Nissan Recalls 195,991 Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs over Rust Danger

Nissan has issued a recall action for certain Pathfinder SUVs from the 1996-2004 model years and Infiniti QX4s from the 1997-2003 model years due to a possible corrosion problem that could lead to the loss of steering. Read more »

Infiniti G37 Rebaixado + Rodas aro 20"

Infiniti G37 Rebaixado + Rodas aro 20"

Infiniti Teases New JX 7-Seater Premium Crossover, will go on Sale in 2012

Infiniti is planning to enter new territories by introducing an all-new 7-seater luxury crossover designated the JX. Teased here in a blurry sketch, the mid-size model will be shown in concept form at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this August, and in production guise at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show in November, before going on sale in the U.S. in spring 2012 as a 2013 model.

“The all-new Infiniti JX crossover will allow us to continue to expand the Infiniti brand’s presence in the Americas,” said Carlos Tavares, chairman, Nissan Americas.

Read more »

Infiniti confirms plans to launch in Australia

Infiniti has big plans to expand beyond North America, and Drive reports that the Japanese luxury automaker intends to include Australia in its expansion. The site says that officials at Nissan have officially announced that Infiniti would head Down Under by September 2012, adding that the brand would start off with three stand-alone dealerships in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

When those dealerships launch, there will only be three Infiniti products from which to choose. The G37 coupe and convertible, the M sedan and the FX crossover were chosen in part because of their freshness in the market. Infiniti has reportedly decided against exporting the high volume G37 sedan to Australia, opting instead to wait until the next generation model goes prime-time. The Australians will be able to choose from the same 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 options we have here in the States, and they’ll also be able to pick a 3.0-liter diesel that we aren’t afforded.

The folks at Infiniti also hinted at their strategy for the brand. Infiniti brand GM Kevin Snell reportedly told the press at a launch event that the brand wouldn’t try to be the “cheapest” make Down Under, adding that Infiniti models are often better-equipped than the competition from Europe.

[Source: Drive]

2012 Infiniti M Hybrid priced from $53,700

Infiniti is touting its 2012 M Hybrid as the “only vehicle in America to offer more than 350 horsepower and 30-plus miles per gallon.” If that sounds like an excellent combination, the Japanese automaker has just announced that the cost of entry is $53,700.

The 30-plus mpg figure is, of course, on the highway, with an EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 32 mpg. The M Hybrid is rated at 27 mpg in the city and has a combined rating of 29 – not too shabby for a car with 360-horsepower on tap, courtesy of the 3.5-liter V6 mounted under the hood. $53,700 is a lot of scratch, but there’s not a lot of luxury sedans on the market that offer that much power while retuning that type of fuel economy.

[Source: Infiniti]

PRESS RELEASE:

2012 Infiniti M Hybrid Sedan Pricing Set at $53,700 USD

Only Vehicle in America to Offer More Than 350 Horsepower, 30+ MPG Fuel Economy

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Infiniti today announced a $53,700 USD M.S.R.P. for the all-new 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid, which goes on sale March 16, 2011 at Infiniti retailers nationwide. The Infiniti M Hybrid is the first V6 true luxury performance “driver’s” hybrid – and the only vehicle to offer more than 350 horsepower and 32 mpg fuel economy. Estimated fuel economy is 27 mpg City, 32 mpg Highway, with Combined fuel economy rated at 29 mpg.

The 2012 Infiniti M performance luxury sedan is also offered in four non-hybrid models, which go on sale March 2, 2011. The non-hybrid Infiniti M has a starting M.S.R.P. of $47,700 USD for the Infiniti M37 RWD. The other models are the Infiniti M37 AWD ($49,850 USD), Infiniti M56 RWD ($59,100 USD) and Infiniti M56 AWD ($61,600 USD).

“We’re excited to be able to bring in the new Infiniti M Hybrid – with its exceptional blend of power, efficiency, style, luxury and technology – at an M.S.R.P. of under $54,000,” said Infiniti Vice President Ben Poore. “Competitively priced, though with little real direct competition, we expect the M Hybrid to continue the strong sales momentum the new Infiniti M Sedan has been experiencing since its launch in the 2011 model year.”

