2008 Infiniti G37 Sport Coupe 2-door 3.7l G37s Very Clean 5-speed on 2040-cars

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Assessing Sebastian Vettel's first 100 days as Infiniti's director of performance

Whenever a new US president is elected, we know to expect a performance review as soon as he (or she) has spent 100 days in office. Sebastian Vettel, arguably given a job that is more important to Infiniti than the US president, has been the brand's director of performance for one hundred revolutions of The Blue Marble, and Infiniti has put together a videographic glimpse of his work at Paul Ricard, in the US and England.
We probably won't really get a grip on the full results of his efforts for a while - we doubt that he's been in his post long enough to significantly alter the trajectory of the Q50 sedan, for instance. But then again, Infiniti insists he's been integral to the car's dynamics development regime, suggesting he's been working as a test driver for some time before these 100 days. Of course, Vettel is a race car driver and brand ambassador first and foremost, but when he tells a Q50 engineer that "For the future, I think it's more comfortable to have the shift paddles on the steering wheel," we get the sense that he won't hesitate to suggest changes in forthcoming products. Check out more of his inputs in the video below as well as a press release detailing his visit to the tech center in Cranfield, UK.

Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

Is Infiniti shelving plans for Q50 Eau Rouge super sedan?

If you've been looking forward to Infiniti putting the Q50 Eau Rouge concept into production, we've got what could be bad news for you, because word has it that Infiniti may be shelving its super-sedan project. This, according to Infiniti's former chief executive Johan de Nysschen (now head of Cadillac) in a private Facebook post cited by Jalopnik. According to the post, de Nysschen "heard a rumor that Noboru Tateishi is going to cop-out and shelve the Eau Rouge project now that I'm not there to pressure him." Tateishi is a senior engineer and corporate vice president at parent Nissan who, in de Nysschen's estimation, has "more enthusiasm for 'driver's aid's,' apparently, than 'driver's cars.'" Named for a famous corner at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, the Eau Rouge is a concept version of the Infiniti Q50 sedan. It bowed first at the Detroit Auto Show almost a year ago and then showed up in Geneva with the 560-horsepower, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 beating heart of a Nissan GT-R. Rumors ever since have hinted heavily at the Eau Rouge making production, with Infiniti going so far as to allow the automotive media – including us – the chance to drive a prototype of the would-be model. But without Johan (or, for that matter, former Infiniti chairman Andy Palmer, now head of Aston Martin) there to see it through, the may just be grinding to a halt – or perhaps de Nysschen is just giving his former colleagues a good ribbing. We've reached out to Infiniti to learn more, and we'll update as soon as we hear back from them. Featured Gallery Infiniti Eau Rouge Prototype View 25 Photos News Source: JalopnikImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Infiniti Concept Cars Performance Sedan infiniti q50 infiniti q50 eau rouge infiniti q50 eau rouge concept