Inflation has been well under control over the past couple of years, but that's cold comfort for buyers of Japanese luxury cars who have watched prices soar faster than Federal Heights real estate.
Take the 1995 Infiniti J30 . . . if you can afford it. The last (and first) time I tested a J30 was in September 1992, when the marque was introduced to fill the gap between Infiniti's entry-level G20 and its flagship Q45. The base '92 J30 was priced at $33,000 with the "Touring" version $1,700 more.But the sticker on the base 1995 J30 I've been driving this past week has a bottom line of $39,000 with no options and a $450 delivery charge. True, the '95 is three model years newer than the '92, but since the '95 actually came out last fall, that $6,000 price hike occurred in only two calendar years.
Math has never been my strong suit, but I calculate that as an 18.18 percent total increase or slightly more than 9 percent a year, more than triple the 2.7 percent national inflation rate for the past six months.
Of course the strong yen vs. the dollar also has been a big factor in driving up prices. Anyway, if universities can ignore the prevailing inflation rate, why not car companies?
That's probably enough whining about the high price of luxury driving. No one is forced to buy pricey import cars and it may be that the jump in the price of a J30 means nothing to potential buyers. For all I know they may be happy about the price hikes since half the fun of owning an expensive car is making people like me envious.
Boy, is it working. I envy anyone who can afford a J30, a jewel of a machine with a wonderful '40s retro look but without the penalties those cars carried. The performance, reliability and overall quality of today's Infiniti is as good as anything I expect to encounter in the next century.
But then I felt that way about the J-car in 1992 and the '95 version is virtually the same car. It has a new automatic anti-glare rear-view mirror, the power seats now include a lumbar adjustment, and all-weather tires are now standard. It also comes in two new colors - my test car had the new "Willow Pearl" (gold) paint - and that's about it for changes.
One thing that struck me this time around, is that the J30 is better suited to someone who might otherwise buy a racy coupe. The J30 is a four-door sedan, but its styling is sleekly coupe-like and the rear seat is not a place you would want to consign three adults for very long. Both leg and head room are marginal back there. Also, the 10.1 cubic foot trunk is smallish for a sedan.
The key is not to think of the J30 as a typical family sedan. Instead, envision it as a sports car that just happens to have four doors and a back seat.
Another thing that struck me is that the base J30 I've been driving this week is better looking than the more expensive J30t - for Touring - that I drove in '92. In addition to the Touring's stiffer suspension and forged aluminum wheels, it has a rear deck lid spoiler that, well, spoils the look of the rear deck.
The J30's sophisticated, retro design does not lend itself to the boy racer look that spoilers bring with them. To tell the truth, I don't like spoilers on any car but they're especially out of place on the Infiniti.
But, hey, it's a free country. If you want to pony up another $2,000 for the Touring version, go right ahead; I'll be almost as envious as I would if you bought the un-spoiled version.
It just occurred to me that the J30 also reminds me of the new Buick Riviera coupe, but since Infiniti got there first, the Nissan International Design Studio in La Jolla, Calif., gets the honors. Nissan, of course, is Infiniti's parent company and its La Jolla studio has been turning out some of the best car designs on the planet. Who says this is a "foreign" car company.
Whatever its derivation, I have caught myself standing and staring at the J30 as if it were a sculpture in a museum. Some of us like our fine art with hoods and fenders.
Incidentally, if you need a reason to buy the J30 instead of its big brother, the Q45, the J30's styling is much more distinctive than the Q-car. If you need two reasons, the Q45 costs $14,000 more than the J30 and the Q with "full active suspension" will take you over the $60,000 barrier.
I've talked a lot about the J30's sheet metal, but inside is really the best part. Yes, the rear seat is a bit tight, but for the two lucky souls ensconced up front, it doesn't get any better.
The front, leather-covered beauties are firm but not hard, supportive but not claustrophobic. A nonstop run to New York in a J30 would be no problem at all.
The instrument panel, steering wheel, shifter, center console - all the areas the driver contacts - are so perfectly designed it is hard to imagine how they could be done any better. Every switch, button, handle, pod and lever works with a smoothness and precision that makes something as simple as changing the radio station a tactile delight.
Oh, and then there's the clock, Infiniti's eccentric, but delightful salute to yesteryear. Most carmakers today figure you want to know the time and they give it to you the modern way: digitally. But Jaguar, Maserati and Infiniti understand that a traditional analog timepiece adds a touch of class and elegance. The J30s lush burlwood trim on the console and doors doesn't hurt either.
One gets the impression that no detail was too small to have escaped the attention of the Infiniti designers and engineers. An example is the ignition key. Most car keys are utilitarian objects, sharp edged and uncomfortable or covered in tacky black plastic. The J30's key is neither. A bit oversized, it is heavy and oddly smooth, as though it were made of some exotic metal. You find yourself rubbing your thumb across it just because it feels good. Did someone say, "Sweat the details?" Infiniti does.
The sound system? Merely fabulous. Infiniti's six-speaker Bose system with both tape and CD player does as good an impersonation of Abravanel Hall as anyone could ask, and with controls so ergonically perfect you can't leave them alone.
It goes without saying, I hope, that the car has all the usual power/convenience suspects, including a remote control for your key chain, power sunroof, auto climate control, heated outside mirrors, ABS, airbags and a built-in antenna and pre-wiring system for a cellular phone.
So far, everything I've said about the J30 could be appreciated without even leaving your garage, but the car is at its best once it's fired up and under way.
Powered by a 3.0 liter DOHC V-6 that develops 210 bhp at 6,4000 rpm (only 12 horses shy of the Nissan 300ZX sports car), the J30 is more than adequately fast, but raw performance is not what Infiniti's engineers were aiming for. Mirroring its visual and tactile character, the word that continually comes to mind when driving the J30 is "smooth."
That's not to say it isn't fun to smoke through the turns, but the innate character of the Infiniti is to coddle and soothe one's emotions, not fire one's baser instincts.
Gas mileage? A respectable (for a luxury car) 18 mpg city/23 highway for the J30, although it requires premium fuel.
It also has rear wheel drive, something of a rarity these days. Without traction control, that doesn't make it a great snow car, even with the all-weather tires.
Food for thought: This spring Infiniti will introduce its brand new I30 model that will fit in the niche between the $23,000 G20 and the $39,000 J30. Prices have not been set, but a sticker of $31,000 would about split the difference.
I've seen pictures of the I30 and it won't seduce anyone who has fallen in love the J30. The new car looks, overall, much like a Nissan Maxima, but the front end, particularly the grille, is a mini-Q45.