93' Infiniti G20 on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Infiniti considers EV for China, NextEV hires former Tesla, Apple engineer

NextEV has hired Tesla Autopilot and Apple veteran Jamie Carlson as Senior Director of Advanced Technologies. The seasoned autonomous driving engineer joins fellow former Autopilot engineer Kurt Thywissen, who is now NextEV Senior Director of Human-Machine Interaction. NextEV, which is working on an all-electric supercar before focusing on mainstream EVs, recently obtained a self-driving car permit from California and opened its North American headquarters in San Jose. Read more at Electrek. Infiniti is considering launching its first EV in China. "When I think about EV, we design it for China definitely, even as the first market to launch," says Infiniti President Roland Krueger. "We are discussing this internally constantly what is the right timing for Infiniti to have such vehicles." Infiniti has held back on launching an EV, focusing instead on hybrids, but says it could be "very fast" in deploying an EV once it decides to do so. Having Nissan and Renault backing Infiniti, the luxury brand is confident about its access to proven EV technology. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Thrifty car rental has added a Tesla Model S to its fleet in Canberra, Australia. Available at the Canberra Airport, it's the first luxury EV offered for rent from a mainstream rental company in Australia. Australia's capital offers a small registration discount and no stamp duty for EVs, making it a cheaper and more practical place to locate the country's first rental Tesla. Thrifty's parent company, NRMA, is calling on Australia's other states and territories to remove financial and regulatory barriers to EV technology. Read more at The Motor Report.

2023 Infiniti QX60 Review: Now worth checking out

Pros: Well-equipped; handsome interior; sharp exterior styling; solid towing capacity Cons: No hybrid option; cramped third row; there are better three-rows for the price The 2023 Infiniti QX60 is relevant and worth considering for the first time in a long while. It’s based on the proficient Nissan Pathfinder, and Infiniti brings a lot of good to the table with this three-row SUV. The design is immediately eye-catching, as the curvaceous body panels blend and wrap around this rear, giving it a very sleek and attractive profile. Plus, its beauty isnÂ’t just skin deep. Infiniti ditched the old modelÂ’s frustrating CVT for a nine-speed automatic transmission, and the result is a driving experience that better matches its luxury car badge. It would be nice if there was more than just the standard 3.5-liter V6 available — such as a hybrid or PHEV — but the single engine is at least a competent one with enough power for above-average towing capacity. Despite the QX60 being a perfectly competitive SUV these days, donÂ’t think that itÂ’s now a class leader. Other options in the luxury space such as the Acura MDX, Lincoln Aviator and Volvo XC90 would find their way into our garages before the QX60. Even non-luxury-branded alternatives such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee L or Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride in their top trims compete strongly against the QX60. The base models offer a plethora of standard equipment that many luxury manufacturers donÂ’t offer, so the best play Infiniti has to offer is in value. That said, if you want every luxury in the book, the top-trim Autograph delivers with gorgeous interior appointments and a high-tech cabin. ItÂ’s still tough to recommend the QX60 over others in this segment, though, as the over-$50,000 starting price puts it squarely in the sights of our favorite three-row vehicles. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2023? The QX60 was all-new last year, but Infiniti has a few updates for 2023. The wireless charging pad is now standard across all trims. A frameless rearview mirror is added, and the lower bumper accents are updated with new colors. Lastly, all QX60s will now have "Infiniti Premium Care" as standard, which includes three years of free inspections, oil changes and tire rotations.

Infiniti's Palmer announces QX30 small crossover production

The name of the game these days in the luxury marketplace is premium compacts. BMW has the 1 Series and 2 Series, Mercedes the A-Class, B-Class, CLA and GLA, Audi has the A1 and A3, even Lexus has the CT 200h. Among the last to get in on the action is Infiniti, but that's all about to change.
Nissan's luxury brand has been working towards a premium compact for some time, revealing the Q30 concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year and signing a new deal with Daimler to help develop and produce it. Now it seems that both it and a crossover version have been approved for production.
The news comes from Andy Palmer, Nissan's UK-based COO, chairman of Infiniti and one of the company's top executives under CEO Carlos Ghosn. Late last week Palmer tweeted the following: