Infiniti J30 Addiction

Automobiles > Infiniti

Description

The Infiniti J30 was a rear wheel drive luxury car. The J30 went into production on April 7, 1992 as a 1993 model to replace the M30 (which was a coupe), and was launched in the United States at the same time as its competitor, the Lexus GS. The car was designed to slot between the smaller G20 and the larger Q45, as Infiniti's first mid-size sedan. Also, it was fairly small but featured rounded styling uncharacteristic of the crowded near-luxury market. Chief exterior designer for the J30 was Jerry Hirschberg, president of Nissan Design International (NDI).

Unlike earlier Infinitis, the J30 received effective advertisement with jazz music and artistic camera shots. Power came from a 3.0 L VG30DE V6 (shared with the 300ZX) which produced 210 hp and 192 lbÂ·ft (260 NÂ·m) of torque. While it shares the Y32 Chassis with the Nissan Cedric/Gloria, it was essentially a rebadged version of the Japan-market Nissan Leopard, where it was offered with both the VG30DE and VH41DE V8.

All J30s were built in Tochigi, Tochigi, Japan. Production of the J30 ended on June 18, 1997, replaced by the Infiniti I30 (introduced in 1996). The J30 was packaged with a long list of standard features including (but not limited to) a leather interior, Bose sound system, digital climate control, real burlwood trim, a power metal panel sunroof, dual 8-way power seats, dual airbags, and Anit-Lock brakes.

One of the shortcomings of the J30 was its lack of interior room. It had the distinction of being a mid-size car with the space of a subcompact (less than a Sentra) due to its sloping roofline and shrunken trunk.

Infiniti also produced a touring model, the J30t. This model featured a rear spoiler, BBS style alloy wheels, a stiffer suspension, and HICAS (four wheel steering). HICAS was only available in the J30t from 1993-1994. The J30 remained nearly unchanged through its production period. Heated seats became standard equipment in the 1994 model year. For 1995, the J30 received subtle vertical ribbing in the tail light lenses and in '96 the diagnostic system was upgraded to "OBD2". Otherwise, the J30 received only minor alterations between 1993 and 1997 model years.