2002 Infiniti I35 on 2040-cars

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Nissan recalls 226k vehicles over airbag inflators

Nissan and Infiniti are the latest automakers to issue recalls involving faulty airbag inflators from Takata. The Japanese automakers have announced campaigns covering about 226,326 units from seven models built in the early 2000s because they contain the bad part in the passenger-side, front airbag. The affected vehicles include the 2002-2004 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2003 Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Maxima, and it also covers the 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4, 2002-2003 I35, 2003 FX45 and 2003 FX35.
Like the other vehicles with the faulty inflators, it's possible for the part to rupture during airbag deployment and spray metal shrapnel at occupants. Nissan and Infiniti have even included vehicles with replacement airbags in this campaign because those parts also could have been defective. Both companies were also part of the earlier regional campaign to fix cars in high-humidity climates where the problem has been found to be the worst.
As is the usual response, Nissan and Infiniti will notify owners of the affected vehicles and will make the repair at no charge. According to the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these fixes will commence around August 11. Scroll down to read the report from NHTSA, or read the full defect notice as a PDF, here.

Weekly Recap: An '80s encore in the auto world

The '80s returned in a big way this week, as National Lampoon's, Ghostbusters, Miami Vice, and even Tetris were back in the news. While there were far more serious topics (see below), nostalgia mingled with modern marketing to put these Reagan-era favorites back in the spotlight. The '80s were alternately cold and corny at times, but their cultural touchstones can still generate big money. That's why Infiniti recreated an iconic scene from National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) for an advertisement that hawks the QX60 crossover. Actor Ethan Embry, who played Rusty Griswold in a later Lampoon's movie, pilots the Infiniti – which is serving as a modern Family Truckster – for a trip to Walley World. A blonde pulls alongside in a red Lamborghini. They flirt, and she drives on. Christie Brinkley, who played the original girl in the red sports car (she drove a Ferrari in the '83 flick), is riding shotgun and chides Embry with: "A blonde. In a convertible. Seriously?" Okay, it's hardly on the level of "here's looking at you," or even "you can't handle the truth," but it should resonate with '80s babies, many of whom are now having children of their own and moving into three-row SUVs like the QX60. Naturally, Hollywood is going back to the well, too, with a Vacation remake that premiers July 29. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters is returning next year, and director Paul Feig offered a peak at the new Eco-1 in this tweet. In the 1984 classic, the team drove a modified 1959 Cadillac. Now, it will drive a late '80s Cadillac. As expected, the announcement generated support and controversy from movie and car enthusiasts. His tweet had generated several thousand retweets and favorites in the days following the news. Though the '80s Caddy looks, uh, less elegant in comparison to the now-iconic fins and curves of the original Ecto-1, it's about the same time lapse into the past as the '59 Caddy was to viewers in 1984. Speaking of 1984, Miami Vice, which debuted that year on NBC, is seeing one of its hero cars hit the auction block, Mecum Auctions announced this week. The 1986 Ferrari used on the show will be offered for sale Aug. 15 during Monterey classic car week. The white supercar runs a 390-hp flat 12-cylinder engine paired with a five-speed manual transmission and was in storage after the show ended in 1989 until earlier this year. It has 16,124 miles on the odometer and is authenticated by Ferrari North America and Classiche.

2022 Infiniti QX60 spied running around post-Monograph Concept reveal

Infiniti recently revealed the QX60 Monograph Concept, a concept crossover meant to preview the next generation QX60. Today, the first spy shots of the QX60 in production form hit our desks. There’s a whole lot we canÂ’t see under the camouflage, but it looks fairly representative of what we expect a production version of the Monograph Concept would look like. The headlights, grille design, lower opening and side air intakes all look like they were pulled straight off the concept. It also has the same hood design with raised outer edges that lead right into the A-pillar. Its droopy side camouflage does a good job of disguising its curvaceous profile and pronounced rear fenders. We can see a hint of widening at the rear fenders, and we hope that the MonographÂ’s look is translated over to production there. The mirrors were moved further down onto the doors, and the flush door handles are done away with. This tester appears much less flamboyant with normal-size wheels replacing the giant and dramatic spinners on the Concept (gallery of the concept below). Infiniti QX60 Monograph View 36 Photos Infiniti is copying the shape of the rear over to production. We can clearly make out the raked rear window, overhanging spoiler and rounded shape of the back end. The taillights are a bit difficult to see, but their general design matches up to the Concept. As for the fancy chromed exhaust area on the concept, those spots appear flat and barren on this preproduction model. ItÂ’s still heavily covered in camo, though, so we donÂ’t yet know what the rear bumper design will look like in its final form. The production QX60 is set to be revealed next year where it will likely go on sale as a 2022 model year car. ItÂ’s unclear what powertrain(s) will be lurking under the hood, but at least we know the production version wonÂ’t stray terribly far from the concept now. Related Video: