2010 Infiniti Fx350~nav~back Up Cam~heated Seats~tech Pkg.~bluetooth~only 65k on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Infiniti electric crossover will mark a milestone at Detroit Auto Show

In November, it was announced that both Nissan and Infiniti will display EV concepts at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, taking place in January. Previously, it wasn't made clear what kind of vehicles they would be, but Infiniti stated today that its Detroit concept will be an electric crossover. Both the Nissan and Infiniti concepts will continue the design direction shown by Infiniti's Q Inspiration concept, and later next year, there will be stylistically similar cars shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in October. The luxury brand has released the above teaser photo of the crossover, depicting sharp headlights and a lit grille outline surrounding the badging. We can also see large wheels and tires and sizeable, defined wheel arches. Future Infinitis will be electrified from 2021 on, featuring either serial hybrid tech or full electric drivetrains. Serial hybrid refers to using Nissan's e-power technology, which relies on range extender engines instead of a large combustion engine (such as Infiniti's lauded VC-Turbo). The Detroit Auto Show is also a significant event for Infiniti, as the brand and its first car, the grille-less Q45 luxury sedan, was first displayed 30 years ago at the 1989 NAIAS. "Thirty years ago, as a 24-year-old designer in the audience, I saw the birth of Infiniti in person and am proud to be part of the journey of creating iconic luxury automobiles," said Nissan's senior vice president for global design, Alfonso Albaisa. Meanwhile, Infiniti's November 2018 sales were the best November numbers in the brand's history. "The concept car we will show in Detroit is the beginning of a new era for Infiniti, and an illustration of where we want to go with the brand," said Karim Habib, Infiniti's design director. Earlier, Albaisa echoed his statements, telling us how electrification can inspire the brand's future design thanks to the battery packs' size development, saying: "It's getting denser, it's getting thinner, the cars are able to get a little bit bigger, more space, we can really do much more." Related Video:

Infiniti Q50S getting G37's hydraulic steering for 2016

Sometimes, new technology doesn't make things better. Take the march of power steering technology as an example. Electrically assisted systems are in vogue at the moment for their ability to increase fuel efficiency, but tuning them to offer good feedback remains something of a dark art. Some automakers get it, but most don't. The previous hydraulically assisted setups just seem to be inherently more communicative when driven with enthusiasm. And it looks like Infiniti might be learning this lesson the hard way.
In talking with Keith St. Clair, the luxury brand's head of product planning, Car and Driver has learned that the Q50S is probably going to ditch its standard electrically assisted steering in favor of a hydraulic system derived from the old G37, a model soon to be renamed the Q40. The system should make the sedan more engaging behind the wheel, but it still won't help those who tick the option box for Infiniti's controversial Direct Adaptive Steering drive-by-wire system.
According to St. Clair, Infiniti's engineers have heard the complaints of critics and previous G37 owners about the Q50S model's electric steering system, and wanted to see what they could do. They didn't have to go far to figure it out - all it required was taking the steering rack off of a G37 and putting it onto the Q50S. After a little tweaking, "the car is a blast to drive," St. Clair reports. Now, the company is said to be fast-tracking the switch, and it could be ready for the 2016 model year.

Infiniti QX55 crossover coupe teased again, hints at FX looks and a surprise out back

Infiniti plans to launch five new vehicles in the next three years. We got an abstract squiggle of the first one in August, when Infitini teased the coming QX55 crossover coupe during Monterey Car Week. Said to act as a medium that would communicate design language from the dearly departed FX crossover, the QX55 is meant to infuse a lot more design mojo to the conventional QX50 crossover that it's based on. The Japanese luxury brand just dropped the second teaser, this one revealing a swath of greenhouse and shoulder, and indeed, an arc of chrome trim that could have been traced from FX production drawings. The attention-getter here is what comes behind the greenhouse: A tailgate extension with the makings of a stubby trunk.  Positive reviews have come from a group of media to whom Infiniti showed a matte gray pre-production version of the QX55. The front diverges from the QX50 only in a few details, while the roofline isn't as coupe-ish as it might be because designers wanted to ensure adequate headroom for rear seat passengers. The steep rake has been saved for the area aft of the C-pillar, convincing one scribe to write that "the QX55 reminds us most of the Audi Q8, which also lacks swooping silhouette and looks more like a lifted hatchback." The rear fascia is said to look "cleaner and more modern than Infiniti’s current midsize crossovers," even though the jutting rear presents a vertically flat lower hatch that looks "a bit boxy." Having moved the license plate holder to the bumper, the wide expanse is home to a larger Infiniti badge and logo script with an "I" that serves an as-yet-undisclosed function. At the edges come taillights with a "sharp new piano key design." One site summed up with, "this is a gorgeous crossover coupe that will turn heads." The QX50 is expected to debut in the first three months of 2020, with an on-sale date sometime next summer.