2005 Infiniti Q45 Base Sedan 4-door 4.5l on 2040-cars

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2016 Infiniti QX60 gets a facelift, Hybrid still alive

The future of the Infiniti QX60 Hybrid looked grim a few months ago, when Nissan confirmed the Pathfinder Hybrid was being discontinued. After all, the QX60 and Pathfinder are nearly identical underneath their different bodies. But with this 2016 model year refresh, Infiniti confirms that its QX60 Hybrid will indeed carry on for the new year. It's the same hybrid system as before, combining a supercharged, 2.5-liter inline-four with an electric motor for a combined 250 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. New liquid-filled active engine mounts are added for 2016 in an effort to reduce overall harshness. Non-hybrid models carry on with the naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, good for 265 hp and 248 lb-ft. Front-wheel drive is standard with both engines, and all-wheel drive is optional. That's the biggest news for the updated QX60. Everything else baked in to the refresh is pretty standard. Up front, there's a new fascia that better aligns the seven-passenger crossover with every other Infiniti product, and the taillights are slightly more stylized than before. It looks nice, but there's still no hiding those Nissan Pathfinder bones. Infiniti says new shock absorbers and springs will help improve ride quality, and steering effort is improved with a retuned, speed-sensitive electronic power assist system. Standard, Sport, Eco, and Snow modes will help you manage the power depending on the weather and your driving style. We don't know how much this will actually improve the QX60's ride, but we never really had any problems with the luxury crossover's relaxed dynamics, anyway. Look for the QX60 to officially debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, following a reveal at a media event this week. For the full details on all the super-nitty-gritty changes, check out the press blast below. Infiniti QX60 Premium Crossover Offers Enhanced Design, Dynamics, Comfort and Convenience for 2016 - Refreshed exterior design adds to premium look and feel - Chassis dynamics retuned for a more engaging, comfortable drive - Interior revisions bring enhanced luxury for up to seven occupants - Augmented suite of assistive and intuitive technologies NASHVILLE (Dec. 15, 2016) – Infiniti has comprehensively enhanced its versatile QX60 premium crossover for 2016, introducing a wide range of changes that improve the seven-seater's exterior design and its driving dynamics, while showcasing new features and technologies that improve comfort, convenience and safety.

2017 Infiniti Q30 First Drive

Audi and BMW have owned the premium C-segment for almost a decade now thanks to the A3 and the 1 Series (and 2 Series). Benz's A-Class has become less of a retiree's option and has spawned a popular (if not particularly good) sedan (the CLA) and a crossover (GLA). Down in the lower-class decks, machinery from Subaru is punching well above its weight, while Volkswagen's Golf owns the market in Europe. This all left perennial premium pretenders like Lexus and Infiniti with a problem: how to convince buyers their C-segment machinery was genuinely premium if they were based off a volume-selling donor body from Toyota or Nissan? Mercedes-Benz opened an odd window of opportunity for Infiniti. See, Benz's parent, Daimler, and Infiniti's motherships, Renault and Nissan, have had a technical alliance since 2010. A big technical alliance. So Infiniti was able to develop its hatch to sit atop the A-Class chassis, powertrain, and suspension architecture, though you'd barely know it by looking at the Infiniti from the outside. It has a style all its own, and you're not going to mistake a single angle on the Q30 for anything that comes out of Stuttgart. Nobody makes deeper cuts and curves into its metal than Infiniti. The Japanese brand claims that design is at its core, and whether you love or hate that design, it's hard to argue that point. The Q30 feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class on which its based. "Infiniti design is very three-dimensional on every panel. We want to give the sense and the feeling that every Infiniti has been made by an artisan, by hand, not by computer," the company's London-based design boss, Simon Cox, argued. Some will love it, some will hate it, and Infiniti can live with it either way. The point is that the brand is now on the field in a segment that is projected to keep growing at more than 9.4 percent globally, and it got there at a fraction of the normal cost of an all-new car, without having any easily identifiable cap tips to the Benz's far more conservative exterior design. The Benz bits are more obvious inside. Infiniti did such a good job of grafting its design ideas onto the interior hard points that it feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class, even if the Benz will be between eight and 10 percent more expensive in most markets. The dash top is clean, swooping, and stitched together beautifully.

Infiniti to offer pair of designer Q50 sedans on Gilt.com

As Infiniti continues to roll out its 2014 Q50, the luxury branch of Nissan is looking to the online luxury purveyors at Gilt to move a couple of special editions of the new luxury sedan. Infiniti has teamed with designers Thom Browne and Zac Posen to create a pair of unique Q50 models, as part of the sale.
The exterior of Browne's car is finished in nearly reflective chrome. Now, we'd love to hold that against him (it's a bit too Bieber), but we think the interior that includes the designer's signature red, white and blue stripes and sterling silver accents is a bit classier. Posen's Q50 is more subdued, with a shades that seem to blend into each other. This ombré look starts in a light silver matte up front before terminating in a glossy, dark gray in back. We know plenty about the appearance of these two cars, but we're kind of in the dark about which powertrain they feature.
Rather than just throw these up on the web and pocket the profits, Infiniti is doing it right. It'll donate proceeds from each car's $75,000 sale price to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. As for the people that shell out $75K for the unique Q50s? Not only will they get a new vehicle, but they'll be gifted a $10,000 shopping spree on Gilt, along with a "style consultation."