Infiniti's Sexy-Looking Emerg-E Supercar Breaks Cover, See the First Official Photos

If you weren't content with the patent images of Infiniti's new supercar concept that we showed you earlier this month, you'll be happy to know that the first official pictures of the study…emerged on the internet today, less than two weeks before its public debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.

We will admit that we weren't exactly wowed by the patent renderings, but our opinion change after we laid eyes on the real photos of Infiniti Emerg-E concept.

The Japanese premium brand's study is an impressive looking supercar with what we could even dare to describe as an Italian finesse in its styling. Of course, you'll find Infiniti's latest styling cues such as the pinched rear quarter window and the bulbous front grille, but it all works out nicely.

Infiniti has said that the Emerg-E will be propelled by a mid-mounted range-extender drivetrain comprising an electric motor and an internal combustion engine.

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Infiniti's Emerg-E Pure Electric Supercar Concept Uncovered in Patent Designs

Looks like we won't have to wait for Infiniti to stop the teasing and drop the full blown pictures of its all-new Emerg-E sports car concept to get out first view of the electric-powered model after all as the patent designs made their way onto the internet today.

Though rough around the edges and lacking certain details such as the wheel designs, the greyscale computer generated images outline the shape of the Japanese carmaker's concept for a high-end performance model with the unique characteristic of featuring a range-extender drivetrain mounted in a mid-ship position.

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Infiniti Brings us a Behind the Scenes Video of the M Hybrid vs Porsche Panamera Spot

Remember how Infiniti's M Hybrid beat the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid in a quarter mile duel for a new commercial that aired last month? Well now, the Japanese carmaker is gining a behind-the-scenes look at what went on during the filming of the spot.

Aside from seeing the M Hybrid burning some rubber the only other interesting bit in this video is the blacked out Mercedes-Benz ML film car - which, of course, goes unmentioned by Infiniti. Watch the two-and-a-half minute long clip after the break.

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Infiniti Says it's Mulling a GT-R Based Halo Supercar

Isn't it strange how things turn out sometimes? In March 2011, one of our readers tipped us off on a 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe dressed up to look like a Nissan GT-R that she had found in Quebec, Canada.

A few months later, the group’s head-honcho, Carlos Ghosn, hinted an Infiniti version of the Godzilla, but he was neither here nor there.

“If you ask me, 'are we going to do that’, I would say ‘no, I don’t think so’”, said Ghosn. But then he added: “If your question is ‘could we do that’, I would say ‘yes’. All technologies developed for Nissan are available to Infiniti.”

Now, CAR Magazine is reporting that Nissan’s luxury arm is indeed considering building such a model. According to the British publication, Infiniti’s head of advanced planning Francois Bancon admitted that the company is currently looking at producing a “halo” model based on the GT-R's running gear.

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Infiniti Names its Geneva Motor Show Sports Car Concept "Emerg-E"

Infiniti has been trickling out information on the new sports car concept it plans to reveal at the 2012 Geneva Salon bit by bit these past couple of months. Today we learn that the electric sports car model will be called the "Emerg-E".

"The INFINITI EMERG-E will be the first car from the brand to have not only a range-extender drivetrain offering vivid performance with zero emissions capability but also one mounted in a mid-ship package for optimal handling," the company said in a short statement.

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2012 Infiniti M35h vs Porsche Panamera S Hybrid: And the World's Fastest Full Hybrid Model is…

If not all, most makers of hybrid automobiles focus their advertising campaigns on their vehicles' fuel economy and CO2 emission ratings, but not Infiniti that has taken a different route with its new M35h.

Following a teaser clip last week, the Japanese carmaker released the full video today of its M35h taking on the also new 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid in a quarter mile drag race.

The 360-horsepower M35h completed the standing quarter mile in 13.4 seconds beating the 380-horsepower Porsche Panamera S Hybrid by about half-a-car's length, according to the video provided by Infiniti.

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Why You Shouldn't Play Wise Guy on the Highway

As the saying goes, there's a time and a place for everything. And stopping on the left lane of a busy highway with the intent of scolding the following vehicle's driver for supposedly approaching too close to your car is beyond doubt the wrong time and wrong place for such a move.

See what happens next from the footage recorded on the trailing vehicle's dashboard mounted camera.

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Is Infiniti getting Ready to Drag Race the M Hybrid Against the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid?

Just moments ago, Infiniti dropped an email into our inbox pointing us to a video on YouTube titled "What is the fastest accelerating full hybrid?" The short clip shows a driver dressed like The Stig entering a Porsche Panamera S Hybrid and getting ready to race the sports saloon in the desert.

Infiniti's email also notes, "Check out this teaser video and let us know where you think it’s going…. Don’t miss the results, coming January 23rd, 2012".

Since we find it hard to believe that the Japanese automaker would create a promotional campaign for Porsche and its new Panamera Hybrid we think it's all about showing the potential of the also new M Hybrid (called M35h in certain markets).

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Vilner Goes Over the Top with Infiniti EX37 Interior Tune

In its second take on the interior of an Infiniti EX37, Bulgarian design studio Vilner has rolled out tons of tan leather to create the automotive equivalent of a classic British sofa.

You'll find leather just about everywhere from the lower part and capping of the dashboard to the roof mounted handles and the door panels. On the seats, the leather is trimmed and stitched with various patterns.

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Carlos Ghosn Talks About Moving Production Overseas, Mercedes-Benz Alliance

When Carlos Ghosn, the man who has successfully turned around Nissan and is now trying to do the same with Renault, is discussing the auto industry, then you can be sure he knows what he’s talking about.

During an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the 2012 North American Auto Show, Ghosn said that 2011 was a record year for most manufacturers, and it would have been even better had the tsunami not crippled most carmaker’s production for many months.

