2008 Infiniti G37s Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan, Infiniti will each show a next-gen concept EV in Detroit

The chief designer for Nissan and Infiniti said Wednesday that both brands will debut concept electric vehicles at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January that will likely show off Nissan's next-generation electric drive systems and the evolution of the brands' EV design direction first hinted at with Infiniti's stunning Q Inspiration. Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design for Nissan, said the concepts will reflect a similar departure from standard vehicle proportions as the Q Inspiration. He would not say exactly what segment or segments the concepts would represent, but he dropped some hints at a couple possible powertrains for the concepts. Similar additional concepts will follow later in the year at the Tokyo Motor Show, he said. "The Q Inspiration kind of hinted at it and we avoided discussing too much about what's driving that car. Of course, we talked about VC-Turbo, which is also possible," he said in an interview with Autoblog. "But if you really look at the car, Q Insipiration shifted the cabin forward. It was the first one to break the [mold] of Infiniti. So how to still have this artistry and this sense of carrozzerie" (Italian for coachbuilding) "of Infiniti without kind of the stereotypical long hood and the cabin shifted back and the windshield has to go through the center of the front wheel, these golden rules." Infiniti debuted the Q Inspiration concept sedan in Detroit in January, with a swoopy, ghost-like design influenced by an archer shooting an arrow through the air, and innovative design features like an elongated cabin that expands interior space, a relative lack of chrome, and other features. It's powered by a compact variable compression turbocharged engine, which can change compression ratios on the fly to maximize efficiency and power, depending on the situation. But Albaisa said the two concepts for Detroit could feature Nissan's e-Power series hybrid technology, which has mostly featured in Japan, and which features small, isolated gasoline engines that exist only to charge the batteries, not drive the wheels. They will also feature a new generation of battery packs, which he calls a "magic carpet." "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," he said.

Hyundai, Genesis, Subaru warn their dealers about markups

Six weeks ago, word got out that Ford's VP of sales for the U.S. and Canada wrote one of those "It has come to our attention..." e-mails to the automaker's dealer body. The VP's problem was dealers trying to get reservation deposits for the Ford F-150 Lightning well above the official $100 fee. The tomfoolery resulted in interactions "with customers in a manner that is negatively impacting customer satisfaction and damaging to the Ford Motor Company brand and Dealer Body reputation." Two weeks later, GM told its dealers to cut out the reservation gaming and the markups on the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, banditry that's been going on for two years. Two weeks ago, Ford was back at it, this time about markups on the Bronco. Last week, Asian automakers swept into the melee, with Hyundai and Genesis, Subaru, and Infiniti writing letters to their dealers to deliver some variant of, "Stop pissing off the customers." Automotive News reported an SVP at Hyundai Motor America and the COO at Genesis Motor North America sent letters to their dealers expressing disappointment at "certain pricing practices which, if left unchecked, will have a negative impact on the health of our brand." One of the practices mentioned was dealer markups, another was the bait-and-switch, with dealers advertising one price then charging a higher price once the customer showed up at the lot. The letters acknowledged that dealers are separate companies to the automakers and have the right to set their own prices. The automakers cannot interfere with that; their leverage is distributing allocations and perks such as advertising support and financial incentives. So, like a movie boss letting the protagonist go on a technicality, the brands wrote, "we cannot stand idly by watching the actions of the aforementioned dealers undo all the efforts we collectively have put into making these brands what they are today." Jalopnik got tipped to a letter Subaru of America CEO Thomas Doll sent to that brand's dealers. Doll's polite yet insistent tone was the result of a letter a loyal Subaru owner sent to the automaker's VP of Customer Advocacy. In the market for a third brand-new Forester, the owner said they encountered a "tax" labeled a "Low Inventory Surcharge" of as much as $6,000, putting the Forester out of reach.

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: