2009 Infiniti FX50: Parts Bin Sharing Japanese Style

Infiniti sure shares some nice curvy, stylized and surfaced parts.

If the share parts are high quality, with lots of thought put into it, nobody's complaining.

I agree with billit9, that as long as the parts the company is sharing are nice and made of quality materials, there's nothing wrong with that.

Certainly nothing wrong with sharing parts as long as its not seriously noticable and its executed correctly.

The FX and GTR sharing flappy paddles is nicely executed as most wouldnt know and the quality is there.

A poorly executed example of parts sharing would be the steering wheel in the Corvette ZR1 ($100K+) and the Malibu which is significantly cheaper.

did the FX get the parts from the $75,000 car or was it the other way around?

I agree with the others though that parts sharing is fine and even smart as long as they still look like they belong and match the quality of the vehicle.

Sharing platforms is even good as long as the cars don't look like it. Ford Fusion, Mazda6 for example. An example of bad sharing is the Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix.

It's also considerably different when you're borrowing parts within a brand, rather than across brands/price categories. A Taurus and MKS sharing parts is not exactly the best setup..

"A poorly executed example of parts sharing would be the steering wheel in the Corvette ZR1 ($100K+) and the Malibu which is significantly cheaper."

Excellent point. I think that was mentioned in the review of the ZR1, and I think the fact they didn't change such a simple thing as a steering wheel is inexcusable on GM's part.

if i ever bought a zr1 id change the seats and wheel asap

i do hate how they did that and it kind of ruins the car

this is an excellent example of sharing parts though

i believe GM would cite that changing the steering wheel on a ZR1 would raise the price 500 dollars and this is would cause them to loose half their customers to...something.[/sarcasm]

but seriously though, even if the price of the ZR1 was bumped 3-5k because of better quality materials it would turn away people from it because if you can afford. I mean, there's no rich person out there that says, "Oh, no, I'm not spending a penny over $105,000 for my car."

actually they both got their parts from the G35 automatics w/ sport package. so... they actually borrowed parts from a $35k car?

well i can imagine its all because gm didnt want to have to run new safety tests on the zr1

Do it right or don't do it at all. When will Detroit learn? I suspect for GM and Chrysler the answer is never. There may be hope for Ford.

I bet Malibu drivers like to think that their wheel is from the ZR1. Too bad it's crappy.

I recall not too long ago someone from Edmunds complained that some Fords used different parts for controls and the clearly better way was to use all the same parts. So this isn't a case of whether parts sharing is good or bad, it is a case of "No matter what the Japanese do, it is good, but no matter what Detroit does, it is bad". Detroit is criticized if it shares parts and it is criticized if it doesn't share parts.

"Do it right or don't do it at all. When will Detroit learn? I suspect for GM and Chrysler the answer is never."

You're totally right. I mean the Camaro's steering wheel is a direct copy of.... OK well nothing but it doesn't matter. Facts are just inconvenient because the only thing that matters is Detroit sucks and we should all ignorantly criticize Detroit no matter how far it differs from reality.

"An example of bad sharing is the Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix."
-Why is that a bad example of part sharing? It seems that the Pontiac really benefits from the Toyota's platform, and pulls it off with its own signifigant style as well.
"A poorly executed example of parts sharing would be the steering wheel in the Corvette ZR1 ($100K+) and the Malibu which is significantly cheaper."
-So true... even the cobalt has that wheel. The VW GTI has a very nice steering wheel, it looks chunkier and more solid than the 100k supercar's:
http://us.autos1.yimg.com/img.autos.yahoo.com/izp/volkswagen_gti_20tcoupe_2008_interior_steeringwheel_640x480.jpg

"You're totally right. I mean the Camaro's steering wheel is a direct copy of.... OK well nothing but it doesn't matter. Facts are just inconvenient because the only thing that matters is Detroit sucks and we should all ignorantly criticize Detroit no matter how far it differs from reality."

