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Infiniti Q30 spied again

The Infiniti Q30 is back in the news thanks to the imminent debut of the QX30 Concept as its crossover counterpart at the upcoming 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The siblings are Infiniti's entrants into the popular premium compact ranks, and the standard hatchback was recently spotted in Europe with the least amount of concealment yet. Granted, this tester is still pretty heavy camouflaged, but this is a lot better aesthetically than the previous garbage-bag-covered look. While the pattern makes specifics hard to discern, the translation from the motor show stand to the road appears to be leaving the Q30 Concept's styling largely intact. Up front, the squinting headlights and swollen-rectangle shape of the grille remain similar, and while they are pretty hard to spot, the slashes down the side are faintly visible from some angles. The rear hews even closer to the original design with a comparable shape for the taillights and hatch, but exhausts are much smaller on this test car. Underneath the skin, the Q30 reportedly shares its platform with the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, and the engine is also expected to be the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder available in Mercedes' compact lineup. Official details should start spilling out soon, though, because Infiniti wants production of the hatchback to begin in 2015 at the Sunderland plant in the UK. A launch for the US market is expected in 2016. Featured Gallery Infiniti Q30 Spy Shots Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Infiniti Hatchback Luxury infiniti q30 infiniti q30 concept

Andy Palmer leaves Renault-Nissan to serve as CEO of Aston Martin

Aston Martin has been without a helmsman since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the chief executive office at the end of last year, stepping back to serve as non-executive chairman in a semi-retired ambassadorial capacity. The British automaker, now on the cusp of a new era, has been running without a CEO since, but has now named Bez's replacement in Andy Palmer.
If you don't recognize the name, you should: Palmer has worked under the Renault-Nissan Alliance for decades now, rising through the ranks to become one of the top executives under Carlos Ghosn. Most recently he was serving as executive vice president of the entire group and chairman of the Infiniti brand, but like Carlos Tavares, who recently left Renault to run Peugeot, Palmer is now embarking on a new mission as CEO of Aston Martin.
Once the transition period is complete at the start of October, Palmer's role as Chief Planning Officer at Renault-Nissan will be assumed by Philippe Klein, who steps up from his current role as executive vice president of product planning for Renault. Read the statements from both companies below.

Infiniti Q60 dies at year's end

In 2021, Automotive News' Future Product Pipeline coverage for the Infiniti brand contained a single entry for 2023: "Infiniti Q60 ends in 2023." Turns out the report of the Q60's death was true; the brand confirmed to Car and Driver that the coupe ends production at the end of this year. We wish we were surprised at the news or the rationale. An automaker spokesperson told the magazine, "We are focusing on the most popular luxury automotive segments such as crossovers and SUVs, as well as the upcoming EV we recently announced that will be built here in the U.S." The official justification didn't address the fact that dealers sold 2,728 units of the Q60 in the U.S. last year, 64 units fewer than achieved in 2020, and 2,315 units fewer than dealers moved in 2019 — the year Q60 sales fell off a cliff after selling more than 9,000 units in 2018. Consider this another step in the "three-phase company transformation" that Chairman Peyman Kargar is in the second stage of working through. The first phase of recovery ended this March, the luxury automaker getting back to profit globally. The current second stage that will revamp, electrify, and expand the lineup is predicted to last for the next four years. The spearhead will be the new QX80 SUV, planned for late next year or early 2024 with ambitions to challenge the Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX, and Range Rover. That luxury club barred Infiniti from entry awhile ago, so Kargar's talking about profound turnaround. As for the Q60, the shame is that a car with sweet looks and even sweeter power never got the interior or driving dynamics to match. Perhaps the return of a much better Nissan Z can provide fodder for a proper Infiniti coupe once the luxury division has restored its momentum. The spokesperson told Car and Driver that Q60 inventory should last until well into 2023, so anyone looking for a 400-horsepower bargain with a six-speed manual should mark their calendar for early next spring.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.