2006 Infiniti Fx45 Base Sport Utility 4-door 4.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Leopard walks in, shuts down a Mercedes-Benz plant

In recent months the auto industry has seen plant closures due to a host of reasons — parts shortages, recalls, natural disasters, and even a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Now it can add to that list the threat of an invading leopard. A Mercedes-Benz factory in Pune, India, was forced to halt production for a few hours when a wayward jungle cat wandered into the facility, When the 3-year-old male leopard was spotted inside the manufacturing unit of the factory, it caused a panic among workers, according to a release by rescue organization Wildlife SOS discovered by The Drive. The site was shut down for about six hours as a Wildlife SOS rapid response team from the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre and the State Forest Department safely removed the curious cat. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The team's veterinary officers Dr. Nikhil Bangar and Dr. Shubham Patil carried out the rescue operation, tranquilizing the feline and loading it into a wildlife carrier. The rescue took about four hours, and Wildlife SOS reports that neither the creature nor any workers sustained injuries. The leopard was released back into the wild.  No one is quite sure how it got onto the factory grounds, but Wildlife SOS says that the forests in the surrounding region have one of the highest densities of leopards in the world. It's also suffering from rapid deforestation. That encroachment by humans has led to a decrease in the leopard's natural prey as well, so wildlife experts think it may have been looking for food.  The Mercedes plant builds the Maybach S 560, S-Class, E-Class Long Wheelbase, C-Class, CLA, GLA, GLE and GLS for the Indian market.  We have a different theory. We believe that the cat was seeking to set the record straight with Mercedes. When the S 65 AMG debuted, Mercedes claimed it featured the world's first Road Surface Scan technology to detect pavement undulations and adjust suspension damping accordingly. The only problem with that claim: Nissan had the technology some 30 years earlier in several mid-80s models, including the Maxima and Japan's version of the Infiniti M30, which was called — you guessed it — the Leopard. 

2025 Infiniti QX80's Klipsch audio system previewed at CES

Infiniti hasn’t shown us the redesigned 2025 QX80 full-size, three-row SUV yet. But, the automaker is previewing its high-end audio at CES 2024. Infiniti has announced that the 2025 QX80 will feature an available Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system. But instead of showing it to us in the new production car, itÂ’s being showcased in the Infiniti QX Monograph concept, which we first saw at Pebble Beach last year. Klipsch, a high-end speaker company, will be supplying the QX80 with a total of 24 speakers, including ones located in the front headrests. The system includes 1-inch titanium tweeters and an 8-inch TriPower subwoofer, as well as a 24-channel amplifier. Klipsch, known for premium in-home sound, announced at CES 2020 that it would partner with Panasonic to bring its audio quality to the car, and demonstrated its immersive automotive audio at CES 2021 with Panasonic and Dolby Atmos Music. Just last year, the 2025 Ram 1500 debuted with Klipsch audio in its Tungsten model. Now, Klipsch enters a new vehicle segment with the Infiniti QX80. The fact that Infiniti is showing off the Klipsch audio in the QX Monograph has us wondering just how much that concept previews the 2025 QX80. The availability of the Klipsch audio system is just the first little tidbit about the 2025 QX80 weÂ’re getting from Infiniti, with more to come as the carÂ’s debut approaches later this year. “The all-new QX80 is poised to elevate InfinitiÂ’s flagship with evolved design language, exceptional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology that will make it the new standard in the luxury SUV space,” Craig Keeys, group vice president of Infiniti Americas, said in a statement. “As we embark on an Infiniti product renaissance, we canÂ’t wait to share all the ways QX80 will deliver extraordinary comfort and convenience for all three rows.” Stay tuned. Related video:

4 ways Infiniti’s Q Inspiration concept bridges present and future

Infiniti's new Q Inspiration concept is a striking fastback sedan that the company says reflects an inflection point for both the luxury brand and the broader auto industry itself. It represents a bridge between technologies. That's true in the literal sense; it employs Infiniti's new variable compression turbocharged engine technology, which provides performance features while maximizing efficiency, and bridges the gap to more advanced powertrains. It also features Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous driving technology. But it's also true for the concept car's design, which Infiniti says provides a simple, elegant solution to complex technological questions — offering a palate cleanser, if you will, for the complicated technologies hidden beneath the gleaming surfaces. Oddly enough, the futuristic-looking Q Inspiration owes a debt of gratitude to the Prototype 9, the concept based on a 1940s-style grand prix car that Infiniti released last year. Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's senior vice president for global design, said that project became "a kind of a blank canvas for us to play with" and allowed for new discovery and expression with minimal brush strokes. It also led designers back to Ma, the Japanese concept of mastery of empty space. We spoke with Albaisa about how the concept's design echoes the theme of bridging the present and future. 1. The cabin's forward proportion and roominess Using the space-efficient VC-Turbo engine gave the designers space to shift the cabin forward and move the A-pillars back, creating a more centered and elongated cabin, with maximum headroom. The interior is clean, with orange and black leather with orange accents and backlit birch wood accents. The center console is floating, providing seamless connectivity to technology and hiding mechanical elements. Albaisa says it's the first manifestation of Infiniti's new form language for an era of advanced powertrain and future technologies. 2. The grille In what Albaisa describes as "a little bit of an accident" and "kind of tongue-in-cheek," the Q Inspiration's grille is a kind of trompe l'oeuil phenomenon. From directly in front, you can see the small fins, but viewed from the side, they disappear. So much so that Albaisa said he was initially fooled. "From a functional point of view, we need to breathe," he said. "But I think in the future, where there'll be a lot different types of technology, probably the car can breathe less. So we don't need that dominating big open mouth.