Good, detroit is learning.

Share parts, but only the good parts.

Chevy is only making 2,000 ZR1 Corvettes for '09. The expense of designing a new steering wheel, testing it, and then getting it manufactured for only 2000 units would have been cost prohibitive for a single application. When the Big 3 are being accused of wasteful spending that wouldn't portray the right image...the ZR1 itself is a case study in conspicuous consumption as it is.

If they had designed a new steering wheel, they probably would have passed it through to all Corvettes, and then people would be complaining about that.

As long as the steering wheel feels good in your hands, puts steering wheel mounted controls easily at hand, and matches the interior color-wise, who really cares about the actual visual style of it or where it came from? Are that many people staring at, and evaluating the aesthetics of, their steering wheel while they drive? If so, that is a greater problem!

ryster, the didnt need to make the steering wheel exclisive to the zr1, the could just gve the corvette a more unique wheel in general. that alone would improve the quality and feel inside

"Chevy is only making 2,000 ZR1 Corvettes for '09. The expense of designing a new steering wheel, testing it, and then getting it manufactured for only 2000 units would have been cost prohibitive for a single application. When the Big 3 are being accused of wasteful spending that wouldn't portray the right image...the ZR1 itself is a case study in conspicuous consumption as it is."

Good try but in a $100K sports car, its not a valid excuse. GM isnt very consistent when executing the details. However I do absolutely love the Zr1 and CTS-V, awesome cars!

I'm confused, the paddle shifters themselves have leather accents, or are you refering to the steering wheel near it? Neither make sense, neither for Nissan to stick leather on something like a paddle shifter, or for you to refer to the wheel leather as the shifetr's leather accent. Please clarify!

The paddle shifters themselves have leather accents. This was also the case on the G35.

Kids, the moral of the story is... if you make a world beating car and sell it for a bargain, you should expect that they would use cheap parts somewhere to compensate. If you don't like that, go buy a Ferrari! (because even Lamborghini and Porsche shares parts with cheaper siblings)

I don't think this item bothers me that much. I think the only time parts bin sharing is an issue is when it is a low quality part. Take for example the stereo unit in the Dodge Viper / Dodge Neon. That would be an issue for me. Now, if the Neon had a great looking stereo unit, it would be another story.

"If the share parts are high quality, with lots of thought put into it, nobody's complaining."

Thats a convenient excuse. My understanding is that people who harp about parts sharing do so because they dont like the fact that an auto manufacturer is attempting to save money. Just shows how certain things are considered negative when certain manufacturers do them but are winked at when others do the exact same thing. Nissan is sharing parts and interior designs with various Nissan and Infiniti products. The Nissan trucks have virtually identical interiors. The Maxima and Murano have interiors that barely distinguishable from each other or the G37.

BTW, the Vette does not have the same wheel as the Malibu, its just the same design. The vette has a smaller diameter wheel. The problem with the wheel is that its shared (more or less) with other GM products, not its functionality. You have not read any criticism of the thickness or usefulness of the wheel. I am laughing at all this discussion about the wheel being "cheap". Does anyone really thinl there is a huge difference in cost between the steering wheel in a corolla and the steering wheel in a Porsche? Some wheels have more buttons than others, some have more metallic trim than others, some have more wood than others, etc. At the end of the day a steering wheel is not an expensive or complicated part of a car.

"Good try but in a $100K sports car, its not a valid excuse. "

R8 shares displays and controls with $30k Audis and costs more than the Zr1.

"Share parts, but only the good parts."

What is the definition of "good parts"? Buttons for the windows, on the steering wheel or for HVAC are commonly shared by various vehicles. Head units and digital displays are also shared frequently. Same with rear view mirrors and gauge clusters. I'm not sure how people can say which parts are acceptable for sharing and which are not. Certain components of an interior do not attract a lot of attention and are perfect candidates to be shared.