2007 Infiniti G35 Base Sedan 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Assessing Sebastian Vettel's first 100 days as Infiniti's director of performance

Whenever a new US president is elected, we know to expect a performance review as soon as he (or she) has spent 100 days in office. Sebastian Vettel, arguably given a job that is more important to Infiniti than the US president, has been the brand's director of performance for one hundred revolutions of The Blue Marble, and Infiniti has put together a videographic glimpse of his work at Paul Ricard, in the US and England.
We probably won't really get a grip on the full results of his efforts for a while - we doubt that he's been in his post long enough to significantly alter the trajectory of the Q50 sedan, for instance. But then again, Infiniti insists he's been integral to the car's dynamics development regime, suggesting he's been working as a test driver for some time before these 100 days. Of course, Vettel is a race car driver and brand ambassador first and foremost, but when he tells a Q50 engineer that "For the future, I think it's more comfortable to have the shift paddles on the steering wheel," we get the sense that he won't hesitate to suggest changes in forthcoming products. Check out more of his inputs in the video below as well as a press release detailing his visit to the tech center in Cranfield, UK.

Infiniti Q70 adds long-wheelbase model, fresh looks for 2015

After all the work done for the Q50, Infiniti has finally given some attention to its flagship sedan, the Q70 (or, for those that refuse to use the brand's latest nomenclature, the M). While the refreshed sedan sports a few visual tweaks, the big bit of news is that it's the first vehicle in its segment to offer both long- and a short-wheelbase options (keep in mind, both BMW and Audi offer LWBs in China, but not in the US).
Infiniti has stretched the standard car's 114.2-inch wheelbase to 120.1 inches, lengthening the car 7.3 inches overall. Nearly the entire wheelbase increase is dedicated to rear-seat legroom, with a substantial increase of 5.6 inches overall. As for the effect the stretching had on the Q70's looks, well, we actually think it might look better with the longer wheelbase.
It's a nice change of proportions that is complemented by the fresh looks of the facelifted Q70. New head and taillights are the biggest changes, with full LEDs in the back and LED accents in front. There's certainly a bit of Q50 in the front, thanks to both the headlights and the new "double-arch" grille, complete with mesh-finish inserts. In the cabin, material quality looks to remain impressive, with Infiniti's cool silver-dust wood trim being shown off in the press images. Outside of that, interior changes are kept to a minimum.

Toyota, Lexus dominate KBB's Best Resale Value Awards

Toyota and Lexus stormed the 2014 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards, winning a combined 18 categories including best brand and best luxury brand. This marks the third year in a row that both automakers have won the Brand and Luxury Brand resale value awards. In all, Toyota won 11 categories and Lexus won seven.
Honda made a good showing, as well, winning two segments (Accord Plug-In Hybrid and Civic Si) and putting one car on the top-10 Best Resale Value list (CR-V). Chevrolet did even better, winning two segments (with the V6 Camaro and the Corvette) and placing three cars on the top-10-overall list (again, the Camaro and Corvette, plus the Silverado 1500).
The other winners came from Jeep, Dodge, Infiniti, Subaru and Audi. To give you a clearer picture of the Toyota and Lexus domination, their 18 mentions represents more than half of the 34 awards (including the top-10-overall list).