New Bikes of Infiniti

History
The beginning
The Infiniti brand was introduced in the USA in 1989. The marketing strategy was to target the premium vehicle segments in the United States that would not have otherwise fit in with Nissan's more mainstream image, and partially influenced by the Plaza Accord of 1985. The brand was created around the same time as Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda developed their Lexus and Acura premium brands. The Japanese government imposed voluntary export restraints for the U.S. market, so it was more profitable for automakers to export more expensive cars to the U.S.

The Infiniti marque was launched with two models, the Q45, and the M30. The Q45 was based on the all new second generation JDM Nissan President on a five millimeter shorter wheelbase platform at 2,875 mm (113.2 in). Starting with model year 1992, the wheelbase matched the President's wheelbase at 2880 mm (113.4 in). The Q45 included a 278 hp (207 kW; 282 PS) V8 engine, four wheel steering, and active suspension system offered on the first generation Q45t. The car's features would have made it competitive in the full-sized "luxury" segment against the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ and Cadillac Fleetwood.

Infiniti did not offer an mid-luxury sedan to match the first Japanese luxury sedan introduced to North America, the Acura Legend, which was later joined by the Lexus GS. Infiniti's first offering in the entry-level luxury segment was the Infiniti J30, which had to compete with the revised 1992 Lexus ES and was unsuccessful owing to its small interior and unusual styling to which it was succeeded in 1996 by the Infiniti I series, related to the Nissan Maxima and in 2002 by the Infiniti G35.

The Infiniti badge is a stylized representation of a road extending into the horizon, stretching to "Infiniti".

2000s
By 2000, large Japanese companies were feeling the effect of the Japanese asset price bubble, and the reduced desirability of Infiniti's led to its facing extinction. The company rededicated itself to developing a dynamic and powerful line-up of sporty luxury cars. This coincided with parent company Nissan entering into a merger with Renault under the direction of Carlos Ghosn and the Nissan Revival Plan. Car and Driver reported that Infiniti executives invited members of the motoring press to a meeting where they "swore never again to take their eyes off BMW."[citation needed] Although this effort began with a completely redesigned Q45 flagship for the 2002 model year, it was the G35 that helped improve Infiniti sales in 2003. In Japan, Nissan had a well established reputation with premium level performance sedans after Nissan acquired the Prince Motor Company and integrated the Nissan Skyline, Nissan Laurel and Nissan Gloria, originally Prince vehicles, in 1966-1968. A sports sedan replacing its Nissan Primera-based predecessor (the G20), the Nissan Skyline-based Infiniti G35, was successful after it was voted Motor Trend Car of the Year in 2003.

The release of the sport-tuned FX35/45 crossover that same year piggybacked on the G35's success. The FX used the same components as the G35 sport coupe and was designed for American tastes. It combined good handling and performance with station wagon-like versatility and all-weather capability. In 2004, Infiniti added an all-wheel drive version of the G35 sports sedan to compete with similar all-wheel drive sports sedans from Audi and BMW. Infiniti also introduced a larger SUV to compete with the Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX470. This was the 2004 Infiniti QX56 based on the U.S. market Nissan Armada.

Brand repositioning
As of 2011, the G Series (consisting of the sedan, coupe, and convertible) accounts for 60% of sales. This has been attributed to their SUVs (including crossovers) which have been seen as determinedly aimed at the narrowest of niches, a lost opportunity as SUVs are popular in the U.S. market. In contrast, at archrival Lexus, SUVs contributed half of the sales volume. In 2011, Infiniti sales fell, while other import luxury vehicles were doing well.[13] Furthermore, Infiniti's performance over practicality emphasis has resulted in its crossovers and SUVs faring poorly among women compared to offerings from Acura and Lexus.

Nissan announced the return of front-wheel drive to the Infiniti lineup on August 30, 2011 with the release of the Infiniti JX. It will join Toyota's Lexus brand in terms of blending front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles again; since its inception in 1990 Lexus has had front-wheel drive platforms underpinning entry-level vehicles like the Lexus ES and Lexus RX. More importantly, the JX was meant to give Infiniti a credible rival to the Acura MDX and BMW X5 crossovers that offer optional three-row seating.

On December 17, 2012, Infiniti announced a new product nomenclature scheme where all sedans and coupes will carry a "Q" prefix while all crossovers and SUVs will carry a "QX" prefix. Instead of numbers indicating engine displacement after the prefix, the two digits will be used to indicate where in the brand's hierarchy the model falls. The first model to follow this scheme will be the upcoming Q50, which replaces the G sedan. The rest of the line will be transitioned to the new scheme by the 2014 model year.

Models
Infiniti's former model name designation included one letter for coupés and sedans (two letters for SUVs) and a number reflecting engine displacement. For example, the QX56 was an SUV featuring a 5.6 L engine. An exception to this was the QX4 SUV, which featured a 3.3 L engine (1997–2000) and later a 3.5 L engine (2001–2003). An "x" following the engine displacement of Infiniti sedans denoted an all wheel drive model (e.g. Infiniti G35x), "s" denoted a sport package, "h" denoted a hybrid model, "d" denoted a diesel model (e.g. M30d) and a "t" for a Touring model (older models only).

In 2013, Infiniti's model designation changed to the coupes and sedans starting with the letter Q, the SUVs and crossovers starting with the letters QX, and a number reflecting the model's place in the brand lineup. For instance, the M sedan became the Q70 while the G sedan was replaced with the Q50; meanwhile, the QX56 became the QX80 while the EX became the QX50.

Current
Most Infiniti coupes, sedans and crossovers are based on the Nissan FM platform. The center of the engine is placed behind the front wheels. The exceptions are the QX80 full-size SUV that rides on the Nissan F-Alpha platform and the QX60 crossover that rides on the Nissan D platform.

• Infiniti Q50 (Q50 3.7/Q50 Hybrid/Q50 3.7 AWD/Q50 Hybrid AWD sedan)
• Infiniti Q60 (Q60 coupe/convertible, IPL coupe/convertible)
• Infiniti Q70 (M25, M30d, M35h, M37/M37x AWD and M56/M56x AWD variations, all sedans)
• Infiniti QX50 (EX30d and EX37 in Europe)
• Infiniti QX60 (3.5, 3.5 AWD, Hybrid, Hybrid AWD)
• Infiniti QX70 (3.7, 3.7 AWD, 5.0 AWD)
• Infiniti QX80 (SUV)

Discontinued

• Infiniti G (sedan), G25 (sedan) and G35 (coupe and sedan)
• Infiniti M30 (coupe and convertible) and M35/M45 (sedan)
• Infiniti QX4 (SUV)
• Infiniti J30 (sedan)1
• Infiniti I30 and I35 (sedan)
• Infiniti Q45 (sedan)

Concept vehicles

• Infiniti Triant (2003)
• Infiniti Kuraza (2005)
• Infiniti Essence (2009)
• Infiniti Etherea (2011)
• Infiniti Emerg-e (2012)
• Infiniti LE (2012)
• Infiniti Q30 (2013)

Motorsports
In 1996, Nissan launched an effort to compete in the Indy Racing League with the Infiniti brand.[18] The engine chosen for the Indy cars was a race variant of the VH engine used the Q45s. The IRL program was quietly wrapped after the 2002 season after only a few wins.[19] The Renault engine powering the Red Bull Racing 2011 F1 challenger was expected to be rebranded as an Infiniti engine, but the sponsorship deal did not extend to engine rebranding.[20] They did become Red Bull's title sponsor in 2013, and Dietrich Mateschitz has left the door open for an engine branding deal in the future. In 2011, Infiniti signed Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel as its first global ambassador