2006 Infiniti G35 Sedan 3.5 V6 Premium Package on 2040-cars

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How Lexus, Infiniti plan to win back luxury buyers from Germans, Tesla

DETROIT — Japanese luxury auto brands Lexus and Infiniti have used the Detroit Auto Show to test new ways to regain momentum against Germany's prestige automakers and Tesla. The Japanese are fighting to gain ground in the U.S. luxury market as Audi and Mercedes-Benz have expanded sales and Tesla has provided a fresh alternative to established brands. Last year, Lexus suffered a 7.6 percent slide in U.S. sales. Acura's 2017 sales fell 3.9 percent from 2016. Infiniti pushed up sales by 11.3 percent — but by selling almost twice as many sport utility vehicles as cars. However, Infiniti's total 2017 sales of 153,415 vehicles put it behind the leading Germany luxury car brands, as well as Acura, Lexus and Cadillac. The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept SUV model, with its futuristic looks and "Chauffeur mode" semi-autonomous hands-off driving capabilities, signals that Toyota's luxury brand may start to focus more on SUVs than traditional large sedans. The LF-1 also previews a futuristic navigation technology that anticipates where the driver is going based on driving habits and history, and provides hotel recommendations or other concierge services. View 13 Photos "We don't want to be the 'race car' brand; we don't want to be the 'quiet ride' brand. We want to be the brand which is emotionally connected with the customer," said Cooper Ericksen, vice president of U.S. marketing for Lexus. Lexus, Infiniti and Acura launched in the U.S. market in the late 1980s and took advantage of quality problems at Audi and a lack of innovation at the then-leading luxury brands, Cadillac and Lincoln. Now, the structure of the U.S. luxury market has changed. Four brands — Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus — dominate. Tesla delivered 103,000 vehicles in 2017, its best year ever, though that total is still a small fraction of the overall luxury market. Tesla, meanwhile, is trying to overcome "production hell" and increase output of its more affordable compact Model 3 sedan. The highly anticipated car is just starting to reach customers — but with 400,000 preorders, 2018 could be a breakthrough year for Tesla. View 19 Photos In Detroit, Infiniti showed the Q Inspiration Concept sedan powered by a unique, high-efficiency variable-compression gasoline engine. While the prototype is not electric, its exterior might appeal to customers of the Tesla Model S.

Infiniti announces pricing for 2014 QX60 and QX70

With the exception of the G37, customers walking into Infiniti showrooms this summer are going to see a bunch of different names pop up as the automaker switches to its new Q-for-car and QX-for-crossover/SUV naming convention for 2014. The first of these renamed models are the 2014 QX60 (which replaces the JX) starting at $41,550* and the 2014 QX70 (which replaces the FX) priced at $44,950* (*prices do not include $995 for destination), and both are on sale now.
Compared to the outgoing models, the new QX60 (seen above, click to enlarge) lineup starts $300 more than the outgoing JX models (base and AWD), while pricing for the QX70 will remain the same as the trio of 2013 FX models (FX37, FX37 AWD and FX50). What is still unclear is how much the all-new QX60 Hybrid model will cost or how much option and package pricing will change, if any. Scroll down for more info on the new QX60 and QX70 crossovers.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge portends seriously powerful future sports sedan

"If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque."
Eau Rouge is a notoriously difficult turn at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps Circuit that is capable of striking fear into the hearts of the most hardened driver. Naming a car after something so terrifying, therefore, strikes us as a rather poor idea.