The new Infiniti M Hybrid will also be the feature vehicle for Infiniti’s corporate partnership with the NCAA, CBS Sports and Turner Sports. Infiniti will run a multi-media campaign highlighting the M Hybrid and other Infiniti performance luxury vehicles during regular-season men’s basketball games and the newly expanded, 68-team 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. In addition, Infiniti will present in-game “coaches spotlights” during the tournament.

About the 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid

The Infiniti M Hybrid features the all-new Infiniti Direct Response Hybrid™ system, an advanced one-motor, two-clutch parallel hybrid design that utilizes precise, high-speed motor control technology enabled by the powerful Lithium-ion battery, allowing power to be delivered directly to the vehicle’s 7-speed automatic transmission.

The fully equipped rear-wheel drive Infiniti Hybrid is offered in just one model with a long list of standard luxury and technology features – including leather-appointed seats, 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, Active Noise Control, Infiniti Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, XM® Satellite Radio (XM® subscription required, sold separately), Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System and power sliding glass tinted moonroof.

The Infiniti M Hybrid is also available with advanced technology features, including Blind Spot Warning (BSW), Blind Spot Intervention™ (BSI), Forest Air® system, Active Trace Control, and Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation System.

Other available features include Bose® Studio Surround® premium audio system, Intelligent Cruise Control (Full-Speed Range), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) systems, Distance Control Assist (DCA), Intelligent Brake Assist (IBA) with Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Front Pre-Crash Seat Belts.

The Infiniti M Hybrid’s exhilarating driving performance results from use of Infiniti’s proven 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 engine, which paired with the 50 kW electric motor, provides a hybrid system net power of 360 horsepower. Torque figures are equally impressive, with the V6’s 258 lb-ft of toque combining with the electric motor’s immediately available 199 lb-ft of torque to provide strong performance. The result is a vehicle that first and foremost delivers a refined driving experience, along with excellent fuel economy.

In addition, the new Infiniti M Hybrid can drive on electric power alone at speeds up to 62 mph and can travel on electric propulsion for up to 1.2 miles at a time. Tests have shown that in mixed driving, the Infiniti M Hybrid is able to drive in electric only mode for as much as 50% of the time. And, with its compact hybrid system design, the new Infiniti M Hybrid also offers a roomy interior and competitive trunk space.

Paris 2010: 2011 Infiniti G37 Convertible gets the IPL workup

Infiniti continues to roll out its new Infiniti Performance Line, IPL, and naturally the next vehicle to get the sporty kit is the G37 Convertible. The 2011 Infiniti IPL G Convertible lines up next to the already-revealed IPL G Coupe and shares the same aggressive body kit and stylish 19-inch, seven-spoke graphite wheels.

We suspect power will be slightly down compared to the IPL G Coupe, much like how the standard G coupe is slightly more powerful than its respective convertible counterpart. Pricing has yet to be announced as this is technically a concept, but with the IPL G Coupe trickling up to the $50K mark we expect the convertible to cross that threshold.

Infiniti New Front Wheel Drive Coupe

If ever there was a premium brand with an identity crisis, it’s Infiniti. Originally, they were conceived as Nissan’s answer to Lexus. A few years of working this angle produced some disappointing cars (does anyone remember the G20 or the J30?) and even more disappointing sales results. Cars that really did rock (the Q45, for example, or later, the M45) didn’t sell particularly well despite Infitniti’s attempts to reposition themselves as a performance and luxury brand. We Americans didn’t seem to understand the marque until Infiniti finally hit their stride with the G35 series of sedans and coupes, which offered a good blend of performance, luxury and affordability.

Now it seems they’re out to confuse us again, this time by announcing a front wheel drive coupe to compete against Audi’s A3. Past Infiniti models such as the G20 or the I30 were FWD, but that was before Infiniti reinvented themselves as a performance oriented luxury brand. Of course they sell the occasional SUV, too, so maybe we need to think of them as a full line manufacturer who offers performance, luxury and versatility in their product mix. I’d just like some direction on what order those adjectives should be in.

In any case, the new FWD coupe will be designed for the Euopean market, so we may not even see it on this side of the pond. It will be smaller than their current G series, and MotorAuthority tells us it will take styling cues from last year’s Essence concept car. I’d expect the new FWD Infiniti to focus more on luxury and technology than on outright performance, but it’s far too early to tell what direction the automaker will go in. This time.

New York 2010: 2011 Infiniti QX56 priced identical to 2010 model at $56,700

After a quite entertaining piece of both gravity and physiology-defying strangeness from some smiley Cirque de Soleil performers (Infiniti is the official sponsor of Cirque de Soleil), Infiniti's product boss Carlos Tavares took the wraps off the all-new QX56. Based not on the Nissan Armada chassis (like the previous QX56) but instead on the heavy-duty Patrol, the new QX56 is a large, eight passenger "5-Star Luxury" body on frame SUV. That said, Infiniti managed to shed over 100 pound of flab compared to the 2010 QX56.

Speaking of the 2010 iteration, the previous QX56 is roundly regarded as one of the most awkward and ungainly looking luxo-barges, well, ever. In fact, if we were to put together a museum exhibit about the uncontrolled and obnoxious wild excesses of the just-ended SUV craze, the old QX would get top billing right next to a Hummer H2 and the Cadillac Escalade EXT. The new QX56 changes all that. It's world's better looking. We'd even go so far as to state that it has a certain Middle Eastern chic to it. Put it like this: if you had to cruise around your kingdom checking oil wells what would you rather be driving?

Infiniti is billing the QX56 as an eight-passenger private jet. Mr. Tavares must have said the word "luxury" a dozen times in his ten-minute presentation. Judging by our time with the all-new 2011 M37 and M56, we can declare then when they want to, Infiniti is fully capable of building a world-class interior. In the 2011 QX56, even the third-row reclines. Oh, they've also seen fit to stuff seven-inch color displays into the backs of the front head rests.

Hardware-wise, the QX56 is a body-on-frame full-size SUV sporting the same 5.6-liter variable-timing, direct-injection V8 as the M56, although in QX-trim it "only" makes 400 horsepower. However, while Infiniti had no official word on torque, they did explain the new QX56 can tow 8,500 pounds. And the big boy's seven-speed automatic allows it to get an almost, kinda respectable 20 mpg on the highway.

Most noteworthy is the inclusion of a Hydraulic Body Motion Control system that Infiniti claims reduces body roll by 40%. It uses an X-corner fluid distribution system (similar to how the Audi RS4 is suspended) that moves suspension fluid from the left front damper to the right rear, and vice-versa. Infiniti also claims the system is so effective that new QX56 has less body roll than the BMW 5 Series. Either way, the QX56 goes on this sale this summer, starting at the exact same price as the old one, $56,700.

First Drive: 2011 Infiniti M37S and M56S

What is an Infiniti? That's a pretty harsh question to be asking 20 years after the brand's debut, but sadly, it's pertinent. To be fair, the possible answers to this question got much narrower in 2003 when Infiniti introduced a legitimate BMW 3 Series competitor, the G35 (now G37). The situation further clarified that same year when the "Bionic Cheetah," known to the rest of us as the FX showed its (then) quite handsome face. But it was the 2005 introduction of the second generation M sedan that announced most loudly Infiniti's luxury-performance aspirations: to kick BMW in the back of the pants.

