2004 Infiniti G35 Base Coupe 2-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Infiniti replaces Americas chief

The Nissan-Renault alliance has been something of a revolving door for high-level executives of late, and the latest shakeup comes at its luxury unit, Infiniti, where Michael Bartsch (shown above) has been replaced as vice president of its Americas division by Randy Parker. Bartsch had a short tenure – he only took the helm in September 2013. In a press release, Infiniti said he was leaving to "pursue other interests." Bartsch, a veteran of more than 30 years in the auto industry, came to Infiniti from Porsche. Parker comes from within the Nissan empire, formerly heading up the company's sprawling west region, including its marketing, distribution and dealer network. Before that, he served stints at GMAC and General Motors. Bartsch isn't alone in leaving Renault-Nissan recently. Ex-Renault COO Carlos Tavares took the top spot at Peugeot, Infiniti boss Johan de Nysschen left for Cadillac and Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer took over at Aston Martin. Scroll down for the full press release from Infiniti. Feb. 17, 2015 Infiniti Motor Company announces leadership change at Infiniti Americas NASHVILLE - Infiniti Motor Company, Ltd. today announced a leadership change at Infiniti Americas aimed at growing the brand's presence in the U.S. Randy Parker is appointed Vice President, Infiniti Americas, effective immediately. He succeeds Michael Bartsch who will leave the company to pursue other interests. Most recently, Parker, 48, was Vice President, Nissan West Region, Nissan North America, Inc. "Randy has been a key contributor to the growth of Nissan in the United States," said Jose Munoz, chairman, Management Committee, Nissan North America and executive vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "He has overseen strong growth for the Nissan brand in our western region, and we look forward to the skills that he will bring to Infiniti." "It is our pleasure to welcome Randy Parker to Infiniti," said Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Co., Ltd. "Randy will be responsible for accelerating Infiniti's progress in our largest worldwide market and driving our brand transformation as we execute an expanded product portfolio of premium luxury products." Most recently, Parker was responsible for regional marketing, distribution, dealer network development and financial controls for Nissan's largest U.S. regional operation.

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.

Nissan recalls 640k crossovers for wiring issue, hood release

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced two separate recalls affecting hundreds of thousands of Nissan crossovers. The larger of the two involves the electrical system in 2008-2013 model year Rogue CUVs. In affected vehicles, a mixture of moisture and salt seeping in through the carpet on the driver's side could cause the harness connector to short, potentially causing a fire. The issue involves Nissan Rogues manufactured between March 7, 2007, and November 26, 2013, as well as examples of the 2014 Rogue Select manufactured between September 23, 2013, and July 2, 2014. All told, that comes to an estimated 468,815 units in the United States alone. The second recall affects the relatively smaller quantity of 170,665 vehicles, made up of 2013-14 Nissan Pathfinder, 2014 Pathfinder Hybrid, 2013 Infiniti JX35, 2014 QX60 and 2014 QX60 Hybrid models. (The JX35 was recently relabeled as the QX60 under Infiniti's new nomenclature.) The issue affecting some of those vehicles revolves around a hood release cable that may not properly latch. Nissan is notifying owners of the affected units to bring their vehicles in to have the wiring checked and to replace the harness connector and seal in the former case, and to have the hood release mechanism modified in the latter. All told, an estimated 639,480 vehicles are being recalled as part of the two campaigns. RECALL Subject : Electrical Short Due to Water Seepage Report Receipt Date: JAN 26, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V032000 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured March 7, 2007, to November 26, 2013, and 2014 Nissan Rogue Select vehicles manufactured September 23, 2013, to July 2, 2014. The affected vehicles may experience an electrical short in the harness connector due to a mixture of snow/water and salt seeping through the carpet on the driver side floor near the harness connector. CONSEQUENCE: An electrical short can cause a vehicle fire. REMEDY: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the kick panel wiring harness connector and will if necessary install a new harness connector and waterproof seal, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.