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Infiniti JX35 QX60 Hybrid confirmed for New York debut

The next Q-ified Infiniti will be making its debut at the New York Auto Show later this month, the QX60 - the crossover formerly known as JX35. And while there aren't many changes to the crossover in terms of design or function, the big news is that Infiniti will be revealing a production hybrid powertrain option for its seven-passenger luxury/utility vehicle.
The QX60 Hybrid uses the same powetrain found in Infiniti's M35h gasoline-electric sedan, which couples a 2.5-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine with a 15-kilowatt electric motor, running to the wheels via continuously variable transmission. Both front- and all-wheel-drive versions of the QX60 Hybrid will be available, and Infiniti says that the more efficient CUV should be good for around 26 miles per gallon combined - an improvement of five mpg over the current JX35 with its 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6. And because the compact lithium-ion battery will be housed underneath the third row seat, we're told that the hybrid model will still have the same passenger and cargo capacity of the non-hybrid crossover.
This will be the first three-row hybrid CUV offered in the US market, and wrapping it up in a luxury package makes a lot of sense to us, since it could be a good way of cajoling customers into absorbing the extra cost of the more expensive powertrain. (Keyword in that sentence: CUV. After all, the Cadillac Escalade is still currently available as a two-mode hybrid for the 2013 model year.) Infiniti has not released official pricing figures, but says that the hybrid model will represent a roughly $3,000 premium over the standard QX60.

Infiniti takes to Facebook to explain model names, mentions 550-hp flagship

Infiniti caused quite a stir this week when it announced that it would be changing its vehicle names so that all of its cars start with Q and all of its crossovers and SUVs start with QX. Many displeased fans and owners took to social media to voice their opinions, and Johan de Nysschen, the new Infiniti boss, responded today with a Facebook post of his own.
In the note, de Nysschen talks about the challenge of product expansions with alphanumeric names that allow for flexibility without encroaching on the trademarked names of other automakers, although we're sure de Nysschen's former colleagues at Audi aren't looking forward to a Q30 or Q50. He also says that as Infiniti grows to become a global brand, the new naming structure - which closely mimics Volvo - is also designed to reduce confusion (just don't tell that to current owners). One thing that de Nysschen assured wouldn't happen is a confusing "X" added to the end of all-wheel-drive model names that would result in names like the Q60X or, even worse, the QX50X.
While we are not looking forward to relearning Infiniti's product lineup, de Nysschen has given us something to look forward to courtesy of a new performance sedan. From the brief explanation of this car, which was used as a key example in explaining the validity of the new names, we learned that the new model will be a performance version of what is now the M sedan, and it will be powered by a "charged induction" 3.0-liter V6 producing more than 550 horsepower. The M's name will become the Q70, but as of right now, it isn't clear if this will be an IPL model or something else.

Infiniti Q50 steer-by-wire system took 10 years to develop [w/video]

Infiniti's Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS) is quite a novelty - the system employs no physical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels under normal circumstances and instead relies on a computer, clutch and steering-angle actuator to guide vehicles down the road with input from the driver.
In our First Drive review of a 2014 Infiniti Q50 equipped with the system, we weren't overly impressed by the artificial feedback. But we can't help but be impressed with how long Infiniti spent on its development: a full 10 years, according to Autoline Daily in the video report below. A staggering 70 percent of the research and development time spent on DAS was devoted to getting the steering feel right, and unfortunately, our first impression suggests their results still leave something to be desired, as we found it lacked the sporty feeling a sport sedan should have.
The weight of DAS is comparable to that of a conventional steering system due to its complexity. For example, three ECUs are used in the first-generation DAS system to ensure there's never a loss of steering, but Infiniti is refining the technology and is working to simplify it to reduce weight. One day Infiniti hopes that only one ECU will be needed to control DAS. We just hope it doesn't take the Japanese automaker another ten years to get the steering feel right.