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Infiniti moves to trademark Eau Rouge

With Formula One taking to Belgium and the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend - boasting a reputation as one of the most beautiful courses on the calendar - all eyes will likely be on the tricky Eau Rouge corner, which challenges drivers' high-speed car control over a rolling, tree-lined hill. Infiniti played on the turn's iconic legacy for its ruby red Q50 Eau Rouge concept, and now the brand hopes to trademark the famous racing name so it can keep using it for a potential production version.
In January, the company filed for a trademark on Eau Rouge for "Automobiles and their structural parts; Fuel cell automobiles and their structural parts; Concept cars" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. According to Bloomberg, the application is still under consideration and not yet a guarantee. It's possible that the track could attempt to block the automaker from earning rights to the name. Alternatively, a trademark lawyer tells Bloomberg that the two of them could also strike a deal where Infiniti would pay a small amount for each car sold bearing the title, which could give Spa a bit of extra money in the bank.
Regardless of the name, a vehicle like the Eau Rouge is something enthusiasts have been wanting for years. It combines a modified, 560-horsepower version of the engine from the Nissan GT-R into a four-door sedan covered in aggressive, carbon fiber aerodynamic parts.

2019 Infiniti QX60 Drivers' Notes Review | Past its prime

The 2019 Infiniti QX60 is a three-row crossover from Nissan's luxury brand. It's based on the Nissan Pathfinder, sharing the same basic platform and powertrain. It sits near the top of Infiniti's lineup, above the new QX50 and just below the body-on-frame QX80. That said, the car-based platform underneath the QX60 means its actually more spacious than its truck-based sibling. Power comes solely from a 3.5-liter V6 making 295 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. All-wheel drive is available, though our tester was a front-wheel drive model. The 2019 QX60 starts $46,795, but our tester has nearly $20,000 worth of options. The $5,000 limited package adds upgraded leather on the seats and steering wheel, dark wood trim, 20-inch wheels and chrome trim on the exterior. The $3,400 proactive package adds safety features like lane-departure warnings, blind-spot monitoring, backup collision intervention and adaptive cruise control. Other options include back-seat entertainment ($2,150), a wifi hotspot ($495) and the $3,500 sensory package (a Bose audio system, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a motion-activated liftgate and a moonroof for the second and third rows). Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: I'm immediately struck by the interior. It's quiet and comfortable. The quilted leather on the door panels is almost decadent. Infiniti is really going for it with this kind of interior styling. Some might say it's a little bit much, but generally, I think the company gets it right. Same with the outside. Infiniti tries to make a statement, and this swoopy, creased design is reason enough to buy the QX60. Our tester has the 295-hp V6, which is plenty capable. There's a lot of torque steer with the front-wheel-drive setup. It's kind of fun, but not really the dynamic most buyers are going for it. Overall, I like the QX60. It's big, comfortable, luxurious and powerful. Get AWD, though, as FWD in the snow is a little squirrely in something this large. Road Test Editor Reese Counts: Unlike Greg and Joel, I wasn't bowled over by the interior. I couldn't find a comfortable seating position for the life of me. The bottom cushion wasn't deep enough and the back seemed to protrude out at odd points into my spine. The leather looks and feels OK, but that was my only highlight. The overall interior design looks fat and boring, especially compared to models from Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. Just look at some of the details like the vents and steering wheel.

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.