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Infiniti boss ices plan for EV

Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen has postponed plans for an electric vehicle in order to focus on high-volume models. Automotive News reports de Nysschen is attempting to be realistic about Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's goal of nearly tripling Infiniti global sales from 170,000 units last year to 500,000 by March 31, 2017, saying, "500,000 cars by 2017 is an inordinately ambitious challenge." An electric vehicle would likely sell in rather small numbers.
Still, the executive is already making moves to improve Infiniti sales worldwide with new production in both China and England. Meanwhile, the company plans to unveil a new volume compact sedan set to bow in 2015. Meanwhile, de Nysschen is also working on two new models above the company's current M line. Those will borrow styling cues from machines like the Essence Concept, but will be far less exotic, tilting more toward high-performance luxury than true sports car.

2023 Infiniti QX60 Review: Now worth checking out

Pros: Well-equipped; handsome interior; sharp exterior styling; solid towing capacity Cons: No hybrid option; cramped third row; there are better three-rows for the price The 2023 Infiniti QX60 is relevant and worth considering for the first time in a long while. It’s based on the proficient Nissan Pathfinder, and Infiniti brings a lot of good to the table with this three-row SUV. The design is immediately eye-catching, as the curvaceous body panels blend and wrap around this rear, giving it a very sleek and attractive profile. Plus, its beauty isnÂ’t just skin deep. Infiniti ditched the old modelÂ’s frustrating CVT for a nine-speed automatic transmission, and the result is a driving experience that better matches its luxury car badge. It would be nice if there was more than just the standard 3.5-liter V6 available — such as a hybrid or PHEV — but the single engine is at least a competent one with enough power for above-average towing capacity. Despite the QX60 being a perfectly competitive SUV these days, donÂ’t think that itÂ’s now a class leader. Other options in the luxury space such as the Acura MDX, Lincoln Aviator and Volvo XC90 would find their way into our garages before the QX60. Even non-luxury-branded alternatives such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee L or Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride in their top trims compete strongly against the QX60. The base models offer a plethora of standard equipment that many luxury manufacturers donÂ’t offer, so the best play Infiniti has to offer is in value. That said, if you want every luxury in the book, the top-trim Autograph delivers with gorgeous interior appointments and a high-tech cabin. ItÂ’s still tough to recommend the QX60 over others in this segment, though, as the over-$50,000 starting price puts it squarely in the sights of our favorite three-row vehicles. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2023? The QX60 was all-new last year, but Infiniti has a few updates for 2023. The wireless charging pad is now standard across all trims. A frameless rearview mirror is added, and the lower bumper accents are updated with new colors. Lastly, all QX60s will now have "Infiniti Premium Care" as standard, which includes three years of free inspections, oil changes and tire rotations.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.