They say it's not right to speak ill of those who have passed on. But when it comes to comparing car design philosophies there needs to be some resurrecting done to illustrate a point.
The discussion is how much do designers tweak a body style to create the impression of high performance and fossil fuel-burning muscle.
In the case of the recently departed Pontiac brand - GM discontinued that nameplate for financial consolidation reasons at the end of 2010 - those penning the lines of the venerable Grand Am during its latter year models had one approach. And that was to tack on all kinds of body bulges to the sheet metal - everything from a beefed up fascia, down past a faux ground effects door sill extension, and rearward to a trunk lid wing that spoke boldly about the driving dominance it possessed.
It clearly worked for many, as sales continued until 2005 when the Grand Am's run was halted and replaced in 2006 by the more elegant and uncluttered G6.
Fast forward almost a decade and you can see how the design philosophy of a sporty four-door sedan has evolved. And Infiniti's new Q50 is a prime example.
It looks like a predatory jungle cat on the asphalt - muscles coiled and ready to leap away from the stop lights, thanks to a series well-defined, body creases.
They are a welcome departure from the add-on look from years gone by.
My apologies to any Grand-Am owners still out there.
Hopefully their bruised feelings could be salved by the impressive show of force the Q50 displays - even when standing still.
The most noticeable styling cue resides in the car's deep indentation in the lower portion of the rear passenger door. It provides a sweeping forward motion that is nicely counterbalanced by a curving outcrop above the rear wheel well.
It's dramatic, almost organic in nature.
It's tasteful.
And the best part is that it's a solid part of the car.
Add that to the aggressive, deep, wire mesh grille bearing the Infiniti badge and you have a road car up there on par in looks with any Teutonic creation.
Backing up the powerful first impression from the exterior is a solid power plant.
Opt for the base model Q50 3.7 and you get, as you may have guessed from the nomenclature, a 3.7 litre V6 which pushes out 328 horsepower.
In fact, all models of the Q50, except for the hybrid, gets the same machinery under the cowl.
The difference between the models, though, is your choice of rear wheel drive in the aptly named Q50 RWD, and an all wheel drive version in the AWD.
Base price for the Q50 starts at $37,500.
Tack on another $10,000 or so for the RWD which adds among a lengthy list an upgrade from 17 to 19-inch wheels, 10-way power seats, a sport-tuned suspension, paddle shifters made from magnesium and a Bose sound system.
The AWD version actually drops the price slightly over the RWD by between $500 and about $4,500.
But what you do pay for when choosing this model is higher fuel consumption numbers. Infiniti lists the AWD at 11.1 litres per 100 km in the city, and a thrifty 7.3 litres over the same distance on the highway.
In contrast, the base Q50 and RWD model is projected to burn through 10.6 and 6.6 litres respectively. Those are pretty decent figures for a performance sedan.
But those differences are likely not going to consume you once you find out the Q50 is certainly a car of its era thanks to its Infiniti InTouch system which plugs you into email, navigation and social media by using the dual touchscreen on the dash or through voice commands.