When it debuted, the M (specifically M45S) was a better sporting sedan than the BMW 545i. It had more power, it arguably handled better, and the heavily larded-on high-tech gizmos were worlds more user-friendly than BMW's first-generation iDrive (two minutes to tune in a radio station sucks). Only problem was father time, who simply wasn't kind to the ultimately frumpy looking M. While the rest of the world's sporting, mid-size sedans evolved into better, sharper, faster machines (see the astonishingly good Mercedes-Benz E-Class), the Infiniti M languished on the vine. A good car? Yes, for sure, but by its less-than-notable refresh in 2008, the M had became an also-ran. All it really had going for it was a lower price than the competition, which isn't exactly a strong selling point in such a cachet-conscious segment.

Recently, Infiniti invited the U.S. motoring press down to mostly-sunny San Diego to meet and drive its new 2011 M cars. Lo and behold, we think we may now know what an Infiniti is.

From the outside, there's little question Infiniti has stepped up the M's game in a major way. Drawing swoopy inspiration from the Essence concept, the new M is lower, wider and just a smidgen longer. Infiniti hammered home the point that the new car is the first Infiniti product to sport Essence-derived lines, but by no means will it be the last. They showed us a few pictures of the new QX56, and while we sadly can't share them with you, please take our word for it that the new QX is world's better looking than the frankly obscene old version.

Back to the M. The 2011 model looks unabashedly Japanese from its organic curves to its low-slung stance, and is a welcome return to the avant-garde sedan gauntlet thrown down by the original Q45 two decades prior. We find the heavy-looking, overly wrought grille to be a little much, but at least it's distinctive. The car's best side is either the right or the left. We love the long front doors, the relatively short (but still plenty big) rear doors and the rising, falling and then rising again belt line that terminates into a truncated-looking trunk. Squint hard enough and you can see what the Porsche Panamera should have looked like. The stance is just about perfect, the only flaw being that the 20-inch wheels somehow look slightly undersized. Go figure. The big picture is that with the exception of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-lookin' FX, Infinitis are fairly anonymous. The 2011 M changes that.

Inside is an evolution of what we've come to expect from Infiniti. Not a lot of bling or wow, but solidly business class, clean and arguably luxurious. In the negative column is button creep. For better or for worse, the new M lacks its German rivals all-in-one controller pucks (iDrive, COMMAND, MMI) and instead chooses to mimic Lexus by covering nearly every non-wooden surface in the cabin with a button. Including the starter, we counted 55.

On the good side are large patches of leather covering the instrument binnacle and acting as driver and passenger center-tunnel knee bolsters, the latter being key for when you're banging the car around a back road. Speaking of carving out corners, the leather-wrapped steering wheel is nice and chunky, though perhaps a touch too wide in diameter. We're also happy that Infiniti upgraded the nav screen (now eight inches) as the old, illegible, tiny screen was the previous car's sorest spot.

Like the third-generation Q45, Infiniti will put some really nice wood into the new M if you opt for it (side note: there were internal rumblings concerning an all-new Q flagship, but the 2009 economic tsunami nipped 'em in the bud). In the case of our photo subject, you're looking at silver-impregnated, sunburst white ash (part of the Deluxe Touring Package). While that particular wood is very nice, some of the plastics and rubbery compounds used elsewhere in the cabin aren't. For instance, there's a long strip of aluminum-look plastic inlaid into the fancy pants wood that kinda screams "Not quite."

Back to all those buttons. The new M, like the old M, is simply dripping with technology. We'd need an Infiniti M-sized owners manual worth of space to explain them all. Instead, we'll cover our favorites. Forest Air is Infiniti's attempt to make air conditioning luxurious once more. Essentially, Forest Air (depicted by a button covered with trees) oscillates the speed of the air coming out of the vents. It's supposed to mimic a fresh breeze and therefor be more refreshing. While Forest Air sounds absolutely gimmicky, we really enjoyed it in practice.

Next, we've got Active Trace Technology, also known as ACT. Like a lot of new automotive technologies coming on line these days, ACT is yet another way to utilize the ABS. For you racing types, think of it as automatic trail braking. For the rest of you, ACT selectively unbrakes certain wheels depending on the angle of the steering wheel. In theory this allows you to transition out of corners faster and more smoothly. In practice, when you're in Sport mode (and we were absolutely in Sport mode), the level of ACT interference fades into the background. It mind sound a bit spooky, but like the other new M technologies we're about to mention, you can turn it completely off by fiddling around in the nav system.

