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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.

These are the top luxury cars bought by people entering the segment for the first time

Let's say you just got a big promotion at work or the kids are moving out of the house, and you finally have some extra money. You decide to blow it all at once and treat yourself by upgrading your ride. Naturally, you look to a luxury automaker. What do you choose?
Models like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class may be tailor-made to introduce buyers to the premium segment, but a new study finds that they don't garner the highest rates of non-luxury customer conquests. It turns out that a Volvo leads among folks moving up to a premium brand, and it isn't even one that's made anymore, at that.
A recent study by Polk and IHS Automotive looked at what models had the highest rates of buyers upgrading from a non-luxury segment. The information comes from its new vehicle registration data through April 2014. All ten top models boasted conquest rates of over 50 percent, but the Volvo C70 led the field with 68.01 percent of its customers coming from non-premium brands.

Cars with the worst resale value after 5 years

While the old saying that cars lose a massive chunk of their value as soon as they’re driven off the dealerÂ’s lot might not be entirely true these days, most new vehicles steadily lose value as they age and are used. iSeeCars recently released its latest study on depreciation, finding the models that lose value the fastest, and the list is packed with high-end nameplates. The vehicles that lost value the fastest over five years include: Maserati Quattroporte: 64.5% depreciation BMW 7 Series: 61.8% Maserati Ghibli: 61.3% BMW 5 Series Hybrid: 58.8% Cadillac Escalade ESV: 58.5% BMW X5: 58.2% Infiniti QX80: 58.1% Maserati Levante: 57.8% Jaguar XF: 57.6% Audi A7: 57.2% While sports cars, hybrids, and trucks dominated the list of slowest-depreciating vehicles, luxury brands accounted for all of the top ten fastest-depreciating models. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer also pointed out EVsÂ’ lack of representation on the slow-depreciating vehicles list, saying that thereÂ’s a disconnect between what automakers are building and what people actually want. The average five-year depreciation for all vehicles in the iSeeCars study was 38.8 percent. ThatÂ’s an almost 11% improvement over 2019Â’s figures, but some vehicle types perform worse than others. EVs depreciated 49.1 percent over five years, while SUVs dropped 41.2%. Trucks only fell 34.8% and hybrids 37.4%. Brauer noted that all vehicles depreciate slower than they did five years ago. Even so, EVs are not the best choice if youÂ’re looking for a vehicle that wonÂ’t feel like a ripoff when itÂ’s time to trade in. On the flip side, used EVs can present a stellar value, saving thousands over their new counterparts. Charging times and availability remain concerns for buyers in large parts of the country, but a heavily depreciated EV could be the used car value youÂ’ve been looking for. The same wisdom applies to used luxury vehicles, as the list above indicates. While new-car buyers shopping for luxury cars are set to see big depreciation during their ownership, that means the used car market is flooded with inexpensive used luxury cars. High repair costs and costly maintenance schedules are real issues that used luxury models face, however. Green Audi BMW Cadillac Infiniti Jaguar Maserati Car Buying Used Car Buying