2015 Infiniti Qx60 on 2040-cars

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Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigns, successor to be named

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa tendered his resignation Monday after acknowledging that he had received dubious income and vowed to pass the leadership of the Japanese automaker to a new generation. Board member Yasushi Kimura told reporters at an evening news conference at company headquarters in Yokohama that the board has approved Saikawa's resignation, effective Sept. 16, and a successor will be appointed next month. A search is underway, he added. Calls for Saikawa's resignation, which arose after the arrest last year of his predecessor, Carlos Ghosn, on various financial misconduct allegations, have grown louder after Saikawa acknowledged last week that he had received dubious payments. The income was linked to the stock price of Nissan Motor Co., and he has said his pay got inflated by illicitly adjusting the date for cashing in. The automaker's board met to look into the allegations against Saikawa, as well as other issues related to Ghosn's allegations and corporate ethics at the company. Kimura said the income Saikawa had received was confirmed as "not illegal." Ghosn, who is out on bail and awaiting trial, says he's innocent. Kimura and three other board members, who all have backgrounds outside the company, said their investigation of the scandal over Ghosn's arrest found that alleged misconduct by Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former board member who was also arrested, had caused 35 billion yen ($350 million) in damage to the company. Nissan will seek a repayment of the damages, Kimura said. The board said about 10 candidates are being considered as a replacement for Saikawa. They did not identify them, but said outsiders and non-Japanese are on the list. Until a successor is decided, Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi will serve as interim chief, the board said. Saikawa has not been charged. "I have been trying to do what needs to be done so that I can pass the baton over as soon as possible," he told reporters earlier in the day, referring to his willingness to leave his job. Saikawa did not appear at the news conference initially, but the four board members who led the event said he would later. Saikawa has said he didn't know about the improprieties, promised to return the money and blamed the system he said Ghosn had created at Nissan for the dubious payments. Japanese media reports said Saikawa had received tens of millions of yen (hundreds of thousands of dollars) in extra compensation.

2016 Infiniti QX60 Quick Spin

UPDATE: The original version of this story called Mazda's range-topping CX-9 the Platinum. This is incorrect. The top-of-the-line model will be called the CX-9 Signature. The story has been edited accordingly. When it comes to selling cars, getting customers into showrooms is half the battle. For Infiniti, one of its biggest draws is the QX60 – the three-row CUV originally known as the JX35, based on parent company Nissan's Pathfinder. QX60 buyers are young, female, and – most importantly – nine out of ten are new to the brand. The facelifted QX60, which was originally introduced in December, is here to maintain those stats. That's important, especially now, as increasingly premium mainstream offerings are proliferating throughout the market. This isn't a new trend – GMC's Acadia Denali predates the JX35, for example – but now the QX60 has to contend with things like the Ford Explorer Platinum, Honda Pilot Elite, Dodge Durango Citadel, and the upcoming Mazda CX-9 Signature. These vehicles are similarly priced, and offer similar capabilities and accoutrements to the QX60. Infiniti timed its QX60 update well, then, with a focus on aesthetics and maintaining the same driving dynamics. In the end, Infiniti offers a freshened CUV that should have no trouble keeping foot traffic flowing into the brand's showrooms. Driving Notes This might not be the popular opinion, but to our eyes, the QX60 is the best-looking product Infiniti currently makes (of course, the Q60 Coupe will trump that when it enters production). This thing has presence – we caught ourselves staring a number of times. But our lingering glances make sense when you look at the QX60 alongside the original JX35. The former lacked real hard edges or sharp details. Look at this comparison gallery to see the difference. What's remarkable is that Infiniti made this big visual improvement as part of a mid-cycle refresh. Yes, the front and rear fascias, headlights, and taillights were swapped out, but the cumulative effect is a dramatically more premium and refined aesthetic. We dig the way the dark grille integrates more neatly with the lower intake, and the LED running lights give the sharper, more aggressive headlamps a piercing effect. Out back, a revised rear bumper and a wider chrome strip produce a more substantial, upright appearance. These are little changes, to be clear, but taken as a whole they feel far more sweeping. The same can't be said of the cabin.

Recharge Wrap-up: Q50 Hybrid video, Iran's biodiesel weed

A new video from Infiniti showcases the Q50 Hybrid's kinetic energy recovery technology, borrowed from Formula One. The video details what is going on inside both the Q50 Hybrid and the racecar when it gathers energy to store for later use, offering better performance than an internal combustion engine alone. In the Q50 Hybrid, that electric energy helps the car accelerate from 0-60 in 4.9 seconds. The video also serves to highlight the relationship between racing innovation and performance and efficiency improvements in production vehicles. See the video above. The 2015 Toyota Prius C has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The compact hybrid, updated for the 2015 model year, has been upgraded from a "poor" to "acceptable" rating in the small overlap crash test, placing it on the Top Safety Pick list. Beginning in the 2016 model year, cars will have to score a "good" rating on the test to make the list, which means further improvements will be necessary if Toyota wants the Prius C to maintain its safety status with the IIHS. Read more at Green Car Reports. A couple in Tennessee have been found guilty of scamming the state in a fake biodiesel scheme. John and Lisa Brichetto's Northington Energy LLC received a state loan to produce biodiesel in 2011, but the facility never started production and was later foreclosed upon. In addition to the $142,215 the Brichettos defrauded from Tennessee, the state also invested in utilities and roads, while the US Department of Agriculture also paid for site improvements. Read more from the Times Free Press. Researchers in Iran have developed a way to make biodiesel from a weed. Scientists at the Islamic Azad University have created two liters of biomass for biofuel from flixweed. Flixweed, also called herb-Sophia and tansy mustard, is a non-edible weed that grows in various climates with little to no effort. It was found to contain 22 percent oil and fatty acids, and the biomass contains oxygenated chemical components. "This issue is important because the atomic oxygen in the fuel of a car directly cuts exhaust and the dangerous carbon monoxide and cancerous particles suspended in air," says Mehdi Alami, a chemistry graduate working on the project. Read more at Press TV.