About

“Infiniti was introduced in the United States in 1989, by Nissan to rival Toyota and Honda's introduction of their own luxury brands, Lexus and Acura, respectively...”



Infiniti of Scottsdale broke ground in 1988 - actually a year earlier.  Our building was designed and built as the prototype for the Brand's dealership network to follow. Ours was the first Infiniti building in the USA.  Infiniti used our facility here for training. All initial dealer training, during the launch of Infiniti in the Unitied States, took place here.  Our first building,  just up the street at 64th & McDowell,  is still remembered often by hundreds of our customers from those days.


Bob McGinnis, who has been one of our Service Managers for a few years now, was then working for a New Jersey dealer who had purchased an Infiniti franchise. Bob attended Infiniti training here at that time.  Bob McGinnis is truly a founding employee of not only Infiniti of Scottsdale but also of Infiniti, the Brand.

Once introduced, Infiniti sales began to grow rapidly following its original “rocks and trees” advertising campaign (and some would say, despite the "rocks and trees").  But it was the product that made the Brand.  Introduction of award-winning models, like our original Q45, quickly made Infiniti a chief contender in the luxury vehicle segment of the American market. Since 1989, Infiniti has secured a permanent place among the finest luxury vehicles in the world, with almost 200 dealers in the United States, and more in many countries abroad.

Infiniti of Scottsdale opened for business at the Southeast Corner of 64th Street and McDowell Road on September 1st, 1990. Sometimes we say that we were the first Infiniti dealer in Arizona, but this is not technically not quite true. Our building was first, but actually the Culiver group opened an Infiniti store on Bell Road a few months before Infiniti of Scottsdale opened for business. Culiver’s people trained here.

Ken Schatzberg, who had been with Porsche, joined Infiniti of Scottsdale 3 months later.  Ken’s career blossomed, and in 2001, he became our General Manager and Operating Partner.  Ken’s influence on our dealership has been determinative. What we are and how we operate is a direct reflection of Ken and his style and his unyielding focus on happy customers.  Largely because of Ken’s leadership, during the period 1996 thru 1998, Infiniti of Scottsdale placed at the top rank of Infiniti dealership sales, worldwide.

* Based on Sales Data from Infiniti Western Region.

Among our 100 dedicated Infiniti of Scottsdale employees today, Ken is not our only "original" employee.  Joe Tesensky, our Parts Director, Bob McGinnis, of course, plus among our sales people, Marlon Darton, Ross Anderson, Pat Donohoe, Dennis Lowry and Sally Scardino - all of these critical people remind us of our heritage at Infiniti of Scottsdale....  

By the late 1990s, however, Infiniti was behind Lexus and Acura in sales due largely to parent company Nissan's struggling financial situation.  These struggles being perhaps the best motivator, in the early 2000’s the company rededicated itself to developing a dynamic and powerful line-up of sporty luxury cars.

While Infiniti’s sales struggled somewhat, Infiniti of Scottsdale flourished.  Following its world-topping sales in the late 90’s, Infiniti of Scottsdale sought a better location.  On November 20, 2000, our dealership moved to our  current location at 6910 East McDowell (the corner of 70th St and McDowell) in the heart of the Scottsdale Motor Mile.  Improved service facilities were a big reason for the change.  Infiniti of Scottsdale’s parts and service departments had grown rapidly along with new and pre-owned sales.

Today, Infiniti's sales and reputation continue to increase impressively as Chairman Carlos Ghosn follows through on his vision to break Infiniti away from its Nissan roots. The G35 series helped re-define Infiniti as the "Japanese BMW", an image it continues to cultivate. This reputation has been enhanced by the FX35/FX45 SUV, and the redesigned M35/M45 for the 2006 model year. The M35/M45 has already garnered impressive acclaim from the automotive press, winning an eight-car comparison test in Car and Driver, and has proven very popular in its first few months of sales.  In fact, in 2008, as thousands of  Infiniti M’s were already in smart driveways all over Arizona, Consumer Reports reaffirmed the Infiniti M35 as “the best car we’ve ever tested”.

This fleet of great cars,  has more than doubled Infiniti’s sales in the USA since 2001.

And today, Infiniti of Scottsdale continues its tradition of superior customer service.