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Cadillac snags de Nysschen from Infiniti, names him new president

Johan de Nysschen, the (now former) president of Infiniti, has officially jumped ship. The 54-year-old, who also spent time as the chief executive for Audi USA, has taken the position of president at Cadillac, following a two-year stint at the Nissan-owned luxury brand. In his new role, the 54-year-old will be responsible "for all aspects of Cadillac globally," according to a statement from General Motors.
"Johan brings to our company vast experience in the development and proper execution of luxury automotive brands," said GM President Dan Ammann, de Nysschen's new boss. "With over 20 years in this exact space, especially in the development of the Audi brand, his track record proves he is the perfect executive to lead Cadillac for the long term."
"I have for some time now been impressed by how the new General Motors has been transformed into a formidable force in the industry," de Nysschen said in a statement. "The combination of strong corporate leadership and exceptional engineering resources presents the perfect combination to restore Cadillac to its place among global premium brands."

Infiniti is blazing an unconventional path to electrification

When it comes to electrification, Infiniti has a history of speaking a great deal but doing little. The Nissan-owned company's plug-in offensive will start in the 2020s, and it provided preliminary details about the technology that motorists can expect to find in showrooms in the not-too-distant future. Eric Rigaux, Infiniti's general manager of product strategy and planning, told Roadshow the firm's engineering department is putting the final touches on two forward-thinking electrified powertrains. The first one will run solely on electricity, while the second one will rely on a gasoline-powered generator to provide more range. Both are being developed to fit into a flexible new platform. Technical details about the electric setup remain vague, so we don't know how big of a battery pack Infiniti will use, or how many motors will draw electricity from it. However, Roadshow learned the gasoline-electric layout will never need to be plugged in, because a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine equipped with Infiniti's innovative variable-compression technology will produce the electricity it needs to run. The triple won't directly spin the wheels; it will channel the juice it creates to a battery pack. It's not a zero-emissions solution, but it's one that makes a lot of sense, because users won't need to wait for a charge, and they'll be able to drive for about 500 miles between fill-ups. The now-defunct Chevrolet Volt featured a similar drivetrain, but owners had the possibility of plugging it in. Infiniti won't give motorists that option; there won't be a plug anywhere on the car. Fluid-filled motor mounts and active noise cancellation will ensure the passengers don't feel or hear the triple whirring away. Meanwhile, two electric motors (one over each axle) will deliver between 248 and 429 horsepower; final specifications haven't been signed off yet. And, because power will come from gasoline, there's no need to integrate a bulky battery pack into the chassis. Infiniti's future gasoline-electric models won't require anything bigger than a 5.1-kilowatt-hour unit, which can unintrusively be stuffed under the trunk floor or sandwiched between the floor and the rear seat. Infiniti chose a crossover to inaugurate its battery-electric powertrain; the QX Inspiration concept (pictured) unveiled during the 2019 Detroit Auto Show shed light on what the model will look like.

The Infiniti QX80 Monograph concept is fully revealed ahead of New York

The big Infiniti QX80, the largest SUV in the company's range and related to the Nissan Patrol sold around the world, is frankly in need of a facelift. The last time the big lug went under the knife was in 2014, and it was a pretty mild nip and tuck. The aging SUV was never much of a looker anyways, although it is certainly distinct. The Monograph concept, which is coming to the New York Auto Show next week, is a preview of where the QX80 is headed. And as we saw in the teaser last week, this styling direction is an improvement. The headlights migrate higher on the front fascia, making the thing look a little less like a sad porpoise and more like a tech-heavy SUV with serious presence. Some of this is simply concept car fantasy, sure – note the lack of mirrors, a favorite concept car trope that'll be replaced by real mirrors for production. But as Infiniti says, the concept "illustrates how the design of INFINITI's QX80 could evolve". Translation: expect the general shape and overall styling to make it to a production vehicle, unless somehow this concept gets roundly panned at the show. Since it seems to be an inarguable improvement over the current vehicle, the inevitable march towards production seems assured. Related Video: Design/Style New York Auto Show Infiniti SUV Luxury infiniti qx80 infiniti qx80 monograph