Really stupid question, but there is a G37 in my town that is fully badged as a Q50, including the 3.7 quarter panel badges. The car is otherwise bone stock. There was no weird crossover period when the G37 came badged as a Q50 right? My inclination is that this is straight up rice, but the driver is an older guy and doesn't seem like the type to go that route.

 

Could it have been a Q40 and you just thought you saw a 5 instead of a 4?

 

Could you have mistaken it for a Q40? The G37 sedan was rebadged to Q40 for 2014 for some odd reason.

 

That has to be it, I didn't even know about the Q40 model. Everything I read said that our car turned into the Q50.

At least I learned something already today!

 

lol. one of the oddest moves in recent auto marketing. same car that was a G37 in 2013 was called the Q40 in 2014. bizarre. especially since it was alongside the Q50 model refresh (same guts, different body/tech). i asked a sales rep about it when i stopped by the dealer during 2014 and it was all he could do but roll his eyes. clearly the dealers were not thrilled with the confusion.

i think the only difference with the Q40, if you can call it a difference, was that the model trim selection was reduced. i.e. no Sport models available for 2014, perhaps other deletions as well.

 

Not an odd move at all. The G37 was a perfect car in its final iteration. Infiniti knew it. They changed nothing about it to keep it in its new Q-lineup for another year.

That tells me they knew there would still be a market for it, at least until the Q50 established itself in the marketplace. They couldn't axe it and walk away from money on the table.