2013 Infiniti on 2040-cars

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Nissan sets 2017 sales record with help from Rogue, Titan, and Armada

Nissan Group said its U.S. sales climbed 1.9 percent in 2017 to an all-time record of more than 1.59 million vehicles sold. Free pizza in the conference rooms in Nashville, right? But a closer look shows the company mirroring overall industry trends, with plenty of declining-popularity cars but also a few aging trucks and SUVs. Taken together, Nissan's trucks, SUVs and crossovers saved the day, selling an all-time high of 765,624 total units, up 15 percent from 2016. That offset a 10.9-percent drop in sales of Nissan's cars, as volume sellers like the Altima and Versa posted steep drops. Also buoying overall results was the Infiniti division, which gained 10 percent from the previous year on the strength of models like the Q60 and QX30. Nissan's record year owes a lot to the Rogue, its compact crossover, which set an annual sales record with 403,465 vehicles, an increase of 22.3 percent. Sales of the Titan, Nissan's full-size pickup, grew an impressive 141.9 percent to 52,924 units, while the Armada, a full-size three-row SUV that was all-new for 2017, also saw a huge jump in sales (154.1 percent) to 35,667. Infiniti, meanwhile, saw overall sales climb 10.9 percent on the strength of huge gains by the Q60 Coupe, which rose 170.8 percent, and the QX30 crossover, which grew almost 524 percent. That being said, Infiniti volume is relatively low. The Q60 Coupe sold a total of 40,444 units and the QX30 14,093 for 2017, while Nissan shifted 40,172 Rogues in December alone. On the car side, the Maxima did well, gaining 7.9 percent to finish at 67,627. Volume-wise, the Sentra dominated, nudging up 1.7 percent to 218,451. But the rest of the lineup mirrored industry trends for the car segment, with steep drops for the Altima (down 17 percent), battery-electric Leaf (-19.8 percent), Versa (-19.2 percent) and Juke (-48.1 percent). Several truck, crossover and SUV models are also not faring so well. The aging Frontier pickup, last updated in 2005, fell 14.5 percent, the Pathfinder slipped by 0.8 percent, the Quest minivan plummeted 55.5 percent and the upscale Murano crossover fell by 11.8 percent. A Nissan spokesman says the Quest is no longer being built for the U.S. market starting with the 2018 model year. Meanwhile, reinforcements are coming. Nissan has said it's planning a new generation of the Frontier, its entry-level pickup, but hasn't clarified when.

2022 Infiniti QX55 Review | Price, performance, size, comparisons with QX50

Carmakers love calling them coupes, but as they have four doors, that's still a tough sell for our dictionary. So, let's go with fastback SUV for now, and say that the 2022 Infiniti QX55 is one of the best-looking examples of the growing bunch. Even if Infiniti wasn't originally intending to lop off the back of its QX50 compact crossover, the afterthought project to turn it into the QX55 was nevertheless a successful one. When parked next to a BMW X4 or Audi Q5 Sportback, we know the QX55 would do the prettiest job sprucing up the driveway. It's nicely proportioned and tastefully detailed with just a hint of Infiniti's forever cool FX SUV at the rear. The interior is also interesting to behold and pleasing to touch. Unfortunately, the QX55's aesthetics are its main selling point. Driving it is a real letdown as its underwhelming handling and soul-sucking continuously variable transmission just aren’t up to snuff for a luxury model. It makes the QX55 feel like you're driving a Nissan Altima. And even if you're less concerned with a car's driving dynamics, the QX55's odd and antiquated tech interface is sure to be a put-off after seeing what BMW, Audi and Mercedes have to offer. Of course, all of this could be said of the QX50. At least the QX55 has aesthetics on its side.   What's new for 2022? The QX55 is an all-new model, although the QX50 upon which it's based has been around since 2019. 2022 Infiniti QX55 View 25 Photos What's the QX55 interior and in-car technology like? The QX55 interior is a highlight. ItÂ’s lifted from the QX50, and thatÂ’s good. ItÂ’s just as flowy as the exterior, and on our Sensory trim level test car, it was fitted with sumptuous red and black leather on nearly every surface, plus some natural-finish wood trim across the dash and doors. Lower trim models arenÂ’t quite as flashy but still feature the same attractive design. It's all suitably elevated for a luxury car. On the other hand, the dual-screen infotainment system is at best bizarre and at worst antiquated.  Most infotainment functions are accessed and operated via the touchscreen at the bottom of the stack. That placement makes it easy to reach but hard to see. The top screen controls the navigation system and Apple/Android integration, is of a noticeably lower resolution, and is controlled either by touch or with a control wheel on the center console next to the shifter.

Infiniti G37 to live on in showrooms alongside 2014 Q50

Infiniti is preparing to roll out its hotly anticipated 2014 Q50, a car that not only ushers in a new alphanumeric naming strategy, it ostensibly replaces the G37 as the brand's bread-and-butter sport sedan. That will happen, but not in the short-term, as the G37 will continue to be manufactured and sold alongside the Q50, at least for the rest of this year.
Infiniti spokesman Kyle Bazemore has confirmed to Autoblog that a decision is pending on how long to extend the G37 sedan's production run. "We're taking Q50 up a little bit, and that allows us to keep the G Sedan in the lineup... It [Q50] certainly started as a replacement, but it ended up being much more than that." Confusingly, Infiniti has already announced that the Q50 is to start at $37,605 (including $905 destination charge), yet the 2013 G37 is more expensive, starting at $38,255 delivered according to Infiniti's consumer website. Thus, a price drop on the G37 is likely coming in short order.
So why hold on to the older model? With the Q50 launching exclusively with V6 and Hybrid models (a turbo four and diesel are said to be in the cards down the road), Infiniti evidently feels it is risking leaving lower-end sales on the table. "There's a lot of movement with the [BMW] 320i and such, and this allows us a two-tier strategy to compete," says Bazemore. Keeping the G37 on tap at a lower price for fleet sale duty may also serve to protect the Q50 as it establishes itself on the market.