemed like a pretty decent amount of leg room to me? Secondly, it's interesting he mentioned the sharing of switchgear with the Maxima...looking at luxury cars of the time; they all did the same. Cadillac used the EXACT signal stalk as other GM vehicles for ages..Lexus did and STILL uses the EXACT cruise control stalk as every other Toyota product. Pretty much any carmaker that uses mainstream models as the basis for their luxury brand...
Julius McDow Agreed. I see some of the same switchgear in my Passat in my friend's Audi A5.
Beautiful or not, this design was so futuristic when it came out. Infiniti really pushed the envelope.
Looks for the Q45 were fairly controversial back in the day. The front looks specially weird with that big infiniti badge. Get rid of it and the car would look 10x times sleeker. If you still want a badge get a smaller one that is just the metal badge without a background
A classic hit maker!
One bad ass ride!
This was a great car sabotaged by a weird ad campaign showing Green rain forests, and I think raindrops slowly dripping of leaves, no voice audio maybe birds chirping here and there, and no showing of the car just the Infiniti badge at the end, absolutely strange.
They should have advertised its performance over the ls400. Look at its superior acceleration, handling, and nearly nonexistent brake dive when compared to motorweek's test of the ls400. I remember the first time seeing a q45 on the road I was on the 15 in my 240sx going to Vegas at about 85 mph when one passed me going about 120 mph. I passed it though a little while later when it was stopped on the side of the road with a mustang cop car behind it. It happened to be a nice looking blonde driving the q45---probably got off with a little "work" lol.
Ls400 had the very best quality but the Infiniti was very close there too.
That ad campaign really got Infiniti off to a slow start.
Beautiful grill emblem.
HELL YA that's the first thing I noticed
I really wanted one of these back in the days...
My dude is hard on vehicles. If he was in my car, he wouldn't be in it long.
I never could warm up to the front end styling on this car, it looked kind of tacked on. The same car in Japan is called the Nissan President, it has a much more formal look with a big chrome grill, the hood doesn't taper down, bigger headlights, hood ornament, lots more chrome all over the car. And it was on a much longer wheelbase, IMO that's the model they should have sold here, it looked like a million bucks.
Nissan missed the mark with this car, the more luxury oriented and traditional Lexus LS400 handily out sold this car. Even traditional luxo barges like the Deville and Town Car were selling like gangbusters in the early 90's, really I don't think the market was there for something so different. Also didn't help that Infiniti's ad campaign sucked. They were making fun of it at the beginning of the video.
Like the z32 300zx, the q45 was a gorgeous car when introduced. It had more personality and driver appeal than the Mercedes look alike ls400. Its lack of a garish and shiny chrome grill and gaudy wood grains on the dash didn't win many friends in the u s. It really was a blast to drive and much more stable than the lexus .
my sister and I both have Q45's and love them!
I've been looking for this review for a long time! I love the quirky styling of this generation. Any review of the Infiniti J30? Another really cool looking Infiniti from the 90s.
J30 was my first car! Rear wheel drive V6 and fun as hell to drive!! So much so, my second car was a J30t. Man I miss those cars!
my first love....
Didn't these cars have transmission issues... a lot failed before hitting a 100k but most of all it was also notorious for another problem that was very common and costly to repair which made them way cheaper to buy used 5-10 years after new then a ls400. The early 90s ls400 was way more reliable then the q45,I still see a few early 90s here and there. Late 90s are common too but I don't see q45s at all not even the late 90s one or the early 2000s which was the last gen of them. My friend had an 03 I think and it was nice all around with the cool headlights and the nice interior,I think they all came stock with a screen to control things,way before everyone started doing that
larry Zeldin I own a 1992 and a 1997 touring. The only problem I’m aware of was the plastic chain guides in the 1990 that would become brittle and need replacement with metal ones. The 1997 however, perfect in every way.
These were tuned within an inch of their life. Why you don’t see any now. Those V8s blew up and the oversteer took out the rest.
Finally, An Infiniti retro test! Now we see where that 4.5 liter V8 started. (Now 315 hp in my 2005 FX45) Any more Infiniti tests in the pipeline?
I would say quite impressive for 1990, just add a sat-nav and a couple more airbags and you have a modern car. But again, $40,000 was a tidy sum back then. Exterior design was a wonderful blend of 80's and 90's styling fashion, clearly a transition model.
Almost $92K today. That's a big ask for a relatively new name.
Yes, they were far better than what Nissan was producing at the time, and Lexus had shown what a Japanese company formerly known for economy cars could do. But Lexus also had a two year head start and was the darling of the automotive press right from the beginning.
PS.....the engine was a monster at the time....I had mine up to 140mph with a lot left in it!
i can't say i've ever seen one of these old infinitis before, almost looks like a glitzed up 1st gen ford taurus/mercury sable
This car i bet would be a collectors item especially of the 90s era. Though what happened to these Q40s, I barely see one on the road.
This car didn't do as well as the LS400. I rarely see these. LS400, however, I see all the time, and still in pretty good shape.
This vehicle has the proper-sized grille.