Come October of 2011, there will be a revised version of the Infiniti FX available at your local dealership. For 2012, Nissan's luxury arm has bestowed its flashy crossover with a distinctive new front fascia that draws clear influence from Infiniti's latest design language first seen on the Infiniti Essence Concept from the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.
In addition to the new face, Infiniti has also added a new 20-inch wheel design and a slightly redone instrument cluster. Finally, a new FX35 Limited Edition model hits the ground wearing an exclusive Iridium Blue exterior color along with blacked-out exterior finishes and unique 21-inch wheels. If you want one, we suggest you act fast; Infiniti plans only 550 LE models for North America.
Infiniti has left the powertrain alone for 2012, not that any changes were really all that necessary. The FX35 continues on with 303-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 while the FX50 boasts 390 horses from its 5.0-liter V8. Either engine comes mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox that gets optional paddle shifters on the FX50. All-wheel drive is optional on the FX35 (base models get rear-wheel drive) and standard on the FX50.
Pricing doesn't change much for 2012, with the base FX35 starting at $43,450 and the FX50 at $59,350. The new Limited Edition FX35, which comes only with all-wheel drive, will go for $51,550. According to the automaker, "popularly equipped" models wear the same price tags in 2012 as they did in 2011.
Want to know more? Check out our image gallery (note: the blue FX35 is the Limited Edition color) and then peruse the press release after the break. Continue Reading on AutoBlog.com.
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The 2011 Infiniti FX has just received that rare gift of a price cut, with $2,600 coming off the FX50's MSRP and $1,250 in savings for the FX35. Looking at Infiniti's numbers for 2010, the division has been outperforming 2009 by anywhere from 10 to nearly 50 percent since February 2010, but the picture comes into focus when you separate the FX from the herd.
Despite good divisional performance, the swoopy FX is off 12.4 percent calendar year to date, according to the Nissan North America sales report for August 2010. It's not like 2009 was a banner year, of course, so to help spur FX sales, Infiniti has lowered the base MSRPs on its FX models to $41,600 for the rear-wheel-drive FX35, $43,050 for the FX35 with all-wheel drive and $56,400 for the V8-powered FX50. To sweeten the pot, Infiniti is also throwing in a standard power liftgate, too. We'll know soon enough whether the pricing gambit has worked. Official press release posted after the jump. Hat tip to Zach!
[Source: Infiniti] Continue Reading on AutoBlog.com.
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"Don't hold back."
Three words I've never heard before at a press event and three words that are running through my mind as I tramp down on the throttle and wheelspin my way towards the gray horizon.
Don't hold back.
Ahead of me lies a three-quarter-mile stretch of perfectly groomed snow sitting atop a thick layer of ice, with over 300 feet of desolation on either side.
Don't hold back.
From a standing start, the well-worn BMW X6 grapples with a lack of traction and then finally grips through the slush to propel me past 20... 30... 40... 50 mph. Then I slam on the stoppers. The ABS system pulses through the brake pedal and the coupe-shaped 'ute grinds to a squeaky, squawky halt. Let's try that again.
Don't hold back.
This time I get up to 60 mph, lay on the brakes and it's the same result. Now I'm bored, so it's time to experiment with a few emergency lane change maneuvers. I get up to 30 mph, stab at the brake, yank the wheel to the right, then back to the left and straighten up. Nothing. No drama. No hesitation. No tail wagging. I do it again, this time at 40 mph with the traction control off. Same result. Then 50 mph. Same result. Then 60 mph. And then I promptly stuff myself into an six-foot-tall snow bank.
Didn't hold back.
Follow the jump to read about our experience at Acura's cold weather testing facility in Minnesota.
Continue Reading on AutoBlog.com.
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