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Weekly Recap: Automakers rethink the definition of luxury

Variety is the spice of life, but it's becoming a prerequisite for luxury carmakers in the ultra-competitive US market. The Detroit Auto Show was strong evidence of this reality. It's not enough to offer attractive and well-appointed cars and SUVs anymore. Luxury brands that want to be competitive need to invest in everything from high-powered supercars to clever hybrids. To be relevant, you need to be green and mean – and everything in between. As General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said after the reveal of the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V: "We are not leaving anything on the table." He was speaking for Cadillac, but he might as well have been speaking for the luxury car market. The CTS-V debuted in Detroit about an hour after Lexus surprised showgoers with the reveal of the RC F GT3 race car and then announced ambitious plans to return to competitive racing. That almost overshadowed the fact Lexus had just revealed another potent addition to its growing F line, the 467-hp GS F. View 20 Photos But for luxury brands, it's not just about maximum horsepower for well-heeled enthusiasts or decadent amenities for the Grey Poupon set. Strong competition from all corners has forced automakers to refine and expand their lineups in ways unforeseen even a few years ago. Case in point: Mercedes-Benz finally has an answer to the BMW X6, rolling out the GLE coupe in Detroit. The X6, which blends coupe-like styling cues with some of the functionality of an SUV, debuted in 2008. Back then it was a punchline, but seven years and more than 260,000 sales later, the X6's success has compelled Benz to respond. Mercedes – one of the strongest proponents of diesel technology – also debuted the C350 plug-in hybrid sedan, which promises a range of 20 miles on electricity, though fuel economy figures were not announced. The car pairs Mercedes' well-received 208-hp turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for total output of 275 hp and 443 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, Infiniti will add the Q30 hatchback to its lineup by the end of the year, new president Roland Kruger reiterated in Detroit. It's expected to be joined by a crossover variant, and the additions will help strengthen Infiniti in the United States and abroad. "While we're expanding our product line, we're also expanding our market reach," he said. That's something echoed by Jaguar executives, who are preparing to launch the brand's first crossover, the F-Pace, in 2016.

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.

Infiniti cribs new US boss from Porsche

Just weeks before he was supposed to become CEO of Porsche Cars Australia, Infiniti has apparently offered Porsche COO and Executive Vice President Michael Bartsch a deal he couldn't refuse. Thus, Bartsch has join the company as Vice President of Infiniti Americas, the luxury marque's top North American post. Bartsch replaces Ben Poore, who has been with the automaker since 2008, having led both a 22-percent sales surge in 2012 and the brand's current sales slough, Automotive News reports.
Bartsch, Porsche's No. 2 US executive, has held the COO and Executive Vice President positions at Porsche since 2005 and was scheduled to become CEO of Porsche's Oz division on September 1. Infiniti has experienced a number of recent personnel changes in the past week: it named Vincent Gillet, formerly an executive for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, to lead its marketing efforts worldwide and Simon Cox, a former designer for automakers including Ford and Peugeot, to head a new design studio in London.
Poore reportedly will pursue other interests outside of the auto industry. Read more about the personnel change in the press release below.