RideLust

In town for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull Renault driver Mark Webber takes in some local culture by riding a camel, trying his hand at a little falconry, and by dune bashing in the UAE desert in an Infiniti QX56. The QX56 is Infiniti’s full-size SUV, and it comes jam-packed with the luxury amenities you’d expect from Nissan’s luxury brand. There’s rich leather seating, a climate controlled interior (complete with ventilated front seats) and a 400 horsepower, 5.6-liter V8 to ensure you don’t get bogged down in the soft stuff.

In our mind, dune bashing is best done in a sand rail or other purpose-built buggy, but those don’t generally come with air conditioning (or an enclosed cockpit). Besides, sand rails aren’t built by a company that helps fund Mark Webber’s weekly paycheck, so the QX56 seems like a reasonable alternative after all.

Thumbs Up: The least expensive RWD luxury car we can name.

Thumbs Down: Won’t amuse enthusiasts, no folding rear seats.

Buy This Car If: An Infiniti G37 sedan doesn’t fit the budget.

Back in 2004, I nearly bought an Infiniti G35 sedan. I was impressed by the car’s power and handling, and remember thinking about what a bargain it represented compared to the BMW 3 Series or the Audi A4. Ultimately, I bought the BMW, which turned out to be the worst car I ever owned; in retrospect, I’d have been much happier with the Infiniti G35. Read More…

Infiniti's M35h runs at Britain's Santa Pod Raceway. Image: Infiniti

Mention the phrase “hybrid car” to most enthusiasts, and their eyes glaze over before they nod off to sleep. By definition, hybrid cars contain two propulsion systems, which makes them heavy and overly complex. Worse, most are built simply to get you from point “A” to point “B” using as little fuel as possible, so typical hybrids are slow, lumbering beasts with the acceleration of moped and the handling of an economy car, Carrying a load of bricks on the hood. Read More…

Formula One stars generally drive fast sedans in their downtime, or so conventional wisdom says. Sebastian Vettel, the boy wonder of F1, bucks that trend by driving an Infiniti FX50 crossover. We can’t tell you why Vettel opted for the FX50 over, say, an AMG Mercedes or a BMW M5. Even if you tie it to Vettel’s contract and the Red Bull team’s Infiniti sponsorship, an M56 sedan seems like a more logical choice for the reigning world champion. Read More…

Thumbs Up: Surprising handling and more-than-adequate power

Thumbs Down: Styling Can be an acquired taste

Buy This Car If: You want a sport sedan but need a crossover

In the gospel according to gearheads, it is written that all crossover vehicles must be blandly-styled boxes, with no more driving excitement than a four cylinder Buick LaCrosse. Crossovers, after all, are the new station wagons: designed to haul families and their stuff from place to place, with near-zero focus on making the drive entertaining for the person behind the steering wheel. While most can be ordered with rear-entertainment systems to keep the kids pacified, most do nothing at all to amuse the driver. Read More…

Thumbs Up: Impressive handling and acceleration

Thumbs Down: Unpleasantly loud V6, somewhat unrefined

Buy This Car If: You want a 370Z that’s been to charm school

Back when Saturday Night Live was still funny, the show once ran a commercial spoof of a product that was both a floor cleaner and a dessert topping. I don’t remember the details, but the bottom line was this: by trying to be two distinctly separate things, the product had to make some compromises. Enter the 2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe, which tries to walk the line between a hardcore sports car and a personal luxury coupe. Read More…

Is there a bad choice here? Image: Car and Driver

Actually, that’s not a particularly fair comparison, since two of the three cars are heavy on sport, while the Infiniti leans more towards luxury. Car and Driver recently spent time flogging the upcoming Audi TT RS against the BMW 1 Series M and the Infiniti IPL G Coupe on the Tail of the Dragon and a local racetrack (nice work, if you can get it). Which finished on top? What was the order? Which was the most entertaining to drive? Watch the video below to find out. Read More…

Infiniti’s new M Hybrid is still a few months away from launch, but I know this already: when I drive it, I will like it. Forget the fact that I typically like anything that Infiniti builds, and consider the G37 sedan one of my all time favorites. Forget the 360 horsepower and 32 mile per gallon fuel economy that Infiniti’s throwing down. I’m going to like it simply because Henry Rollins is Infiniti’s new pitchman, and Henry Rollins has never steered me wrong. If you don’t know who he is, do yourself a favor: beg, borrow or steal a copy of “A Rollins In The Wry”, and then grab as much of Black Flag’s music as you can. In the mean time, support him by watching the video below. Read More…

Pete Helfer seemed liked one of the unluckiest men in New York. To start with, he’s a Jets fan, and Jets fans seem doomed to eternal disappointment. Helfer is also the owner of the ice-encrusted Audi A3 that made the rounds on the internet a few weeks back. Like most New York residents, Helfer is forced to park on the street, which made his A3 a target for vandals, smash and grab robbers and even inattentive motorists. Ironically, it was none of those things that caused $7,300 worth of repair to his car; instead, Helfer parked next to a water pipe that was improperly repaired by New York City workers. Passing cars splashed water from the ruptured pipe onto the passenger side of Helfer’s A3; by the time he found it, the ice was several inches thick. Not willing to wait for a spring thaw, Helfer needed hammers, chisels and a blowtorch to free his imprisoned Audi. Read More…

Aside from the EVO, Mitsubishi as a car company is just about as boring as they come. The Galant is bland and old, the Eclipse should have been taken out to pasture and shot years ago and the Endeavor, well, I actually kinda’ like that one so we’ll give it a pass. As a brand Mitsubishi is in desperate need of an overhaul which is something that if the rumor mills are true, may be happening sooner than we think. Autoblog is now reporting Mitsubishi is thinking of selling a rebadged version of Infiniti’s M car as they have nothing that is considered to be a premium class vehicle in their line-up. The Infiniti M would be rebadged as the new Diamante, a car that last saw production in 2005. Back then it was actually quite a nice vehicle, but slow sales and a lack of marketing unfortunately helped lend to its demise.
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