2019 Infiniti Q50 3.0t Luxe on 2040-cars

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Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigns, successor to be named

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa tendered his resignation Monday after acknowledging that he had received dubious income and vowed to pass the leadership of the Japanese automaker to a new generation. Board member Yasushi Kimura told reporters at an evening news conference at company headquarters in Yokohama that the board has approved Saikawa's resignation, effective Sept. 16, and a successor will be appointed next month. A search is underway, he added. Calls for Saikawa's resignation, which arose after the arrest last year of his predecessor, Carlos Ghosn, on various financial misconduct allegations, have grown louder after Saikawa acknowledged last week that he had received dubious payments. The income was linked to the stock price of Nissan Motor Co., and he has said his pay got inflated by illicitly adjusting the date for cashing in. The automaker's board met to look into the allegations against Saikawa, as well as other issues related to Ghosn's allegations and corporate ethics at the company. Kimura said the income Saikawa had received was confirmed as "not illegal." Ghosn, who is out on bail and awaiting trial, says he's innocent. Kimura and three other board members, who all have backgrounds outside the company, said their investigation of the scandal over Ghosn's arrest found that alleged misconduct by Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former board member who was also arrested, had caused 35 billion yen ($350 million) in damage to the company. Nissan will seek a repayment of the damages, Kimura said. The board said about 10 candidates are being considered as a replacement for Saikawa. They did not identify them, but said outsiders and non-Japanese are on the list. Until a successor is decided, Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi will serve as interim chief, the board said. Saikawa has not been charged. "I have been trying to do what needs to be done so that I can pass the baton over as soon as possible," he told reporters earlier in the day, referring to his willingness to leave his job. Saikawa did not appear at the news conference initially, but the four board members who led the event said he would later. Saikawa has said he didn't know about the improprieties, promised to return the money and blamed the system he said Ghosn had created at Nissan for the dubious payments. Japanese media reports said Saikawa had received tens of millions of yen (hundreds of thousands of dollars) in extra compensation.

Infiniti readies Juke-based ESQ crossover specifically for China

When most luxury automakers started getting into SUVs and crossovers, they started at with the largest models, but have gradually been getting smaller. Think Lexus and the LX, Audi and the Q7, or BMW and the X5, and you'll see what we mean, because each of them has been steadily downsizing its crossovers ever since. But Infiniti is going even smaller. At least, in China, anyway.
That's where the luxury marque from Nissan will soon be offering the new Infiniti ESQ. The smallest of Infiniti crossovers has been developed in China, exclusively for the Chinese market to meet Chinese tastes. It shares its underpinnings with the Nissan Juke, but instead of starting with the base model, Infiniti China has started with the more potent Juke Nismo - complete with 1.6-liter turbo four producing 197 horsepower - and added on premium accoutrements. The exterior that appears to be differentiated by a new grille and wheels, featuring the ESQ logo instead of Infiniti's, but the same quirky styling that sets the Juke apart. Though all we can of the interior is the steering wheel, you can bet that Infiniti gave the ESQ a more luxurious cabin space, too.
Infiniti's global communications manager Stefan Wienmann told Autoblog that the company is "expanding [its] portfolio not only globally but also specifically in China," adding the ESQ to a market-specific lineup that includes long-wheelbase versions of the Q50 sedan and QX50 crossover. "We see specific sales opportunities in this segment," explains Wienmann, adding that a targeted project like the ESQ "also enables us to gain experience in positioning a new premium model to the 'new millennials', a customer group that is very important to us."

2019 Infiniti QX50 starts fresh with a new face and trick engine

Last week, Infiniti rolled out the refresh of the big daddy QX80 in Dubai. At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, the Japanese automaker is poised to reveal something that's bound to be far more mainstream: the 2019 Infiniti QX50 and its trick variable compression turbocharged engine, or VC-T. In addition to the new engine, the QX50 drops rear-wheel drive in favor of an all-new front-wheel-drive platform and gets the new ProPilot assist technology that debuted on the Nissan Leaf. The QX50 may be the headliner, but the engine is the really interesting bit. This 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four can adjust the stroke of the pistons on the fly, varying the engine's compression from 8:1 to 14:1, and giving the new midsize crossover improved efficiency and diesel-like torque. It's rated at 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, down 57 horses but up 14 pound-feet. Front-wheel-drive models hit 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. That drops to 6.2 seconds with all-wheel drive. Combined fuel economy is 27 mpg for front-wheel-drive QX50s and 26 mpg for all-wheel-drive variants, both up from the abysmal 20 mpg combined rating of the current model. Power is sent through a continuously variable transmission. If it's like other Nissan and Infiniti CVTs, it will be inoffensive if a bit lifeless. We've covered the details of this powertrain extensively already, but it's great to see companies giving more life to the internal combustion engine. The new platform marks a big improvement over the outgoing QX50 in terms of platform rigidity and space efficiency. Rear-wheel drive might be fun, but it's never ideal from a packaging perspective. Cargo capacity is up from 31.6 cubic-feet to 37 cubic-feet. With the seats down, the space expands to 60 cubic feet, up from 50.1 cubic feet. That's not exactly class-leading, but it's no longer among the class-worst. The 2019 QX50 will use a new type of high-tensile steel, improving torsional rigidity by 23 percent and shaving overall weight. The styling falls in line with most other Infiniti products. The outgoing model had a bit of an identity crisis, looking more like a lifted wagon than a fully-realized crossover (it was, after all, essentially a G35/G37 wagon). This new one has much more conventional SUV proportions. In fact, it looks like a 7/8-scale version of the new QX80 with a front-wheel-drive profile. That's either good news or bad news, depending on where your tastes fall.