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Infiniti is pulling out of Western Europe, cutting models

BEIJING — Nissan's premium brand Infiniti has announced it will exit Western Europe early next year, as it restructures its global operations and focuses on the world's top two auto markets. Infiniti said it will discontinue the Q30 sedan and the QX30 sport-utility vehicle and cease their production by the middle of 2019 at Nissan's manufacturing factory in Sunderland, England. Both models are sold globally but produced only in Britain. The QX30 is sold in the United States. The move comes as Infiniti seeks to divert its resources to markets with bigger opportunities, such as China and the United States, from a region where non-European premium brands are struggling to compete against local players such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Nissan also recently scrapped plans to build its new X-Trail SUV in Britain amid the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, saying it had taken the decision to optimize its investments by building the next generation model in Japan. "Western Europe remains the most challenging and competitive region for premium cars," Infiniti's chief spokesman, Trevor Hale, told Reuters. Infiniti's sales in western Europe almost halved last year to 5,800 vehicles. In addition to the tough competition, the Japanese premium brand, headquartered in Hong Kong since 2012, has struggled to effectively meet emissions and other regulatory requirements in the region, Hale said, referring to stringent Euro 6 emissions requirements and other regulatory challenges. "The commercial reality for Infiniti in Western Europe is that there is simply no visibility of a viable and sustainable business, especially given the regulatory challenges," he said. Infiniti said an exit from Western Europe will allow it to focus on its initiative to electrify a good portion of its product portfolio from 2021 and discontinue diesel offerings. The brand plans to focus more on its SUV lineup in North America, bring five new or significantly-redesigned vehicles to China over the next five years, improve quality of sales and residual value and realize more synergies with Nissan. "This is all part of Infiniti's vision to become a top challenger brand in the premium segment," it said. As it prepares to withdraw from Western Europe, Infiniti said it is working to find alternative opportunities for employees who would be affected, consulting with employee representatives where necessary and identifying opportunities for transition and training support where appropriate.

Infiniti Q50 Active Lane control is scarily self-driving

Occasionally, we post videos that require us to tell you not to try something at home. They usually involve some unsafe activity that requires a high-degree of skill and planning to achieve. This video, though, gets a more interesting disclaimer: Don't ever try this. Ever. Never ever. Period. Seriously, don't try it.
Some clowns in Germany decided to put the Infiniti Q50's Active Lane Control system to the test. For those not in the know, ALC can make small adjustments to keep the vehicle in the correct lane, a feature that's just starting to pick up steam. Instead of using it the way you're supposed to - with both hands on the wheel - these guys not only take both hands off the steering, but at one point climb out of the seat while traveling at freeway speeds, just to see how automated the combination of ALC and adaptive cruise control really are.
Yes, we've seen this sort of stunt before, but it was done in extremely controlled circumstances that didn't put the cars, the driver or any other motorists at risk and probably had appropriate emergency personnel on hand should the worst happen.

2020 Infiniti Q60 Infotainment Driveway Test | Baby steps forward

Infiniti is slowly coming round to the modern age of infotainment systems this year, and our first taste of that is in the 2020 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. This performance coupe has an updated system in it that, while it looks a whole lot like it did before, represents a step forward for Infiniti. Most importantly, Infiniti has finally added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality for 2020. Every new 2020 model year car should ship with the smartphone connection technology baked in, and Infiniti has finally gotten with the program this year on nearly all of its cars (QX60 is the holdout). The delay might have something to do with Nissan/Infiniti's reluctance to share customer data to Apple and Google, or perhaps Infiniti was waiting to roll out a broader interface update, but either way, the hardware they've applied it to would seem to be the same as before.  2020 Infiniti Q60 infotainment system View 9 Photos This updated interface also has upgraded graphics for a smoother experience. The improved performance is acceptable, but the problem with Infiniti’s InTouch twin-screen system has always been more than just its lack of speed. Compared to the advanced infotainment systems from Germany, InTouch looks and feels about five years behind the curve. Mercedes' MBUX, BMW's iDrive and AudiÂ’s MMI all respond with the speed and vigor we expect from top-shelf smartphones these days. The Infiniti's UX is as uninspiring as it gets. Simple, colored boxes fill the bottom screen, and a difficult-to-reach navigation system fills the top. Unfortunately, Infiniti decided to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality into the top screen, too — there was hardly any choice, as important car functions and settings are found on the bottom. Reaching all the way to the top row of icons on Spotify while driving is not easy when theyÂ’re all the way up there! And I promise you, my arms are normal length for a 5-foot 10-inch individual. A widescreen solution is better, which we once again found to be the case in the new Toyota Highlander. Another new feature this year is the addition of a WiFi hotspot for up to seven devices. Once again, itÂ’s a feature thatÂ’s been offered for years from other manufacturers, but itÂ’s still worth noting that a new Infiniti you buy will have it. After using the system every day for a week, nothing truly got on my nerves. It works, albeit slowly and without flare or excellence.