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10 automakers sued over keyless ignitions

Keyless ignition has rapidly proliferated throughout the auto industry to become a fairly normal feature on new cars. It's supposed to offer the convenience of keeping the fob in your pocket and just pressing a button to drive away. However, ten major automakers are now being sued in US District Court over claims that the system is dangerous, Reuters reports. The suit alleges that people are forgetting to shut off the engine, and the lack of an idle timer is the cause for 13 deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple injuries. The suit currently includes 28 plaintiffs, according to Reuters, but the lawyers are asking for class-action status to potentially add many more. The case goes after a major swath of the industry, including BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, plus their related brands like Acura, Infiniti, Mini, and Lexus. In all, over five million vehicles are affected. The assertion here is that people walk away from their vehicle without shutting it off because they believe the engine shuts off automatically. If parked in a garage, carbon monoxide can build up, leading to poisoning. The lawyers claim automakers know this is a problem and also cite 27 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, according to Reuters. The plaintiffs are asking for an automatic shut-off and damages from the companies. These concerns have come up before, though. Toyota previously faced a lawsuit over a carbon monoxide death after a woman accidentally left her Lexus running. Also earlier this year, GM recalled 64,186 examples of the 2011-2013 Chevrolet Volt because owners weren't shutting them off. The problem resulted in two injuries, and the company released a software update to limit the idling time.

2017 Infiniti QX30 First Drive

If you've heard anything before about this car, the 2017 Infiniti QX30, it probably has to do with its corporate parents, an odd couple if there ever was one. Renault-Nissan, Infiniti's corporate overlords, inked a deal with Mercedes-Benz to share some mechanical components and platforms. That deal put a new, very modern 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four under the hood of the Q50 and was the genesis of what you're looking at here. What are you looking at here? We drove this car in 2015, when it was called a Q30 – originally it was going to be the lower-riding counterpart to the slightly jacked-up QX30. Then Infiniti decided it'd make more sense to sell all variants of this vehicle as CUVs in the US, so we have three slightly different flavors of the QX30 instead. There's the normal version; the Sport, which is 0.6 inches lower; and the AWD, which is 1.2 inches higher. Infiniti brought us to Seattle to sample the Sport and AWD flavors on a semi-circumnavigation of the Puget Sound. It didn't rain a drop, thanks for asking, and instead was sunny and mild the whole time. It's easy to make the QX30 sound more confusing than it actually is. This is essentially a Mercedes-Benz GLA250 with full exterior styling and partial interior design by Infiniti, built in the UK alongside several other Nissans. The powertrain and chassis, including the optional AWD system, were all "co-developed" with partner Daimler, with final calibration and tuning by Infiniti engineers. Here's another way of explaining it: Infiniti needs an entry-level car to appeal to new premium car shoppers, and the QX30 is the prescription. It's a hatchback that's been given the mildest of CUV treatments and a lot of marketing descriptors. That's because hatchbacks are sales death in America. In Europe, they'll see right through the CUV posturing and realize it's just a hatchback offered in three different suspension heights. Whatever you call it to make it palatable to Americans, it's a useful little vehicle. This car is mechanically identical to the Q30, so there are some things we can gloss over. Both are powered by a transverse-mounted 2.0-liter Mercedes inline-four. It's a turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engine, and it sure feels like one. It sounds like a rock tumbler full of nickels and runs out of breath at about 5,000 rpm. All versions make 208 hp at 5,500 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque between 1,200 and 4,400 rpm – more than adequate but less than thrilling.

Infiniti bringing Q50 Eau Rouge to Geneva, now with engine [w/video]

During last month's Detroit Auto Show, Infiniti rolled out the lustrous Q50 Moulin Eau Rouge concept - a preview of what could be a solid performance offering from Nissan's luxury arm. Problem is, the car shown in Detroit was all show and no go - literally.
Infiniti was keen to talk about how the Eau Rouge would feature "a big personality, V-cylinder engine with forced induction" with "over 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque," but the showcar had no such powerplant underhood. In fact, it didn't have any powerplant under the hood at all. That'll change next month, however, as Infiniti has now confirmed that it will bring the Q50 Eau Rouge to the Geneva Motor Show in March, complete with the promised "big personality" engine.
"Our engineers have perfectly captured the tone of Infiniti's take on premium performance, and a car that is as impressive as the Q50 Eau Rouge sounds is surely a car to challenge performance cars in the premium sector," said Infiniti's President, Johan de Nysschen. Regarding that sound: he ain't foolin' - the automaker has released a teaser video that gives us our first listen at what the Q50 Eau Rouge will sound like once its powerplant is nestled underhood. Scroll down to give it a watch - err, listen - and have a look beyond that for the company's official press blast.