Y'all ready for this one? Blind Spot Intervention (BSI). When another vehicle is detected in either of the M's rear corners, a yellow light illuminates on the A pillar as a warning. Nothing new there. However, should you then decide to steer into said obstacle – let's say you're trying to change lanes to the left – both right-side brakes are gently applied. Actually, forget gently. If you really cut the wheel, the brakes come on rather hard. The result is that you are pulled back into your previous trajectory. Though Infiniti assured us that if you really do want to smash into the car next to you, you can muscle your way through BSI. Obviously, we were extraordinarily skeptical of this (or any such) driver interference technology. But, we tried it out, and we're here to tell you that it works as advertised.

The 2011 M also can be equipped with Lane Departure Prevention (LDP), an evolution of the previous car's Lane Departure Warning, a technology that's carried over to the new car. LDP works exactly like BSI, only instead of reacting to a car in your blind spot, LDP reads the stripes on the road and oppo-brakes the wheels to keep you in line. This one we didn't like so much, but we can see its usefulness.

There's also Intelligent Brake Assist (IBS), which uses the radar cruise control system to detect an obstacle in front of the car and then gently moves the accelerator pedal up against your foot. Again, it's sounds frightful, but in the real world it works well, essentially nudging your foot from the gas to the brake. It's more of a recommendation than an actual intervention (it really is a gentle push as opposed to a vicious shove) and is probably best used in stop-and-go traffic. Like all that we've discussed, if you don't like it, switch it off. Being even more fair to Infiniti, the new M ships with all the driver intervention tech in the off position, requiring you to turn it on in the first place.

The 2011 M comes in two main flavors, the M37 and the M56. The M37 (finally) gets Nissan's righteously good VQ37 3.7-liter V6 that's been in use for some time in the G37 and Nissan 370Z. For M duty, the VQ is tuned to 330 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 270 pound-feet of torque at 5,200 rpm. The big news is what's lying in wait under the hood of the M56 – a 5.6-liter direct-injected V8 that produces 420 hp at 6,000 rpm and a brutal 417 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. Both engines are mated to Nissan's seven-speed automatic transmission that features rev-matched downshifts. If you opt for the Sport Package on either car, you also get proper column-mounted, leather-covered aluminum shift paddles.



For the purpose of this review, we're talking about cars equipped with said Sport Package that include bigger brakes and calipers front and rear, 4-Wheel Active Steering, upgraded springs and shocks, more highly bolstered seats, 245/40/20 summer tires and a big fat red S on the trunk lid. Caveat emptor: The Sport packs aren't cheap. Not only does the Sport Package cost an additional $3,650 over the $46,250 and $57,550 base prices of the M37 and M56 respectively, but you are forced to also get the Technology Package that lists for around $3,000. Is the $6,650 worth the stretch? To us, yes, but you've been warned.

It was quite eye-opening to drive the two Ms back to back. The M37S is a high-reving freak that's more than happy to spend an hour spinning along at around 5,500 rpm. Even though Infiniti's boffins managed to make the new M37 weigh six-pounds less than the outgoing M35, 3,858 pounds is still quite a chunk of car. That said, the impressive 3.7-liter V6 had enough power to motivate the big sedan quickly and satisfyingly. Yeah, you have to get on the pedal to get to the power, but that's the good part. Infiniti doesn't give out performance numbers, but we'd guess 5.5 seconds to 60 mph is about right. One quick note about the transmission, and this applies to both cars, is that it's a shame Infiniti didn't pull the trigger and put in a dual-clutch system. While you as the driver do get to pull the trigger (fine, paddle shifter), the shifts take way too long. Also, gas mileage is up by 1 mpg compared to the old M35 – 18 city/26 highway.

By contrast, the hulking M56S is much more of a grand tourer than the rev-loving M37. Torque comes on way lower down the rev range and there's so much more of it. The 5.6-liter V8 also makes more guttural, low-frequency sounds than the buzzy V6, so much so that the two cars hardly sound (let alone feel) related. Curiously, and despite its impressive power numbers, the V8 didn't come across as explosive as we thought and hoped it might. For comparison's sake, the Audi RS4 also makes 420 hp (and one hundred fewer torques) yet feels like it's being shot out of a cannon. A big cannon. The M56 on the other hand, feels more like the Lexus LS600hL. There's endless, inadequacy-compensating power on tap, it's just not a quick car. We suppose you could blame the M56's 4,028 pound curb weight (up 70 pounds over the M45), but we suspect that gearing and sound insulation is to blame. Still, the M56 probably hits 60 mph in five seconds flat, it just doesn't feel all that explosive. Mileage is unchanged compared to the M45 at 16 mpg in the city, but a vastly improved 25 mpg highway (the M45 clocked 21 mpg on the road).

While the new engines are no doubt welcome news to enthusiast types, the biggest improvement (and really this car's killer app) is the 4-Wheel Active Steering, or 4WAS. Unlike the more aggressive (and in reality, not that great) systems you might remember from the late '80s and early '90s, Infiniti's 4WAS only moves the rear wheels in phase with the front wheels by a maximum of one degree. Admittedly, that doesn't sound like much and at low speeds you simply don't notice it. But crank up the engine's volume and get ready to be impressed. 4WAS helps eliminate both under- and oversteer, but more importantly the M just feels planted when you reach a turn's apex. Not just planted, but nimble, athletic and confident, especially in conjunction with some left-foot trail braking. Put it like this: We knew going in that both Ms would be fast, but an honest to goodness handler? Color us remarkably impressed. If you're wondering, the optional four-wheel-drive systems offered on both cars kill the handling. They also add weight and aren't available with the all-important Sport Package. We're sure that traction control alone (plus snow tires) will see you and your new M through the winter.

Now comes the hard part – which one to buy. We suppose it depends on what you're into. For the corner-carving set, there's no question that the lighter, much more tossable M37S is the Infiniti to get. The M37 changes direction better than its V8 sibling, sounds crazier, behaves more predictably and is lots of fun to pound around a winding road. However, if big, wafting, luxurious road trips are your thing, you've got to choose the M56S. Its smoother, more refined and quieter V8 nicely satisfies the first part of the luxury-performance descriptor.

Which one would we drive home in? After about ten minutes of consideration, we're saying the The M37S. Surprised? We suspect that on a race track the M56S would be able to pull on the M37S in the straights, but that the lighter, more nimble M37S would make up all the time lost in the corners. And if the roads you like driving don't have any straight parts, well, the choice is that much easier. Either way, the 2011 M almost totally answers any questions we may have had about Infiniti. Almost.

[Source: Autoblog]

Infiniti launches FX Limited Edition in Europe

Miffed at having missed out on the Infiniti FX Millionaire Edition? The special run was unveiled in Amsterdam a couple of months back at a price roughly twice that of a stock FX. Only 100 were made, and they weren't even available on this side of the pond. Now Infiniti's European division is following up with a second run called, straight-forward enough, the Limited Edition.

Like the Millionaire, the Limited can be ordered in either FX37 or FX50 guise, in scratch-resistant Obsidian Black or White Moonlight paint and features a host of special touches inside and out, from the dark graphite trim and 21-inch turbine-shaped rims to the Alcantara and carbon fiber trim on the interior. The special crossover also comes packed with the Connectiviti+ package, packing everything from sat-nav with Michelin Guide to the 11-speaker Bose sound system and 10-gig hard drive.

Fortunately prices are considerably more reasonable than its predecessor special, with the FX37S Limited Edition coming in at £55,855 (the equivalent of about $88k) and the FX50S Limited Edition at £62,035 (just shy of a hundred grand). Another 100 examples will be offered exclusively across Western Europe.

[Source: Infiniti]