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2015 Japanese Grand Prix is a little Mercedes, a lot of zen

Just one week on from the issues in Singapore Mercedes-AMG Petronas appeared to have solved its clamp problems and everything else. Daniil Kvyat at Infiniti Red Bull Racing took the two Free Practice scalps on Friday, but when it came time for qualifying the front of the grid looked really familiar: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his second pole position of the season, Lewis Hamilton next to him in second. Kvyat had a hand in that, too, the Russian getting into a big accident in Q3 when he put two wheels on the grass heading into the hairpin and veered into the tire wall so hard that he flipped. That ended qualifying before a number of drivers had a chance to improve their times, Hamilton among them. That's how Valtteri Bottas got in third for Willliams ahead of Sebastian Vettel fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in fifth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo lined up sixth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, a team we're going to have to enjoy watching for the rest of the season since it might not exist come 2016. Romain Grosjean gave Lotus some good news by getting into eighth, the team so strapped for cash that it couldn't get into its hospitality area, so it held press conferences outside and ate at Bernie Ecclestone's Paddock Club. Sergio Perez took ninth for Sahara Force India, and Kvyat slotted into tenth after not setting a time. The Russsian's race would begin from the pit lane once his mechanics rebuilt his car. It wouldn't be a Formula One start lately without someone at the front having clutch problems. This time it was pole man Rosberg, whose power unit got too hot and put him a few horsepower down on Hamilton through Turns 1 and 2. That's half of how Hamilton took the lead from the lights going out, and the Brit kept it throughout the race. Rosberg, however, said his race was lost when Hamilton pushed him wide through Turn 2, a move Hamilton defended. Rosberg finished almost 19 seconds behind his teammate, a gap that probably isn't fully explained by that opening incident. Hamilton's race was so uneventful that we almost never saw him on camera – that is, we saw him so much less than we usually see him when he's out in front and unpressured that Nikki Lauda said he'd ask Ecclestone why the cameras avoided him. The conspiracy theory holds that FOM was punishing Mercedes for not supplying Red Bull with engines next year.

2016 Infiniti Q50 gets 2.0L turbo four

After adding a US-built, 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder to the European and Chinese-market Q50, Infiniti will finally add this engine to the US-spec car. Official details are exceedingly scarce, with the company only saying the 2.0-liter will hit dealers this winter and that additional info will be made available this fall. We can, however, make a few safe assumptions based on the engine's output in Europe. According to our previous story on the Decherd, TN-built engine, the turbocharged mill will offer up 211 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That plants it squarely between the outputs of the 2.0-liter turbo in the BMW 320i and 328i, though it's down on power compared to the engines offered in the Cadillac ATS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and upcoming Lexus IS 200t. There's also a 100-plus-horsepower gap between the Q50's two gas-only engines. Considering all of these things, not to mention Infiniti's reluctance to reveal official specs, it seems safe to wager that the Japanese brand will find a way to squeeze more power out of the current 2.0-liter turbo. That'd allow the Q50 to better challenge the competition's entry-level offerings while bringing the starting price point down from the roughly $38,000 it sits at now. That's grain-of-salt conjecture on our part, though, so caveat emptor. Expect to hear more on the Q50's new engine later this year. Until then, scroll down for the official press release cover all of Infiniti's 2016 updates. INFINITI – WHAT'S NEW FOR 2016 For 2016, the Infiniti lineup in the United States expands once again, literally, with a new longer, roomier Infiniti QX50 premium crossover. With its wheelbase extended 3.2-inches, the 2016 QX50 offers greatly increased rear passenger room, as well as additional cargo space. It also features new exterior styling. There are additional changes in store for 2016, starting with the addition of a new 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine for the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan available in the winter of 2016. Other Infiniti Q50 enhancements will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in January. In addition, revisions to the Infiniti QX60 luxury crossover will be announced at that time. The Infiniti QX80 full-size SUV keeps it fresh for 2016 with a new Signature Edition, which includes Driver Assistance and Split Bench packages, Saddle Tan high-contrast interior, bodyside moldings and chrome mirror caps. The QX80 Special Edition is limited to just 1,000 units.

The Nissan Patrol may become America's next Armada

Plausible rumors are swirling that the Nissan Patrol, the Land Cruiser rival sold outside of North America, might come to the US as a replacement for the unrelated Nissan Armada. That large SUV's future was left ambiguous after the news of the Xterra's discontinuation, as Nissan's press release ominously promised information on the Armada "at a later date" without further elaboration. That left us scratching our heads and thinking that, perhaps, it would be quietly killed off in the future. If the rumors are true, it will be. And then it will be reborn. It'll join its old platform-mate, the Infiniti QX80, on the Patrol platform. The QX abandoned its Titan-based platform in 2011, becoming the Patrol-based QX80. So you can think of the Armada as catching up, a few years late. The QX80 was refreshed last year, a mainly cosmetic nip-and-tuck. The Infiniti utilizes the 5.6-liter, 400-hp V8 and a 7-speed auto, so it's a safe bet that this powertrain will make it into the Armada version. Less likely, but plausible, would be the availability of the new powertrains intended for the Titan XD and upcoming lower-grade Titans. The massive SUV market tends to be a bit conservative, so the Cummins diesel V8 that's the sole engine in the Titan XD right now seems unlikely. The forums are abuzz with a photo of what's purported to be a leaked marketing image of the new Armada, so head to this TitanXDForum thread if you'd like to see what that's about. (Spoiler: it looks a lot like the Patrol above, minus some of the Nismo flair.) Related Video: