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Infiniti names former BMW man Kruger to fill de Nysschen role

Today is turning into a big one for senior leadership changes in the automotive industry. Hot on the heels of Ferrari announcing the replacement of its chairman, Infiniti has announced the appointment of its new chief executive in Roland Krüger.
Serving until now as a senior vice president at BMW, Krüger joins Infiniti as its president as well as senior VP at parent company Nissan, reporting directly to Carlos Ghosn. Krüger had been with BMW since 1998, primarily as a regional director, having previously started his career as a designer for Mitsubishi and the Smart division at Daimler.
Krüger's appointment comes just over a week after the announcement that Infiniti's chairman Andy Palmer would be leaving for Aston Martin, and two months after the departure of outgoing Infiniti president Johan de Nysschen for Cadillac. The Japanese luxury automaker, headquartered in Hong Kong, has been in the meantime essentially operating by committee in the absence of a chief executive. The nomination of Krüger will surely bring a large measure of stability and direction as the company seeks to take a larger slice of the pie, in particular from German automakers like the one for which Krüger worked until now.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge racing toward Detroit with Red Bull in its veins

There are several ways an automaker can get into Formula One racing. It can start its own team from scratch (like Toyota did in 2002), it can buy an existing team (like BMW did with Sauber in 2005) or it can supply engines to other teams (as so many manufacturers have done over the years). Infiniti chose another direction and opted to sponsor the world-champion Red Bull Racing team.
Infiniti has undoubtedly poured millions into its partnership with Red Bull since it started in 2011, but aside from the Sebastian Vettel edition FX (which technically emerged from the company's sponsorship of the driver as separate from the team), the tie-in has yet to translate into a Red Bull-tuned (or at least -inspired) Infiniti for the road. But that's just what Nissan's premium brand has in store for us at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January.
Well, almost, because the concept just announced is still a step or two away from reaching your local Infiniti dealership, but here it is just the same. It's called the Q50 Eau Rouge, and it's based on the company's latest tech-laden sports sedan. It takes its name, of course, from the famous uphill section of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit where Sebastian Vettel won the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this year, but Infiniti isn't telling us much more than that.

NHTSA probing 400,000 Infiniti, Honda vehicles over steering faults

As many as 391,000 vehicles from Infiniti and Honda may eventually need to be recalled as a result of two, separately announced Preliminary Evaluations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ascertain the scope of the potential safety hazards.
The larger investigation has NHTSA looking into the 2013 Honda Accord because of 24 reports from drivers alleging total loss of power steering or a sudden increase in necessary effort to turn the vehicle. In four cases, the problem is reportedly linked to crashes, with all of them occurring at less than 30 miles per hour. According to the claims, 13 people also reported seeing a warning message during the failure. Turning off the car and restarting it would fix the issue in some cases. If a recall is necessary, it could affect an estimated 374,000 Accords.
The second investigation is much smaller in scope. The safety agency is investigating the 2008 Infiniti EX35 after two complaints of the steering wheel shaft separating, and the vehicle losing the ability to steer. Both reports allege that the steering became loose when driving and then completely failed once the vehicle was stopped. A recall for the problem would affect an estimated 17,000 vehicles. Scroll down to read NHTSA's reports on both Preliminary Evaluations.