Rounded-Tail Infiniti J30

Infiniti, Nissan's brand targeted as a Toyota Lexus competitor, launched its J30 model (Wikipedia entry here) for the 1993 model year.  It was marketed through 1997 and then dropped.

The above link (as of when this post was drafted) notes that the J30 was a mid-size car with the carrying capacity of a smaller car abaft of the B-pillar.  That seems about right, as the focus of this post is the J30s rear-end styling.

By the early 1990s, most new designs were tested in wind tunnels with results that have affected styling ever since.  But to some degree it was still a transition period.  The J30 has a soft, minimally-decorated appearance in line with the Oldsmobile Aurora (introduced for 1995) and the 1996 3rd-generation Ford Taurus.  All three cars lacked built-in trunk lid air dams and had rear ends rounded-off to one degree or another (the Aurora least so, the J30 to the greatest extent).

Let's look at the J30.

Gallery

The J30s frontal styling is rather bland, but in keeping with current fashions.

The same can be said with respect to this front three-quarter view.  By the way, this seems to be a factory photo that was digitally manipulated originally or perhaps later.  Note the background golf scene -- it's identical to that in the image below.

This shows the rounded rear end styling.  The design is clean and distinctive.  I don't know if the trunk could hold a set of golf clubs, as implied by the background setting, but the trunk does seem small.

Side view of a J30.  This also illustrates the rear-end problem: aesthetically okay, but lacking in practicality for many prospective owners.