A big debate in the tuner community is on the Infinity G35 and the Nissan Skyline. A friend of mine recently purchased a G35 claiming it to be a Skyline, while a brother of mine poo pooed the idea along side another friend who spent most of his adolescent years in Japan. So what is the deal? Through extensive research (google search: G35 vs. Skyline, what the hell?) I have come to my personal nirvana.
Fanatics have grown to love and treasure key features of the Nissan skyline; among these are a standard all-wheel drive, an in-line six-cylinder engine, twin-turbos, and the four circular tail lights. The G35 lacks all of these qualities (except for the all-wheel drive, that is available as an added feature). So is it a Skyline? In Japan, the current Infinity G35 is sold as a Nissan Skyline v35, so in that aspect, yes it is. However, does the G35 (or gen 11 Skyline) perform like the legendary Skylines of the past? Can you listen to country music and not gain an extra chromosome? The answer is no.When Carlos Goshn joined the Nissan enterprise, his main agenda was to cut costs. Goshn found that the Skyline was creating a loss due to custom parts and low quantity sold. Goshn decided to make a car that would be more appealing to a younger crowd while hoping to keep the die-hard fans. Parts were taken from a number of other cars to reduce costs along with throwing out the turbos. How was the execution? The G35 is a much more of a luxury vehicle then a sports car. Car magazines have said the the driving experience requires 20 percent less effort then the previous Skylines, but the control for "any real driver" is lost.
In conclusion, it will always be a G35 to me.
Sources:
http://www.jlimports.com.au/nissan-skyline-350gt-v35-coupe
http://www.autozine.org/Archive/Nissan/old/Skyline_V35.html
http://www.jbskyline.net/V35/Sedans/
