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Nissan axing Pathfinder Hybrid from 2016 lineup

The Nissan lineup gets a little smaller for the 2016 model year, as the Pathfinder Hybrid is dropped from the range. With its debut in late 2013, the electrically assisted SUV is one of the company's more recent introductions. However, it never really caught on with the public. "The Pathfinder Hybrid is not available in the US for the 2016 model year. Our emphasis is on the 3.5-liter V6 Pathfinder that achieves a best-in-class 20-city and 27-highway fuel economy," Nissan North America product communications director Dan Bedore confirmed to Autoblog. "Nissan has no announcement on future hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain applications at this time." Nissan actually ended production of the Pathfinder Hybrid in January, and "the hybrid was never a big part of Pathfinder sales," Bedore said to Automotive News. For the price premium, the electrically assisted version that combined a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a 20-horsepower electric motor was only rated three or four miles per gallon better in EPA combined ratings than with the V6. However, while the company doesn't outline individual sales of the two, powertrain variants, the SUV is performing well so far this year. Through June 2015, sales are up 4.9 percent with 41,938 units sold. The future for the Infiniti QX60 Hybrid, which is the Pathfinder's more luxurious sibling, doesn't look very bright either. "For the United States, while the QX60 Hybrid continues to be available at some retailers across the country, our production is currently focused on the QX60 3.5 model," Infiniti spokesperson Kyle Bazemore told Autoblog. However, the vehicle is still in production at the Smyrna, TN, factory for export to places like China and Mexico. According to Bazemore if demand happens to increase in the US, "we have the manufacturing ability to make them available." Overall, QX60 sales are also up 14 percent this year in the US.

Another Infiniti Q30 image found ahead of Frankfurt debut

Infiniti will introduce the new Q30, its smallest vehicle ever and its first foray into the compact, premium hatchback segment, next month at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The company confirmed the debut when it issued a single image of the new car last month. Now, we have a second shot. Released by the Twitter account of Infiniti's British outfit, the new shot is part of the #Q30Challenges campaign, which asks users to pick an object they'd like to reinvent. It shows the stylish hatch in the same bronzish-brown hue featured in the first image, but gives us a very wide front three-quarters view. We can see Infiniti's trademark C-pillar treatment, as well as a pair of wavy character lines. The shot also provides an especially good view of the Q30's long hood. The Q30 enters a segment that's nothing if not competitive, even here in the United States where small cars are a relatively recent phenomenon from premium automakers. Audi offers its A3, BMW is in the game with its 2 Series, Mercedes has its CLA and GLA and Lexus competes with the long-running CT 200h. The Q30 will be part of a two-pronged attack that will also include a QX30 crossover. We'll have a whole heap of additional information and images of the all-new Q30 when it makes its global debut next month in Germany. Stay tuned.

Infiniti gets boiled down to four P's: Performance, passion, precision, provocation

So then we asked, "Well, what does that mean?"
We met Andreas Sigl, the global director of Infiniti's Formula One involvement (that's him above on the right), at the US Grand Prix in Austin last year, and our questions to him were aimed at understanding what Infiniti was doing and where it intended to go. In spite of regard for its products and increased sales, few outside - and even inside - Infiniti seemed to have a clear idea of what the brand stood for.