G37 Drops its Top

Some fans have begged for a new Infiniti convertible, even though the first one was less than a success for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s luxury division.

That was the Infiniti M30, which had a 3-year run ending in 1992, due to sales so poor it holds the dubious title as the rarest Infiniti ever made.

In a second effort at open-air motoring, Infiniti debuts the sleek and technologically impressive '09 Infiniti G37 convertible with a 3-piece power retractable hardtop. It goes on sale June 19.

“Our dealers and customers have been asking for a convertible,” says John Weiner, Infiniti's director-product planning.

If that sounds like the old back-by-popular-demand claim, consider the following. Two auto writers at a G37 convertible preview in Los Angeles are driving the new model down La Cienega Blvd. A motorist ahead in a top-down Infiniti M30 slows and waves them up alongside the museum piece he's driving.

Eyeing the new convertible, he shouts over the din of L.A. traffic: “So they finally took the hint!”

Pricing is pending, with an expected sticker ranging from about $45,000 for a base model to $55,000 for a dressed-up limited Bloomingdale edition.

The demographic target is people earning $160,000 to $170,000 a year. And while the G37 sedan and coupe skew toward male buyers, Infiniti expects a more balanced male-female ownership for the new entry.

With the top up, the convertible looks like a G coupe and shares many of its design traits, such as flowing front fenders, a wave-style aluminum hood and the signature Infiniti double-arch grille.

The convertible sports all-new body panels from the A-pillar on back. It is 1.1-in. (2.9 cm) wider overall than the coupe. A wider rear track and a lower rear suspension create room for the “clamshell” roof to tuck into the trunk.

In addition to the standard model, a Sport version of the convertible offers a more aggressive drive ratio.

The car, built in Japan, is powered by a 3.7L VQ-series V-6 featuring VVEL (variable valve event and lift) for improved power, torque and overall engine efficiency. The VQ was a 2008 Ward's 10 Best Engines winner. It is rated at 325 hp and 267 lb.-ft. (362 Nm) of torque.

Mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic transmission, the engine has a high level of refinement and the precision of a Swiss clock, whether going flat out on Interstate 405 or climbing Topanga Canyon Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains.

John Brancheau, Infiniti's director-global marketing, contrasts the “warmth” of this car in particular and Infinitis in general with the “machine-like” characteristics of two German luxury brand competitors, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

He doesn't mention a third German luxury line, Audi, which more closely resembles Infiniti in feel and performance.

The car has the look, power and grace of an athlete. But there are the typical downsides and trade-offs of a convertible. Top up, the trunk is big enough to stow two golf bags. Top down, there's about as much room for a golf glove.

The back seat, while far from voluminous, can double as a storage area for suitcases and such. It can also accommodate humans, compactly and briefly.

“Target-customer feedback showed a need for a backseat, and this one is big enough for an adult to be in it for a short time, say, 30 minutes,” says Weiner. “For our customers, we think top-down beauty and performance will prevail over cargo capacity.”

It takes about 30 seconds to lower or raise the top, which is supplied by Wilhelm Karmann GmbH. That's about twice the time it takes the Mercedes-Benz SLK convertible to do the same thing. Weiner waves that off, saying, “We'd prefer to beat Mercedes in 0-60 mph (97 km/h) than in top-down speed.”

Early convertibles essentially were coupes with their tops lopped off. The G is designed as a convertible. It's built on Infiniti's latest FM platform. Its predecessor platform didn't lend itself well to a convertible derivative.

It's a thoroughly modern convertible. A wind deflector reduces interior turbulence; pop-up roll bars enhance safety; and special reinforcements eliminate body vibrations often endemic to convertibles.

The adaptive climate-control system automatically adjusts to blow cool air if the ambient temperature is above 77° F (25° C) and the vehicle is traveling at slow speeds. Conversely, the system circulates warm air if the temperature is lower than 59° F (15° C) and the car is moving at high speeds.

A Bose sound system, designed for convertibles, has 13 speakers, four of them in the headrests of the front seats. The system uses microphones to automatically optimize equalization settings.

Infiniti won't say how many convertibles it expects to sell in this year of the skittish, no-frills consumer.

Infiniti, now with seven models in its lineup (including the three Gs), sold 147,000 units last year. That is off about 3%, compared with 2007, but not nearly as bad as the double-digit drops other auto makers saw during a disastrous 2008.

Using a tag line, “Inspired Performance,” future Infiniti marketing will focus more on the brand, says Brancheau, a recent hire who spent more than 20 years as a marketer for General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac luxury division.

“We'll focus less on the individual models and more on the Infiniti brand and how the models align with that.”