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2014 Infiniti Q50

Avoiding An Identity Crisis... For Now
Infiniti is a brand that has been quietly undergoing major upheaval - and not just with the numbers and letters on its trunklids. Back in December, Nissan's premium brand rankled fans and pundits by announcing it would redo its alphanumeric nomenclature, yet that decision was but a PR speedbump - there are bigger fish to fry. After all, this is a marque that was on the chopping block just a couple of years ago, and now it has a major opportunity to succeed thanks to new investment, new independence (Infiniti is now responsible for its own design, engineering, marketing, quality and human resources), a new global headquarters in Hong Kong, and new marching orders from new leadership that calls for a revitalized and expanded portfolio.
Yet if you think that the Q-based naming convention is the first sign of the brand's new direction, you might have missed Infiniti's biggest signal flare: the 2013 JX crossover. Fine premium three-row crossover that it may be, it's still the first Infiniti in ages that operates without a scintilla of driving entertainment at the core of its genetic makeup. (The last - and perhaps only - previous example was also Pathfinder-based, the 1997 QX4). To be fair, three-row CUVs have a laundry list of priorities before driving enjoyment figures in, but the message the JX (henceforth known as the QX60) sends is clear: Infiniti is going after more segments and more customers. Plans are afoot to expand the company's product line by a whopping 60 percent over the next five years, and in short, that means Infiniti is no longer content to be the unsung Japanese BMW - it needs vehicles that satisfy a wider swath of consumers. Despite all this, Infiniti officials we spoke with were keen to assert that driving pleasure remains very much core to their mission, and to that of this 2014 Q50 in particular.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #344 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #344 tonight, joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars, formerly of Porsche Cars North America, and all-around swell guy. You can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below, and we'll give them extra-diligent attention. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #344
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Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.