Infiniti

Infiniti is Japanese Nissan Motor's luxury automobile brand in the United States, Canadian, Middle Eastern, South Korean and Taiwanese markets. Nissan also has plans to release Infiniti into many European markets as well as its home Japanese market in the coming years.

History

Infiniti was introduced in the United States by Nissan in 1989, to rival Toyota and Honda's introduction of their own luxury brands, Lexus and Acura, respectively. A series of Zen-inspired advertisements, which became known as the "rocks and trees" campaign, aimed to bring about brand awareness. The advertisements, however, neglected to feature any of Infiniti's models, and thus failed to generate adequate sales. Better advertising and the introduction of award-winning models eventually made Infiniti a chief contender in the luxury vehicle segment of the American market. Since 1989, sales have consistently grown.

Related Topics:
Toyota - Honda - Lexus - Acura - Zen

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Infiniti began to take part of the luxury market mostly thanks to its popular Q45. The vehicle included a class leading (at the time) 278 hp (207 kW)V8 engine, four-wheel steering, the first active suspension system offered on a motor vehicle, and numerous interior luxury appointments. These made it competitive against the comparatively uninspiring engines and interiors found in German imports like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which by the time of Infiniti's release had overtaken Cadillac and Lincoln in dominating the luxury segment of the American market.

Related Topics:
Hp - KW - Four-wheel steering - Active suspension - German - BMW - Mercedes-Benz - Cadillac - Lincoln

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In 1997, Infiniti released the QX4, a modified and more luxurious version of the Nissan Pathfinder, making Infiniti the first maker (apart from SUV specialists, Jeep and Land Rover) to offer a mid-sized luxury SUV - predating the release of the Lexus RX 300 and the Mercedes-Benz ML320. Like a traditional SUV, it was based on a truck platform, which gave it a competetive edge against the aforementioned competitors for its off-roading abilities.

Related Topics:
1997 - Nissan Pathfinder - Jeep - Land Rover - Lexus RX 300 - Mercedes-Benz ML320

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In the early 2000s, Infiniti began to increase engine output and overhaul its product lineup with new models and designs, as well as pioneering technological innovations, as part of the efforts of new senior management at Nissan to increase Infiniti sales. Although this began with a completely redisigned Q45 for the 2002 model year, sales figures did not see an increase until the introduction of the G35, a sports sedan far exceeding the capabilities of it's unrelated, Nissan Primera-based predecessor, the G20, and the release of the sport tuned FX45 sport utility vehicle, which combined sports-car handling and performance with SUV-like versatility.

Related Topics:
2000 - 2002

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Today, Infiniti sales continue to increase, and the release of the redesigned M35/45 for the 2006, which has proven extremely popular in its first months of sales, indicates that Nissan's attempts to increase market share for Infiniti have been successful.

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