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At long last, Infiniti plans a production EV

After years of false starts, it appears that Nissan's Infiniti division will finally launch a production electric car in 2019 and debut it as a concept in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Details at this point are scant, but Infiniti Executive Design Director Alfonsa Albaisa told Autocar the EV would be an all-new electric-only vehicle based on a new platform. Citing the company's grand prix-inspired Prototype 9 racecar concept that was shown a few weeks ago at Pebble Beach, Albaisa said consumers would see "parts of the car in a different context" on the concept EV. The Prototype 9's all-electric powertrain was developed by parent company Nissan's Advanced Powertrain Department. The last we saw of any electric offering from Infiniti was way back in 2012 with the LE Concept sedan, which was supposed to show up in dealerships two years later. Those plans were initially postponed in 2013 and then again in 2015 amid doubts over EV sales projections and larger concerns over boosting overall Infiniti sales. The LE had a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery pack paired with a 100 kilowatt electric motor delivering 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. Related Video: Featured Gallery Infiniti Prototype 9 at Pebble Beach View 26 Photos Related Gallery Infiniti LE Concept: New York 2012 Green Infiniti Concept Cars Electric Pebble Beach

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

Race Recap: Singapore Grand Prix is about a safety car and submission

The Singapore Formula One Grand Prix is the Monaco GP of the Orient - a weekend known more for its glamour and time-slot than on-track action, with a temporary circuit that punishes every mistake, usually terminally.
Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas got the best of Free Practice 1, opening the curtain on a possible resurgence of Silver Arrows performance. By the time qualifying was done, though, it was his teammate Nico Rosberg who lined up second on the grid, followed by Romain Grosjean with a beautiful performance in the Lotus, Mark Webber in the Infiniti Red Bull, and Hamilton all the way back in fifth. Behind them were Felipe Massa outqualifying Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button getting the McLaren into eighth, Daniel Ricciardo with another good Q3 effort to get into ninth, and the shocker of Esteban Gutiérrez getting his Sauber into the top ten for the first time this year.
At the front of the pack was Sebastian Vettel. Again. But he was only ahead of Rosberg by a single tenth of a second...