Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti M45 (2 of 2)

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

Hah!  Thanks for the kind words.  Maybe I should put up one of those virtual
tip jars...  :-)

Can't wait for the next trip out, swing by to grab some of your burgers!

Vty,

--Dennis
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Stewart Chung [mailto:stewartchung [at] comcast.net] 
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 8:42 PM
To: BigHeadDennis [at] gmail.com
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti M45 (2 of 2)

Wonderful writeup Dennis, you should be working for Road and Track.

I appreciate people like you (and Dave Handa), who really get into the nuts 
and bolts of things.  This way when I need something, I just simply ask you 
or Dave.  I don't need to do no efing research because you did it already.

Like the next time I need a family sedan, I would just hunt for a M45 like 
yours.  And $23K is great value.


Stewart
(in 'where-is-the-efing-spring?' Seattle)
http://BunsBurger.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Liu" <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com>
To: "Stewart Chung" <stewartchung [at] comcast.net>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 4:53 PM
Subject: [Ferrari] Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti M45 (2 of 2)


> [Howdy, all!  Please include me directly on any replies, as I'm not
> receiving any list-only postings... Thanks!]
>
>
>
> (continued from prior email)
>
> Yup, I bought an Infiniti M45.
>
> A used 2006 example, to be exact, with 31k miles.  Fully loaded, with
> everything Infiniti offered, except for the rear seat heaters/power
> recline/rear DVD, which I specifically did not want, given my daughters
> proclivities to adjust anything and everything they can get their little 3
> and 5 year old fingers on.
>
> It's a frakkin' great car.  335 hp V8, RWD, sports package.  It also has 
> the
> optional Aero package, which does make the car more aggressive (though the
> low front spoiler will suffer from front-curb over-runs like our BMW
> 5-series Sportwagon did, ahem).  Navigation, rear back-up camera (my wife
> fell in love with this feature, and said "I want this").  Bose 14 speaker
> stereo, with DVD player (plays movies in the nav screen).  Traction 
> control,
> plays MP3 discs, Bluetooth phone integration, keyless-entry and start.
> Active bi-xenon headlights - automatically steers the lights in the
> direction of the steering wheel.  Speed sensitive wipers.  Full voice
> recognition, useful for dialing the phone and setting navigation
> destinations, among other things (you can adjust the climate control and
> tune the radio as well, though it's easier just hitting the buttons).
> Heated AND COOLED front seats.
>
> And a couple of other nifty-or-not-so-nifty features.
>
> The sport package comes with 19" wheels, and, curiously,
> Rear-active-steering.  At slow speed, the rear wheels turn in the opposite
> direction, to decrease the turning radius.  At higher speeds, the rear
> wheels adjust in phase with the front, to make for easier lane changes.
> Can't say as I feel the difference, but will say that the car does corner
> very well, even at ridiculous speed.  It handles easily as well as an E39 
> M5
> (without the extra 65hp grunt, of course), even with 200 extra pounds.
>
> LDW - lane departure warning, which pings you if it senses a lane change
> without the turn signal being on.  Played with it once, actually works, 
> but
> turned it off permanently.
>
> Laser-cruise.  Thought I'd HATE this, as my Valentine 1 detects laser
> warnings from other Infinitis, but apparently they've wised up and 
> adjusted
> the frequency so that it no longer triggers it.  Can adjust the following
> distance, from ridiculously far to
>
still-too-far-for-Massachusetts-so-that-everyone-will-still-cut-in-front-of-
> you.  But it works surprisingly well!  I can set the cruise at 75mph or 90
> mph or whatever, and when it senses a car in front, it will not only 
> release
> the throttle, but it will even hit the brakes if need be, to maintain the
> proper following distance.  Not that I ever use cruise control, but the 
> wife
> likes it.
>
> So, while I thought of myself as not being into "gadgets" - actually, I
> thought I was actively AGAINST gadgets, why did I end up with all this
> "stuff"?  Mostly because I really wanted the DVD player, and partly 
> because
> most V8 versions came fully loaded.  If you want the DVD player, you have 
> to
> get the advanced technology package, which has the LDW, the laser cruise,
> the 14 speaker Bose, etc.  The nav and backup camera were on every M45 I
> found, and the remainder is all standard.  So, yes, it's loaded, BUT it
> avoids some of the "foo-fah" that BMW and Mercedes and even Audi have 
> loaded
> up on their cars.
>
> The Infiniti does have a circular, iDrive resembling controller, but it's
> only visual.  There are plenty of buttons too - a little cluttered, but
> makes it very easy to get to the controls you want, immediately.  And the
> climate controls have their own dedicated buttons, while you can change
> radio stations/discs/volume with the lower audio buttons, or use the
> steering wheel controls.
>
> What's cool about this car, and E38/E39 owners will appreciate this, is 
> that
> all of the settings are available to the OWNER through the computer, 
> instead
> of paying $$ to the dealer to adjust.  Want to set it so that one click on
> the remote unlocks ALL the doors?  Turn on/off "entry comfort" (seat 
> slides
> back and wheel tilts up)?  Just do it yourself; fancy dealer-only computer
> not needed!
>
> And, of course, it's Japanese.  Which means I'm fairly optimistic about
> long-term reliability and service costs.  Infiniti costs are much less; 
> AND,
> I'm told that a Nissan dealer can do most of the regular maintenance too, 
> at
> a decent discount.  I bought an Armada 4 years ago for my tow vehicle, and
> have loved the 68k+ miles without any maladies.  From reading some online
> reports, expected reliability is a whole lot better than the Germans. 
> AND,
> BEST OF ALL, Infiniti offers a 4-year, 50k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.
> Holy cow!  So I'm covered under the original warranty for another year!
>
> Yeah, I see some of the family resemblance in things like the power window
> switches, but who cares?  It has more room than the 5-series (though not
> nearly as much as the 7-series).  The trunk is decently large, though you
> can really see the cost difference here; the Infiniti first aid kit is a
> vinyl pouch with Velcro on the back that I guess you're supposed to Velcro
> down to the cheap, semi-unfinished trunk carpeting.  If you look hard
> enough, you can see where the money is saved, vis a vis Audi or BMW.  But 
> I
> certainly don't care.
>
> The M35/M45 has won all or almost all of the comparisons it's been 
> included
> in since it's debut in 2006, and Consumer Reports has picked it a few 
> times
> as the best value in the luxury sedan class.
>
> What about its performance?  I'll start by saying that it's faster than 
> the
> Ferrari 348 I used to have.  Really!  Imagine that.  R&T showed 0 to 60 
> mph
> taking 5.3 sec. and the quarter mile 13.8 sec. (at 101.4 mph).  No, it's 
> not
> an M5, but it'll run with most of the V8 German sedans.  The 4.5 liter V8 
> is
> plenty torquey, and flies when I step on it.  The biggest weakness is that
> the steering wheel is numb by comparison to BMW, which is a black mark
> indeed, but it corners very flat and never puts a wheel wrong.  Kudos to 
> the
> automatic transmission too; it will automatically rev the motor on a
> downshift.  It does have a Steptronic/Tiptronic mode, but after playing 
> with
> it once, I've never used it - the auto tranny's computer is THAT GOOD.
> We've gotten about 21 mpg on trips, and 19 mpg around town, with a 
> decently
> heavy foot.  Can't complain.
>
> What do I wish for?  Not much.  Maybe for the center console to be 
> narrower,
> to allow more leg-splaying width (same criticism of the 996, which blocks 
> my
> knee).  More steering feel through the steering wheel.  A bigger trunk
> opening, and automatic trunk-lid pull down (you have to give it a good 
> slam,
> which I know is a wussy complaint, but after 198k miles on the BMW...).  I
> might re--write the destination input logic on the nav screen, but that's
> probably true for 90% of all nav systems out there.  Definitely wish there
> was more storage space up front; the BMW (and the Armada) have lots of
> useful cubbies for storage, and the M45 is sorely lacking in this regard.
> The cooled seats are kinda, well, cool, but I prefer electrically heated
> seats (as opposed to these, heated by redirected hot air from the climate
> control), as they will heat up much faster.  Might have preferred the wood
> interior, instead of the (real) aluminum that comes with the Sport 
> package.
> And I don't love the 4,000 lb as-tested weight, but what DOESN'T weigh 
> that
> much these days?
>
> When Lexus and Infiniti first debuted, it was apparent that Toyota was
> targeting MB, with luxury and quality at a then-bargain price. 
> Performance
> was low on the checklist.  Infiniti, even with its horrible marketing
> roll-out, seemed to aim instead for BMW.  Not with the original fancied-up
> Sentra, but the Q45 was a legitimate sports sedan in the minds of many. 
> And
> since then, the G35/G37 has emerged as the most serious competitor to the
> vaunted BMW 3-series.  With this car, Infiniti offers up a very realistic
> alternative to the 5-series (and A6 and E-Class), at about 80% of the 
> price.
> But even price aside, I prefer the M45.  :-)
>
> Overall, I'm still in the honeymoon period, so it could change.  But it 
> met
> all of my criteria, and then some.  And the price?  They paid me $2300 for
> the 198k mile 1995 BMW 740iL (with leaky rear self-leveling suspension no
> less).  And I paid...  $22,700, cash.  Considering that this car stickered
> at over $60k, I think I got a screaming deal.  Feeling decently good about
> that.  :-)
>
> I don't have any pics myself, but the car is identical to these:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ct2gkm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/dzrrpn
>
> http://tinyurl.com/dd362x
>
> http://tinyurl.com/dhvg8g
>
> Vty,
>
> --Dennis
>
>
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