2011 Infiniti Fx35 Base Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Best and worst car brands of 2022 according to Consumer Reports

It's that time again, Consumer Reports this morning lifting the curtain on its 2022 Annual Car Brand rankings and its 10 Top Picks in the car, crossover, and truck category. Drumroll, please: This year, Subaru climbs two spots to claim the winner's circle, having come third the last two years. Last year, Mazda climbed three spots from 2020 to take the crown. This year, Mazda slipped to second, BMW taking the last spot on the podium, also a one-spot drop from 2021. Six automakers in the top 10 hailed from Japan, which is one more than last year, and five luxury makers occupied the top 10, which is two more than last year. And South Korean representation didn't crack the top this year, after Hyundai managed tenth last year. The seven makes after BMW are: Honda, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, Mini, Toyota, and Infiniti.  The magazine and testing concern says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CR’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." The domestics also took steps back among the 32 OEMs ranked on the 2022 card. Chrysler and Buick were the domestic carmakers who made last year's top 10 in eighth and ninth, respectively. This year, Buick dropped to eleventh, Chrysler to thirteenth. Dodge went from fourteenth to sixteenth. CR continues to ding Tesla's yoke steerer, the not-exactly-natural handhold responsible for the electric carmaker going from sixteenth last year to twenty-third this year.

Vettel and Coulthard drive Russia's very unfinished Sochi Circuit

The next Winter Olympics will happen in Sochi, Russia from February 7-23, 2014. Sometime after that, barring any delays, a portion of the Sochi Olympic Park will be turned into the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, a 3.65-mile track for the first Russian Grand Prix in 100 years (the last of two Formula One grands prix were held in St. Petersburg).
As we've come to expect from the Infiniti Red Bull team, it recently sent Sebastian Vettel and brand ambassador David Coulthard to the unfinished venue to run the route in Infiniti M sedans and offer some impressions. With average cornering speeds above 62 miles an hour, Coulthard called it a fast street circuit in the Monaco vein. You can watch them try it out - yes, that's Vettel gone airborne above - and avoid a "White Van Man" in the video below.

2018 Infiniti QX80 Drivers' Notes Review | Big, brash and big

When it comes to body-on-frame, full-size SUVs, it seems every automaker has the same strategy. Offer one version as a more affordable, workman-like model, and another one as the plush luxury model. Ford has the Expedition and the Navigator, Toyota has the Land Cruiser and the LX 570, GM has the Tahoe and the Escalade. Over at Nissan, the pairing is the Nissan Aramada and the Infiniti QX80. We recently reviewed the Nissan version, and we just had a turn in the Infiniti. So how did the Infiniti fare against its proletarian twin? Read on to find out. Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale: So here's the thing about the Infiniti QX80: It's literally just a flashier Nissan Armada. As I sat down to write my thoughts, I took a second look at what I wrote about the Nissan-badged version, and I realized almost everything on my mind I already covered. The thing is enormous. Walking up to it, it seems like it might be an inch taller than me (5'11"). It's pretty wide, too, and the width is consistent all the way up. But it is still easy to drive with light steering and very good visibility. The 5.6-liter V8 sounds lovely and seems well-matched to the truck, and the transmission shifts smoothly and picks gears well. The real problem I see is that my feelings about the QX80's interior are nearly identical to those of the Armada. They're virtually identical, especially when comparing the higher trim Armadas. They have the same infotainment, the same buttons. There are a lot of buttons, too, scattered seemingly haphazardly and are difficult to use, especially with the very dated infotainment system. The dash design and shape of the wood are the same, and so is the steering wheel. The only things I could tell were really different were the shift knob, the gauge faces and the quilted leather seats. And Nissan offers a version of the latter on the Armada Platinum Reserve. I'm dwelling on this a bit because the Infiniti QX80 is not cheap. The four-wheel-drive one we had here in Michigan had a base price of $68,845. That's a few thousand more than the aforementioned Armada Platinum Reserve, and I don't see how the Infiniti is worth that extra money. It seems all you're getting is a flashier exterior, especially with the $2,800 22-inch wheels, and a more prestigious badge. I need more than chrome and badges to spend so much money. My recommendation is just buy an Armada.