2009 Infiniti G37 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Infiniti aims to "de-Americanize" lineup, add flagship

Nissan launched Infiniti back in 1989 as a US brand, but more recently, Nissan's luxury marque has started focusing on more of a global presence. With a new global headquarters set up in Hong Kong and former Audi bigwig Johan de Nysschen at the helm, Wards Auto is reporting that the automaker's next goal is to create a "de-Americanized" lineup of vehicles.
This plan essentially consists of smaller cars and smaller-displacement engines to make Infiniti more attractive for buyers in Europe and Asia - two regions that tend to skew more toward smaller vehicles and smaller powerplants. To this point, Infiniti has been focused on vehicles better-suited to the US market - in fact, its smallest engine is a 3.7-liter V6 with 330 horsepower, and it doesn't offer a single diesel.
The first step in this transformation will be part of the Daimler-Nissan engine deal that will see a four-cylinder diesel eventually used in the 2014 Q50, but the report also reconfirms the importance of the soon-to-arrive Q30 production model (a concept of which was revealed last week in Frankfurt), along with the idea of a QX30 based on the Nissan Qashqai. There's also the latest projection of a full-electric Infiniti model that Wards says will debut sometime around 2015. Of course, Infiniti isn't giving up on large cars entirely - the reports indicates that Infiniti is planning a fullsize flagship model - possibly named Q80 - to compete against German sedans like the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Infiniti G37 to live through MY 2015, sell alongside Q50

Infiniti has officially confirmed news we broke last month about its G37 sedan - that it will live on in showrooms alongside its erstwhile replacement, the 2014 Infiniti Q50, a model that goes on sale this week. And it's sticking around for quite a while - it will be sold through the 2015 model year.
In order for the G37 and Q50 to not rub shoulders, Infiniti is rolling out an amended G lineup, complete with lowered pricing. The G37 will stick around in Journey and all-wheel drive trims, both powered by the same 3.7-liter VQ-Series V6 engine, and only two option groups will be available, Premium and Navigation. The 2014 G37 Journey will start at $32,550, while the G37 Sedan AWD will run $34,150 (both are subject to a $905 destination fee).
The 2013 G37 had been priced from $38,255 delivered as of earlier this week, so the price drop is significant, likely bringing the base MSRP more in line with where transaction prices had been on the aging model. The new pricing, which takes effect August 6, should also allow the G37 gain consideration amongst shoppers of smaller-engined rivals like the BMW 320i while the Q50 waits on a turbocharged four-cylinder and diesel engine from Daimler. For comparison's sake, the larger, more tech-rich Q50 will start at $37,605 delivered.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.