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Mercedes-Benz and Nissan Join Forces to Build 4-Cylinder Engines in the USA

Back in April of 2010, Daimler, Mercedes-Benz's parent company, and the Renault-Nissan Alliance announced a broad strategic cooperation in which the two companies exchanged a 3.1 percent stake with each other and made plans to collaborate on several projects.

The partnership seems to be going well as the two automakers announced plans to produce Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder gasoline engines together at Nissan's powertrain assembly plant in Decherd, Tennessee. Production of the four-bangers will commence in 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 250,000 units.

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Infiniti Drops New Teaser and Video on its Geneva Show-Bound Electric Sports Car Concept

While all eyes remain on the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Infiniti thought it would be a good idea to release the third teaser picture and a video of its yet-to-be named, range extended electric sports car concept ahead of its world premiere at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.

In its latest release, the luxury brand reveals that the concept's range-extender drivetrain will be mounted in a mid-ship package for optimal weight distribution to improve handling. Both the powertrain package and layout are all-new to Infiniti

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And the Best-Selling Premium Brand in the U.S. for 2011 is…

The one thing we knew for sure after the manufacturing disruptions in Japan caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami was that Lexus wasn’t going to top the premium segment in the U.S. market for the first time in a decade. In fact, we also knew something else, the two contenders to the throne: BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

What we didn’t know up until Thursday is which of two brands was going to win, since both were caught in a neck-to-neck sales race. Going into December the gap was so small - less than 1,600 cars- that the win could go either way.

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2011 U.S. Sales: Detroit's Big 3 and Koreans Report Strong Gains, Honda and Toyota Feel the Pinch

In the year that just ended, some automakers have a lot to be grateful for while others including Japan's biggest car brands would rather forget due to the Tsunami as well as the Thailand floods that significantly hurt their production lines during 2011.

Starting with the American carmakers, General Motors saw its U.S. sales rise 13.7 percent last year to 2,503,820 units. Chevrolet led the way with 1,775,812 units (+13.4%) followed by GMC at 397,986 (+18.8%), Buick at 177,633 (+14.3%) and Cadillac at 152,389 (+3.7%).

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NHTSA Probes '03-'04 Infiniti M45 Sedans over Inaccurate Fuel Gauge Reading

For various reasons, it's not uncommon for drivers to run their cars on empty before filling up at a gas station - which isn't usually a problem if the fuel gauge reading is accurate.

However, for a number of owners of the short-lived Infiniti M45 sedan from the 2003 and 2004 model years, waiting for the low fuel warning light to go up before visiting a service station, can prove to be troublesome.

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Wald International Takes on the JDM Nissan Skyline Sedan / Infiniti G37

The Japanese domestic market [JDM] Nissan Skyline, which the rest of the world knows as the Infiniti G37 sedan, is the latest car to capture the attention of Wald International.

The renowned Takatsuki-based tuning firm has presented a Sports Line Black Bison Edition package for the saloon model consisting almost entirely of cosmetic upgrades.

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Infiniti’s Mercedes A-Class-based Compact Model to be Built by Magna Steyr

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Japan’s second biggest automaker, wants Nissan's luxury brand, Infiniti, to have a 10 percent share in the premium segment, which amounts to 500,000 units.
The “Power 88” plan that Ghosn revealed last June calls for the rapid expansion of Infiniti, which is an established player in the U.S. market but almost non-existent in Europe: in 2010 it sold 4,500 units, a tenth of BMW’s January 45,000 sales…
Back in August, we revealed that Infiniti was preparing a small, entry-level premium model to compete with the likes of Audi’s A3 and BMW’s 1-Series, and that it would use another premium carmaker’s help: Mercedes Benz and its newly developed MFA platform employed by the 2012 A-Class.

Ward's Auto Announces the 10 Best Engines of the Year

The annual list of Ward's 10 Best Engines of the year has been released. The magazine's editors chose the winners after spending October and November driving 36 vehicles with 34 of those featuring new or significantly upgraded powerplants.

To be eligible to participate in the competition, Ward's states that "each engine must be available in a regular-production U.S.-specification model on sale no later than first-quarter 2012, in a vehicle with a base price below $55,000".

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Infiniti Offers Select FX European Buyers a Chance to See the Inner Workings of Red Bull F1 Team

The FX “concept” that was unwrapped at the Frankfurt Motor Show was supposed to be a one-off model designed with input from 2010 (and, subsequently, 2011) Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.

However, Infiniti did what everyone expected, and less than a month later confirmed that the tweaked, 420HP luxury crossover would indeed enter production, albeit in limited numbers.

Now, as part of the celebrations for Sebastian Vettel's 2011 championship, Infiniti is offering European buyers of the FX the chance to get a unique insight of the inner workings of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team.

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New Audi A6 Ties with Infiniti M37 in Consumer Reports’ Premium Sedan Test, Saab 9-5 Flunks

Up until now, Consumer Reports' [CR] number one choice in the mid-size luxury sedan segment was the Infiniti M37. Not anymore as after evaluating the redesigned 2012 Audi A6, the M37 has to share the top spot with Ingolstadt's premium saloon.

The new Audi A6 received an “Excellent” rating with an overall score of 93 points. This is a huge improvement over the previous model's 79 points.

“The redesigned Audi A6 is an impressive car and a joy to drive”, said senior director of CR’s Auto Test Center. Consumer reports says that the significant improvement is attributed to the revamped model’s combination of strong acceleration, agile handling and comfortable ride as well its high-quality and quiet interior.

Other models included in CR’s mid-size luxury test were the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, the Infiniti M35h hybrid and the new Saab 9-5.

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