Infiniti of Greenwich No More…

Sadly for some Infiniti owners in or around Greenwich who service at Infiniti of Greenwich, the doors are officially closed. For most of us former IOG employees, the writing was on the wall long before the key ceased to unlock the front door. Shortly before judgement day, I put a call into a friend and said, “hey, do you know anyone at Devan Infiniti?” He said, “The place in Fairfield? You want to commute to Fairfield?” The answer of course, was: “Of course!”

The signage has already been painted over, as workers prepare to paint over the Infiniti symbol.

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be one of Infiniti’s biggest enthusiasts, I would’ve waved my hand at you and said, “please, it’s just a Nissan.” What a (car) snob I was, and, well, still am.

Surely, Infiniti is not just a Nissan. Though owned by Nissan, Infiniti is its own brand, with its very own identity that is unlike many, or most, automotive manufacturers. Infiniti’s slogan, “inspired performance,” taps into the company’s nature-inspired designs, like using curvy body lines meant to represent waves, or advanced climate control systems meant to mimic a forest breeze.

Like Lexus and Acura, Infiniti launched in the US in 1989 with the Infiniti Q45. Unlike their competitors, Infiniti was the only brand not to include imagery of their vehicles in any of their print advertising for nearly a year. Consequently, Infiniti lagged behind, struggling to keep up with the hyper pace set by Lexus and Acura. Towards the early 2000′s Infiniti faced extinction until Infiniti introduced the Nissan Skyline-inspired Infiniti G35 sedan, which was quickly named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 2003. Similarly, the Infiniti FX35 crossover SUV was introduced, piggybacking on the success of the G35,  bringing Infiniti to the forefront. Infiniti continued to add new models to the lineup, like the G coupe, the M sedan and the EX35 crossover to compete with some of the most sought after vehicles in the industry, like the BMW 3-series, the Lexus LS and the BMW X3, respectively. Just recently, Infiniti introduced the G37 convertible for MY 2009 and has been widely acclaimed.

Now, I mentioned earlier that I’m a car snob. Given my upbringing in Greenwich, CT which blindly considers any German automobile to be superior to any other brand despite many grave deficiencies, its only natural to dismiss a brand like Lexus or Infiniti. But its for this very reason, automotive snobbery, that I find true value in Infiniti and in fact, prefer it over other brands.

Perhaps its the aggressive front grille gaining on you in your rear-view or the… common dit-on… sexy anticipation you feel when you start your Infiniti. Or maybe its the way Infiniti pulled itself out of its impending doom organically through quality products, beautiful styling and customer service that makes Infiniti so loveable. It’s much more than just a car. Actually, its a philosophy of life.

So my friend, who sure enough did know someone at Devan Infiniti, “the place in Fairfield,” placed a call. I’ve since moved here as the Internet Manager, back at “home”  with my beloved Infiniti and a new family of colleagues who are both welcoming and share my enthusiasm for the brand.

My pals at Mercedes-Benz like to chide me and say that “Infiniti won’t be around in five years.” Just like “will work for food,” those are the words of nervous and desperate men.