Nissan Fuga

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Nissan Fuga

Manufacturer	Nissan Motors
Also called	Infiniti M45
Production	2004–present
Predecessor	Nissan Cedric Nissan Gloria
Body style(s)	4-door Sedan
Related	Nissan Skyline Nissan Cedric Nissan Gloria Nissan Cefiro Nissan Teana Nissan Cima Nissan President

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Nissan Fuga

The Fuga is a full-size luxury car from Nissan of Japan, introduced in October 2004. First shown as the Fuga Concept at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, it is a direct replacement for the long running Cedric and Gloria series of cars. The Fuga is a rear wheel drive sedan riding on a stretched version of the Nissan FM platform, used by the Nissan Skyline.

The Fuga is a direct competitor to the Toyota Crown, Honda Legend, Mercedes-Benz E-class, Audi A6, BMW 5 series, and Jaguar XF.

The name of the vehicle was inspired by a type of classical music, called Fugue.

With info translated from the entry for Nissan Fuga in the Japanese Wikipedia :

[edit] First Generation Y50 series

Nissan Fuga Y50

Also called	Infiniti M45
Production	2004 - present
Body style(s)	4-door sedan
Layout	FR layout/AWD
Engine(s)	2.5 L V6 VQ25DE 3.5 L V6 VQ35DE 4.5 L V8 VK45DE
Transmission(s)	5 speed automatic
Wheelbase	2,900 mm (114.2 in)
Length	4,900 mm (192.9 in)
Width	1,805 mm (71.1 in))
Height	1,510 mm (59.4 in)
Curb weight	1,780 kg (3,900 lb)

The Fuga began with either "XV" or "GT" trim packages, equivalent to the previous "Brougham" and "Gran Turismo" versions of the Cedric and Gloria. When the Gloria was first introduced in 1959, it was based on a streched version of the original Nissan Skyline, which was first introduced in 1957. Nissan used this approach again for the Fuga, using the Skyline platform again. The 3.5 L cars are also available with all wheel drive, and top models can be specified with intelligent cruise control and four wheel steering. The Fuga's primary competitor from Toyota is the Toyota Aristo. The Fuga is one level below the Nissan Cima, which is a little larger.

The Japanese-spec Fuga uses 2.5 L or 3.5 L VQ-series V6 engines, or a 4.5 L VK-series V8 engine.

Nissan wanted to create a fresh approach started by the Cedric/Gloria and focus their efforts to compete with European executive mid-sized sports sedans, such as the BMW 5 series, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Jaguar S-Type, with a particular focus on BMW.

In the United States, the Fuga is sold as the Infiniti M, with the V8 version known as the M45, and the V6 version known as the M35, however, the 2.5 V6 is not available in the USA.

Aluminum is used in the body, hood, trunklid and is also used in the doors internally to reduce weight. The front suspension used a double wishbone setup, also to reduce unsprung weight, and to improve vehicle handling. This type of suspension was previously used on the Cedric/Gloria until 1983, when that platform began to use MacPherson struts for the front suspension, but still uses the multilink rear suspension which was introduced on the Cedric/Gloria in 1979. The Fuga uses aluminum alloy extensively in both the front and rear suspension components.

The GT sports package available on the Japanese-spec Fuga uses Nissans 4WS version of HICAS and ATTESA to improve stability and handling.

A CVT transmission is available as the uplevel transmission, with adaptive shift control.

The Fuga is used as an uplevel taxi in Japan.

A driver aid system used in Japan, called Distance Control Assistance, pushes the gas pedal against the foot when the DVD navigation with GPS determines that an unsafe speed is being maintained. If the cruise control is being used, the Distance Control Assistance will reduce speed automatically, and will warn the driver that an adjustment is being made with an audible bell sound.

When the Fuga was first introduced for sale October 14, 2004 the advertising campaign used a musical composition in the fugue style, using the work "Vortex". The composer of this work was Akihiko Matsumoto, who was the composer of the music for the popular TV series Bayside Shakedown in Japan. The music was played in three movements by a full orchestra for 42 minutes and 7 seconds, and a recording was given to dealers in Japan as a promotional DVD for customers, free of charge.

[edit] External links

• Safety Recalls for Nissan Fuga - Japanese Imports

[edit] Sources & Further reading

• Automobil Revue, Katalognummer 2006 (Technical data)
• Nissan Fuga: Japanese sales brochure, Print Reference C2108-1201AAA, 2007 (Data 450 GT and Prices)
• Fuga Y50 page on Nissan History site