2022 Infiniti Qx80 Sensory on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Final Recap: Days 2 and 3 notes, quotes, and takeaways from the US Grand Prix

The Texas grass no longer rustles with 2.4-liter V8 exhaust blown at 18,000 revs, the Texas dust is no longer raised by hard-compound Pirellis. We saw a lot and learned a lot while we were there as guests of Infiniti, and after our Day 1 and race recaps, here are the bits left over from our time spent with the carmaker and Red Bull Racing, including thoughts on a "wicked" race, Christian Horner's quest for a more level playing field, Infiniti "going longer and deeper," and why Mario Andretti should get a police escort at the beginning of a race but not a microphone at the end...

Is Infiniti shelving plans for Q50 Eau Rouge super sedan?

If you've been looking forward to Infiniti putting the Q50 Eau Rouge concept into production, we've got what could be bad news for you, because word has it that Infiniti may be shelving its super-sedan project. This, according to Infiniti's former chief executive Johan de Nysschen (now head of Cadillac) in a private Facebook post cited by Jalopnik. According to the post, de Nysschen "heard a rumor that Noboru Tateishi is going to cop-out and shelve the Eau Rouge project now that I'm not there to pressure him." Tateishi is a senior engineer and corporate vice president at parent Nissan who, in de Nysschen's estimation, has "more enthusiasm for 'driver's aid's,' apparently, than 'driver's cars.'" Named for a famous corner at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, the Eau Rouge is a concept version of the Infiniti Q50 sedan. It bowed first at the Detroit Auto Show almost a year ago and then showed up in Geneva with the 560-horsepower, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 beating heart of a Nissan GT-R. Rumors ever since have hinted heavily at the Eau Rouge making production, with Infiniti going so far as to allow the automotive media – including us – the chance to drive a prototype of the would-be model. But without Johan (or, for that matter, former Infiniti chairman Andy Palmer, now head of Aston Martin) there to see it through, the may just be grinding to a halt – or perhaps de Nysschen is just giving his former colleagues a good ribbing. We've reached out to Infiniti to learn more, and we'll update as soon as we hear back from them. Featured Gallery Infiniti Eau Rouge Prototype View 25 Photos News Source: JalopnikImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Infiniti Concept Cars Performance Sedan infiniti q50 infiniti q50 eau rouge infiniti q50 eau rouge concept

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.