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Infiniti aims to "de-Americanize" lineup, add flagship

Nissan launched Infiniti back in 1989 as a US brand, but more recently, Nissan's luxury marque has started focusing on more of a global presence. With a new global headquarters set up in Hong Kong and former Audi bigwig Johan de Nysschen at the helm, Wards Auto is reporting that the automaker's next goal is to create a "de-Americanized" lineup of vehicles.
This plan essentially consists of smaller cars and smaller-displacement engines to make Infiniti more attractive for buyers in Europe and Asia - two regions that tend to skew more toward smaller vehicles and smaller powerplants. To this point, Infiniti has been focused on vehicles better-suited to the US market - in fact, its smallest engine is a 3.7-liter V6 with 330 horsepower, and it doesn't offer a single diesel.
The first step in this transformation will be part of the Daimler-Nissan engine deal that will see a four-cylinder diesel eventually used in the 2014 Q50, but the report also reconfirms the importance of the soon-to-arrive Q30 production model (a concept of which was revealed last week in Frankfurt), along with the idea of a QX30 based on the Nissan Qashqai. There's also the latest projection of a full-electric Infiniti model that Wards says will debut sometime around 2015. Of course, Infiniti isn't giving up on large cars entirely - the reports indicates that Infiniti is planning a fullsize flagship model - possibly named Q80 - to compete against German sedans like the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

2022 Infiniti QX55 pricing is out, and it carries a premium over the standard QX50

Pricing for the coupe-ified 2022 Infiniti QX55 crossover is out, and just like every other coupe-like version of a crossover, it’s more expensive than the regular one.  For starters, the QX55 comes with standard all-wheel drive. It also starts at the second trim up the QX50Â’s hierarchy, Luxe. The premium over an equivalent QX50 is $3,000, landing the QX55 at a $47,525 starting price, including the $1,025 destination charge. There are only two other trims available: Essential and Sensory. A QX55 Essential starts at $52,625 and adds leather seats (heated/cooled in front), a heated steering wheel, navigation, 16-speaker Bose audio and a 360-degree camera. For a little more cash, you can tack on a ProAssist and ProActive package to the Essential trim for a host of driver assistance features, including all the goodies weÂ’re accustomed to in NissanÂ’s ProPilot Assist. The last and top trim is Sensory, and it starts at $58,075. You get all the packages and features of the lower trims, plus a motion-activated hatch, semi-aniline leather seats, open-pore wood trim, tri-zone climate control and ambient lighting. Unlike the regular QX50, there is no top-of-the-line Autograph trim. If youÂ’re interested in a QX55, Infiniti says itÂ’s opening up a digital reservation program today. If you reserve one via this method and go through with the purchase or lease, Infiniti promises you the choice of “a tasteful trendsetting gift.” Your options include a Transparent Sound speaker, Away luggage bundle or a Tom Dixon Brew coffee set. QX55s will start landing in dealers this spring, where you can buy one the old-fashioned way, sans gift. Related video:

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.