2004 - Infiniti G35 on 2040-cars

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2023 Infiniti Q50 gets small price bump and Premium Care

The Infiniti Q50 sedan continues for 2023 without the support of its coupe sibling, the Q60. There are just three small changes on the way, one being the addition of Infiniti Premium Care. Expanded to every Infiniti sold or leased in the U.S., Premium Care is a regular maintenance program for items like oil and filter changes, tire rotations, and inspections for up to three years. The second change is a higher price, the Q50 starting at $43,725 including the $1,075 destination fee, a $610 increase over 2022. MSRPs for the three trims next year and differences from 2022 are: Q50 Luxe: $43,725 ($610) Q50 Sensory: $49,425 ($400) Q50 Red Sport 400: $57,575 ($600) The last change is the availability of a Saddle Brown interior, which used to require stepping up to the Sensory. Rear-wheel drive is the standard layout, all-wheel drive can be optioned to any trim for $2,000. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 hold steady at 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque for the Luxe and Sensory, or 400 hp and 350 lb-ft for the Red Sport 400, shifting through a seven-speed automatic no matter the output. It's possible there are more people who want to know where the Q50 is going than want to buy the car. The brand sold 8,482 Q50s in the first half of 2021, but just 3,717 units in the first half of this year. The high point came in 2016 when 44,007 units moved that year, two years after the sedan went on sale, and the model heading into 2023 has been hanging on for 10 years. The brand talked about a potential new electrified platform for the sedan in 2018, but come 2021 Nikkei Asia reported parent company Nissan would be ending development of all sedans in Japan excepting the Skyline. The Q50 seems like it's doing circles in a product cul-de-sac, knowing there's no point in revamping the current generation or developing a new one. But the car on sale is just bringing down values; unlike much of the rest of the market, there's real money to be saved on a one- or two-year-old Q50. Perhaps when the electric revolution has some power behind it in 2027 or 2028, we could see a return to the hot Infiniti sedans of yore.   

The Nissan Ariya was nearly the new Murano

NEW YORK — In addition to providing thoughts on a future Xterra while at the New York International Auto Show, Nissan Americas Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira also talked with us a bit about EVs, and more specifically model lines and nameplates. We've seen a few strategies ranging from almost completely new and parallel model lines (such as Hyundai's Ioniqs and Kia's EV#s), to reusing old names on still similarly parallel models (such as Chevy's Equinox, Blazer and Silverado EVs), and of course blends of the two. So far, Nissan has gone with the separate model route with Leaf and Ariya, but that may not be as much the case in the future. Pandikuthira noted that now, consumers don't have as much interest in their EVs being some completely unique, statement piece. As such, both Nissan and Infiniti will be adding EVs to existing nameplates more so than totally new model lines. He didn't say whether they would simply be electric variants of existing internal combustion models, or something like Chevy's model, though. But he did note that the Nissan Ariya was, at one point, considered as a possible Murano successor. It certainly would make sense to us. The Ariya is a distinct-looking crossover, and one with a very upscale interior, both key tenets of the Murano from that model's introduction in the early 2000s. Plus, the Murano is in pretty dire need of a replacement, as the current generation dates back nearly a decade ago to the 2015 model year. The reason Pandikuthira gave for the Ariya decision was that the crossover represented enough of a change in Nissan's EV technology and capabilities that the brand wanted to highlight that with a unique nameplate. Nissan won't be ruling out the possibility of new EV-only models, though. Just like with Ariya, Pandikuthira told us that if a planned car is unique enough, the company will still be open to a new line. But expect more, say, electric Rogues and Altimas than totally new names. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Infiniti Q30 spied again

The Infiniti Q30 is back in the news thanks to the imminent debut of the QX30 Concept as its crossover counterpart at the upcoming 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The siblings are Infiniti's entrants into the popular premium compact ranks, and the standard hatchback was recently spotted in Europe with the least amount of concealment yet. Granted, this tester is still pretty heavy camouflaged, but this is a lot better aesthetically than the previous garbage-bag-covered look. While the pattern makes specifics hard to discern, the translation from the motor show stand to the road appears to be leaving the Q30 Concept's styling largely intact. Up front, the squinting headlights and swollen-rectangle shape of the grille remain similar, and while they are pretty hard to spot, the slashes down the side are faintly visible from some angles. The rear hews even closer to the original design with a comparable shape for the taillights and hatch, but exhausts are much smaller on this test car. Underneath the skin, the Q30 reportedly shares its platform with the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, and the engine is also expected to be the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder available in Mercedes' compact lineup. Official details should start spilling out soon, though, because Infiniti wants production of the hatchback to begin in 2015 at the Sunderland plant in the UK. A launch for the US market is expected in 2016. Featured Gallery Infiniti Q30 Spy Shots Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Infiniti Hatchback Luxury infiniti q30 infiniti q30 concept