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Production Infiniti QX50 will mostly look like the concept

At this year's Detroit auto show, we got a look at the nearly production-ready Infiniti QX50 concept. Now we get our first look at how close to production the concept was, thanks to new spy photos. The overall shape remains very similar to that of the curvy concept. However, the greenhouse looks taller with more glass. While it isn't quite as low and aggressive-looking, we're sure drivers will appreciate the small compromise for better visibility. At the front, there are more changes that are a little less subtle. The grille looks a bit smaller all around, and even looks a tad lower than the concept. The headlights also don't stretch as far back, and they aren't as narrow either. In the front bumper, the two side scoops of the concept have been significantly toned down, and now look like more traditional grilles that follow the shape of the bumper. The lower grille is more open with just a mesh insert instead of the concept's skidplate-style chrome bar. Moving to the back, we find the taillights look nearly identical to the concept's. They're very long and narrow, and they connect into a metal crease that looks a bit like a spoiler. It looks as the though the faux skidplate treatment on the rear bumper will also make it to production, but the integrated exhaust tips have given way to more conventional round tips in bumper cutouts. It also may have lost the concept's air vents on each side of the hatch. Though they may have also just been toned down enough that they don't show through the camouflage. When the QX50 hits dealers, it will be available with Infiniti's fascinating variable compression four-cylinder making 268 horsepower. The crossover will also feature a version of Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous technology, which has been implemented in the Nissan Serena minivan in Japan. We expect to see the fully revealed production model very soon, possibly by the end of the year. Related Video:

IIHS: High numbers of drivers treat partially automated cars as fully self-driving

WASHINGTON — Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla Autopilot or General Motors Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an industry funded group that prods automakers to make safer vehicles, said on Tuesday a survey found regular users of Super Cruise, Nissan/Infiniti ProPILOT Assist and Tesla Autopilot "said they were more likely to perform non-driving-related activities like eating or texting while using their partial automation systems than while driving unassisted." The IIHS study of 600 active users found 53% of Super Cruise, 42% of Autopilot and 12% of ProPILOT Assist owners "said that they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving." About 40% of users of Autopilot and Super Cruise — two systems with lockout features for failing to pay attention — reported systems had at some point switched off while they were driving and would not reactivate. "The big-picture message here is that the early adopters of these systems still have a poor understanding of the technologyÂ’s limits," said IIHS President David Harkey. The study comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is scrutinizing Autopilot crashes. Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened 37 special investigations involving 18 deaths in crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where systems like Autopilot were suspected of use. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla says Autopilot does not make vehicles autonomous and is intended for use with a fully attentive driver who is prepared to take over. GM, which in August said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023, did not immediately comment. IIHS said advertisements for Super Cruise focus on hands-free capabilities while Autopilot evokes the name used in passenger airplanes and "implies TeslaÂ’s system is more capable than it really is." IIHS in contrast noted ProPILOT Assist "suggests that itÂ’s an assistance feature, rather than a replacement for the driver." NHTSA and automakers say none of the systems make vehicles autonomous. Nissan said its name "is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.

Infiniti's variable compression engine in the 2019 QX50 is the first of its kind

The world's first variable compression ratio engine is here, in a production car. That car is the 2019 Infiniti QX50, debuting this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The midsize crossover has seen a refresh that has brought it an all-new platform together with new driver assist features, but it's the engine that's the centerpiece here. Nearly everything is continuously variable under the hood of the QX50 – not only the new shift-by-wire XTRONIC CVT. The new VC-Turbo gasoline engine is able to change its compression ratio from 8:1 to 14:1, or anything in between depending of the driving situation; whether there is need for top-end power or turbodiesel-like torque from low revs, or optimized fuel economy. The pistons' reach is continuously adjusted by an electric "Harmonic Drive" motor, which controls a multi-link system, affecting the top-dead-center of the pistons and changing the compression. The engine can also switch between efficiency-maximizing Atkinson cycle and regular combustion cycle, on the go – and there's both multipoint injection and gasoline direct injection employed. The result is 268 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 280 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm; good figures for a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with a single-scroll turbocharger. Infiniti says that the FWD version's fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon combined is 35-percent better than the previous-generation V6 engine; in AWD guise, it reaches 26 mpg, which is a 30-percent improvement. The new engine is pretty much all-aluminum, but the vaguely magical-sounding "transformative multi-link components" behind the variable compression system are made from high-carbon steel alloy. The engine's multi-link system also enables it to do away with any balancing shafts, and Infiniti compares its smoothness to a V6 rather than a regular four-cylinder. In addition to the aforementioned tech, the VC-Turbo engine has the world's first active engine mount vibration damping system to smoothen its operation even further. Related Video: