Aaron drives the Infiniti M45

Thanks to fellow road tester and co-conspirator BJ Killeen, I got a chance to take a spin in the 2006 Infiniti M45. The M is a showcase for everything Nissan (Infiniti's parent) does right: A fantastic interior, gobs 'o power, and something sadly lacking in most Japanese cars: soul. If I had to criticize, I'd pick on the center-stack controls; they're a bit too complex for my liking, though the LCD display screen is crisp and cool looking. The kids were asking about fuel economy, so I re-set the trip computer and rolled sedately down the Ventura Freeway with the cruise set at 70 (good thing, too -- turns out the car behind was a California state trooper). The M45 returned a respectable 23 MPG. Then the kids asked about V8 power... and who was I to disappoint them? Floor the BMW-style bottom-hinged pedal and the M flies like a cow patty flung from a shovel. (This was after the trooper was long gone.) It's been ten years or more since Nissan affixed the "4DSC" (4 Door Sports Car) logo to the Maxima, but that moniker would apply nicely to a great deal of the product in the Nissan and Infiniti line. The M is wonderfulness on wheels. Check out BJ's review, and consider me in agreement with just about every word. --Aaron Gold