2013 Infiniti on 2040-cars

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2014 Infiniti Q50, Lexus IS 250 fail to achieve Consumer Reports 'Recommended' rating

Infiniti and Lexus might be a little concerned now that both of their new luxury sedans, the Q50 and IS250, were unable to net Consumer Reports vaunted "Recommended" rating during their first year on the market. In fact, not only did the two fail to earn a "Recommended" rating, they finished behind the vast majority of the competition after testing, including the BMW 328i, Mercedes-Benz C250, Lincoln MKZ and Volvo S60 T5.
The Q50 managed to snag a "Very Good" rating overall, but CR criticized it's road manners for not being as thrilling as the car it (sort of) replaces, the G37. The mag called the handling mundane and the steering dull, while also remarking on the poor controls. According to CR, the interior quality is "nothing special." Shade was also thrown at the Q50's reportedly poor ride.
Compared to the IS, though, the Q50 got off easy. CR called it "neither sporty nor luxurious," while criticizing the 2.5-liter V6's lack of oomph and poor fuel economy. The mag then went on to lambaste the IS's handling, steering, interior, cabin space and infotainment system.

Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.

Infiniti invites 22-year-old to work with Red Bull F1 team

Infiniti launched the Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy (IPEA) in 2014, a global talent search for three engineering students from eleven international markets that the automaker would select for a one-year assignment with its Formula One team and road car division. The second year's IPEA competition has concluded, the class of 2015 expanding to five students that get eight months at Infiniti Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes, and four months at the company's European Technical Center in Cranfield, UK. Twenty-two-year-old Alex Allmandinger (pictured), a student at the University of Illinois and one of 11 US finalists, is one of those five winners. He'll head to Milton Keynes next month to settle in with the other winners from China, Europe, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Based on interviews with last year's winners, the IPEA doesn't stick the students in a corner, either – one of them said he had designed seventy parts that went into the RB11 F1 racecar. The video above speaks to some of this year's winners, the video below talks to last year's, and there's a press release below that. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Infiniti gives one U.S. engineering student the Formula One career opportunity of a lifetime NASHVILLE, Tenn. Aug. 20, 2015 – Infiniti has announced that an engineering student from the University of Illinois is one of five global winners of the 2015 Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy (IPEA). For one year, Infiniti will provide 22-year-old Alex Allmandinger with the opportunity to work in Formula One with the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team. After beating 11 other finalists from around the country in an intense shootout event, Allmandinger will move to Infiniti Red Bull Racing headquarters in the UK in September to begin a 12-month placement working with the four-time Formula One World Championship Infiniti Red Bull Racing team, as well as with Infiniti. Allmandinger will spend eight months working on Vehicle Design at the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK – and four months working at Infiniti's European Technical Center in Cranfield – on road car development projects. Formula One technology is more relevant to the automotive industry than ever and will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between the race team and Infiniti.