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US buyers show little interest in big hybrids

The idea of producing large, luxury-vehicle hybrids is turning into a "what were they thinking?" exercise in futility, USA Today reports. General Motors is discontinuing hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs, while Mercedes-Benz and Toyota's Lexus division are doing the same with their S-Class hybrid and LS hybrid sedans, respectively. The culprit? Big price increases for fuel economy improvements that border on the unimpressive. Granted, the Escalade hybrid gets 31 percent better fuel economy than the standard version, but that still maps out to a combined fuel-efficiency rating of just 21 miles per gallon. That can be seen as a worthwhile increase, if it didn't cost over $8,000 extra. The 2014 Escalade Hybrid, for example, starts at $74,425 while the non-hybrid can be had for $66,295. Meanwhile, the Lexus full-size hybrid costs $6,000 more than the regular version but only gets 1-2 mpg better combined fuel economy. The result of all these high costs? Low sales. Through April, GM sold 82 of its hybrid SUVs and pickups, down from 541 a year earlier. And the LS hybrid sales were in single-digit territory for April. That isn't stopping Lexus from promoting its hybrids as the right solution (with the wrong facts), though. There are still automakers giving big hybrid vehicles a shot, though. Nissan's Infiniti division is selling a hybrid version of its QX60 and says an impressive 10 percent of QX60 buyers choose the hybrid, which costs just $3,000 more. Looks like money talks. Featured Gallery 2015 Cadillac Escalade: First Drive View 35 Photos News Source: USA TodayImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Brandon Turkus / AOL Green Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Hybrid lexus ls gmc yukon mercedes-benz s-class infiniti qx60 chevrolet tahoe

Infiniti SUV recall marks latest chapter in Takata airbag saga

Automotive parts maker Takata is having a rough year with millions of vehicles equipped with its airbag inflators being recalled. However, it looks like there might still be problems with the company's quality control, if a new recall by Infiniti is any indication.
The Japanese luxury brand is recalling 1,912 total units of the 2013 Infiniti QX56 and 2014 QX80 in North America because of a manufacturing flaw with their Takata-supplied inflators for the driver's side front airbag. Of those, 1,848 are in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Specifically, the outer baffle could be the wrong component and cause too much pressure to build up inside. According to documents submitted to NHTSA, it's possible in a crash for the part to rupture spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. At this time, Infiniti has not had any reports of this actually happening to drivers.
While this problem sounds nearly identical to the issue affecting millions of earlier vehicles, it must be noted that this is a different fault. According to the notice being sent to dealers on NHTSA's website: "This particular Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign is unrelated to two earlier campaigns that involved Takata passenger front air bag inflators on some older model Infiniti vehicles. This issue involves a much newer inflator and is a different, more isolated, Takata quality control issue."

A beautiful conundrum | 2017 Infiniti Q60 First Drive

"OK, this should be fun." Hands are rubbed together excitedly. It's a rear-wheel-drive sport coupe painted candy apple red. It's sleek, slinky, and uniquely styled. It's from the same folks who, in the 2000s, finally showed that BMW could be matched in the whole sport sedan/coupe game. Oh, and it has 400 horsepower. Four-hundred! With a four. And yet the 2017 Infiniti Q60 underwhelms. What looks so good on paper instead is rather conflicted, stuck somewhere in no-man's land between the traditional expectations of a performance sport coupe and those of comfier, more luxurious cruisers that isolate and pamper their occupants. It's a serious effort with serious engineering and a clear desire to be innovative, but at least in the range-topping Red Sport model we tested, it fails to come together in a way that truly excites or indulges. A great coupe should do one or the other, and ideally both. To explain, let's start under the hood, where Infiniti's all-new "VR" series 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 makes its second appearance after debuting in the Q60's four-door sibling, the Q50. In the Q60 Silver Sport model, it produces 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque courtesy a pair of turbochargers that create 8.7 psi of boost. In the Red Sport, the knob is turned up to 14.7 psi, resulting in the oh-so-salivatory magic number of 400 hp along with 350 lb-ft of torque. A device known as an optical turbo speed sensor, special to the Red Sport, manages and maintains that extra boost, while an electric motor fitted to the valve timing system serves to quell any loss in throttle response due to forced induction. The Red also gets a second water-cooled intercooler, which, in both models, is distinctive for its more compact size, shorter airflow path, and, according to Infiniti, a resulting reduction in turbo lag and more immediate engine response. It's certainly a clear improvement on the somewhat rough 3.7-liter "VQ" V6 it replaces, which increasingly felt and sounded a little out of place in a luxury car. The new VR30DDTT, as it's so eloquently named, is buttery smooth and indeed responsive, likely capable of convincing luxury-car owners used to naturally aspirated V6s that everything's business as usual. Honestly, its character is reminiscent of a silky Honda V6. In some respects, that's a great thing. In others, it's where the Q60 starts to fall flat.