2012 Infiniti Fx35 on 2040-cars

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Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

The Infiniti Q60 Black S gets an F1 KERS system

This is the Infiniti Q60 Black S that will be debuting at the Geneva Motor Show, sporting some intense bodywork and an F1-inspired powertrain. It exists to draw a closer parallel between the Renault F1 program and the Infiniti brand – a relationship that's surely easier to understand in Europe than it is here, but so be it. Other than the wild bodywork, which includes a heavily sculpted front fascia, bigger side sills, two howitzer-sized exhaust pipes, and a massive rear wing, there's the F1-inspired KERS system. Exactly what that will be is up in the air; the F1 system is complex and expensive. While Infiniti says they want to engineer a road-going solution that's as similar as possible to the F1 KERS system, it's likely it'll be watered down a bit for production. View 12 Photos All in all, the 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 and the KERS system should combine to produce about 500 horsepower. That's all well and good, if it makes it out of concept car purgatory. Remember the Q50 Eau Rouge, the last Infiniti that got car enthusiast's undivided attention? Well, it got canceled. We're not sure what the appeal of an F1 tie-in would be to American shoppers, so who knows if the Black S will emerge as a rest-of-world special, or at all. In any event, we should have more details around Geneva, so stay tuned. Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Geneva Motor Show Infiniti Coupe Concept Cars Performance Videos Original Video 2017 Geneva Motor Show infiniti q60

Infiniti Q70 won't live to see 2020

The Infiniti Q70 won’t be returning for the 2020 model year, effectively killing InfinitiÂ’s large luxury sedan. This news comes to us via a report from Motor Authority, citing “the automaker” and Infiniti spokesperson Kyle Bazemore. WeÂ’ve reached out to Infiniti to confirm the news, but it doesnÂ’t strike us as a surprising move whatsoever. Update: Infiniti confirmed the Q70 won't be sold in the U.S. or Canada for the 2020 model year. Back in July of this year, Nissan made it clear that we should expect 10 percent of its models to be cut from its global product lineup. We speculated then that the Q70 and Q70L would be part of these cuts, as itÂ’s the manufacturerÂ’s worst-selling model. To no oneÂ’s surprise, that eventuality came true. Infiniti moved 4,479 Q70s and Q70Ls in 2018, making it a super low-volume vehicle in a tough segment. Back in the mid-2000s, Infiniti topped 20,000 sales of its largest luxury sedan (not named the Q70 at the time). Cars like the Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 are all more enticing buys next to the aged Q70 — a slightly cheaper base price was the last stand for this vehicle, but it looks like a good deal wasnÂ’t enough to save it from our crossover apocalypse. Infiniti SUV sales are up, as the QX80 continues to gain more ground in 2019. More folks are opting for the raised and rugged options than smooth and comfortable sedans across the industry, which is why we continue to see news like this. Unfortunately, the Q70 isnÂ’t riding off into the sunset in any sort of glory. We can trace the Q70Â’s lineage back through a few name changes (Q45 into a series of M cars like the M45 and M56). Its oldest ancestor would be the Infiniti Q45, which was a revolutionary car back in the early 1990s. It featured an active hydraulic suspension system that aimed to provide a supremely comfortable ride and flat cornering at the same time. When equipped with the suspension system, hydraulic actuators on each wheel were able to counter the forces exerted on it from cornering, braking and acceleration. And remember, this was 1991!  Transitioning back to today, Nissan and Infiniti have made it clear that EVs will be the future. We know that weÂ’d love to see another industry-changing flagship sedan from Infiniti, and a fully electric vehicle might just be the way to go about it. Anybody wanting for a production version of the Q Inspiration Concept?