New Small Infiniti to get Mercedes 1.8-liter Turbo
Move is One of Several Planned for New Alliance
February 03, 2011 / By Peter Lyon

When reports surfaced last April that the Renault-Nissan (R-N) would share technologies with Mercedes-Benz, the news was a bit surprising, especially considering that Daimler, the German giant behind Benz, has a checkered past in international alliances. (Namely its failed relationships with Mitsubishi and Chrysler.)

But this time it's going to be different, we're told, because bosses from the tri-nation partnership spent "a significant amount of time" working out details of exactly how each will benefit from the technology exchange, according to an insider.

Apart from rumors of a future Infiniti model employing a next-generation S-Class platform and a Nissan V-6/hybrid combination, some of the most exciting news focuses on a small Infiniti incorporating a Mercedes engine. Slated to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the new Infiniti coupe will employ a next-generation B-C-sized platform co-developed by Renault and Nissan that is also destined to form the basis of the next Nissan Tiida and Renault Megane. Taking on almost identical dimensions to that of the Mercedes CLC, the new luxury two-door will be powered by a Mercedes 1.8 liter, four-cylinder CGI turbo that generates 202 hp and emits 171g/km of CO2. This will be Infiniti's smallest luxury car to date.

In addition to the moves outlined above, Mercedes wants access to R-N's electric vehicle know-how as well as its extensive global infrastructure investment. Another facet of the R-N portfolio that Mercedes plans to tap into is the alliance's low-cost, high-quality small-car lineup -- including its 1.2-to-1.6-liter 3- and 4-cylinder gas engines, a segment that the German manufacturer believes will expand in the near future.

Meanwhile, R-N wants to get its hands on Mercedes' high-quality, fuel-efficient 4- and 6-cylinder engines, most notably the powerplants that include the 1.8-liter CGI turbo, and the 3.0- and 3.5-liter V-6 units. R-N also wants to source Bluetec V-6 diesel engines to power its luxury Infiniti lineup, creating a double-pronged gas-hybrid and diesel lineup for Europe. R-N believes that only by employing the cleaner Mercedes engines can it meet the 120g/km CO2 emissions regulations coming into force in 2015.

R-N also wants to source Bluetec V-6 diesel engines to power its luxury Infiniti lineup, creating a double-pronged gas-hybrid and diesel lineup for Europe. R-N believes that only by employing the cleaner Mercedes engines can it meet the 120g/km CO2 emissions regulations coming into force in 2015.

Infiniti is an automaker headed in several directions at once. With a new IPL performance division on one side and the launch of the brand’s first hybrid vehicle, the 2012 M35 Hybrid, on the other, Infiniti appears to be straying from its comfort zone and attempting to cover all its bases. Now, confirming our earlier report, we have official word that the brand will debut a small concept car at the Geneva Motor Show that could slot beneath the current entry-level G series, should it make production.

Official details are slim. In fact, Infiniti doesn’t even specifically give the car a name. However, the images were named “Etheria,” leading us to believe that is what the concept version could be called. A press release simply gives the teaser images found here, along with a quote from Infiniti senior vice president Andy Palmer.

“Infiniti is currently examining concepts for a luxury performance car that will fit below the current G line,” said Palmer in the release. “Like every Infiniti, it will be completely different to anything currently offered by our rivals.”

Fortunately, we got the scoop early from a source familiar with the project, claiming that the concept will be Nissan-Renault’s first major project with new partner and Mercedes-Benz parent company, Daimler. The small car will take the form of a two-door coupe and will be a B- to C-segment car based on the same chassis as the next-gen Renault Megane and Nissan Tiida. Power will come from Mercedes’ 202-horsepower, 1.8-liter CGI turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The final result will be the smallest car that Infiniti has yet produced.

For more on Infiniti’s upcoming concept, be sure to stay tuned to our Geneva show coverage this March. Meanwhile, tell us: does a compact coupe make sense for Infiniti?

The CEOs of Daimler and Renault-Nissan say their 18-month old partnership has avoided the mistakes that sank earlier industry tie-ups and could be expanded, including the likely use of Daimler vehicle architecture in a compact car from Nissan luxury brand Infiniti.

Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn, sitting next to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche at a news conference at the Frankfurt auto show, said that tentative plans are to have Infiniti come out with a small car based on the Daimler platform in 2014.

The front-drive structure underpins Daimler's new Mercedes B-Class hatchback.

Zetsche and Ghosn said their cooperation on engines and vehicle platforms helps avoid overlapping investment and reduce costs, while avoiding the overstretch of earlier auto industry mergers that foundered.

Zetsche did not use the word "Chrysler" but the reference was obvious to Daimler's ultimately unsuccessful 1998 merger with the U.S. company, aimed at forming a global auto giant. The two split up and Chrysler is now controlled by Fiat SpA.

The Daimler AG and Renault-Nissan partnership works, Ghosn and Zetsche said, because it is based on specific projects that benefit both sides. Under the deal struck in April, 2010, Renault-Nissan will supply small engines for use in Mercedes vehicles, while Mercedes will provide larger engines for Infiniti cars. The idea is to fully exploit each side's production capacity with higher volumes, a practice that cuts costs.

The two companies are also sharing a common platform for their Renault Twingo and Daimler Smart models that will come to market beginning in 2014.

Zetsche said that starting with specific, limited cooperation worked better than deciding on a visionary merger and then figuring out where the synergies would be. "We have not set up a top down, long-term framework and then said, try to fill it."

He conceded that what the company did previously was at times "the opposite of what we are doing here... the outcome was not perfect."

http://www.automobilemag.com/green/r...ven/index.html
GREEN:
Driven: 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid
Even so, it's EPA rated at 27 mpg city, 32 on the highway. Its most direct competitor, the Lexus GS450h, is about to be replaced and maybe doesn't make for a very fair comparison, but that fact that the Lexus hybrid gets a comparably pathetic 22/25 mpg just shows how quickly hybrid technology is advancing. Unfortunately, I was only able to achieve an indicated 25 mpg in my week with the car, but that was almost all in-town driving, and with our steep hills here, it's not uncommon for cars to do worse than their EPA city estimates in my hands.

Assuming you can live with rear-wheel drive, the M hybrid makes an awfully strong case. Compared to the M37, the hybrid costs $5000 more, but it trounces the M37 in fuel economy, besting it by 9 mpg in the city and 6 mpg on the highway. Driving an average of 15,000 miles annually, you save nearly $800 per year (with gas at $3.95/gallon) with the hybrid. So the payoff time is just over six years -- less if you factor in the hybrid's expected higher resale value. Oh, and the hybrid is way faster.

It's against the M56, however, that the hybrid looks even better. It drives with very near the alacrity of its V-8 sibling, but it's $5400 cheaper (although the M56 has more standard equipment). Additionally, the hybrid saves more than $1000 per year in fuel costs.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/green/r...#ixzz1lT579HP4


Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/green/r...#ixzz1lT44RM7V

Late last year, Nissan announced plans to radically overhaul its Infiniti luxury division with a completely new naming strategy. While that move, a calculated bid to improve Infiniti’s footing in the premium segment, indicates that the brand has a future, a top Nissan executive has revealed that Infiniti’s survival wasn’t always a sure thing.

Speaking with WardsAuto on the sidelines of the Detroit show, Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer recalled that Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn once contemplated shutting down the brand.

“Mr. Ghosn challenged me and said, ‘We don’t have to do Infiniti, you can cancel it if you want,” Palmer said.

Ultimately, Palmer made the decision to stick with Infiniti, but decided to eliminate the high-volume focus that had plagued the brand since its inception.

“(Infiniti has) nice premium cars, but frankly, (they’re) kind of discount,” he says. “And we’ve been selling those cars over a period of 23 years with a Nissan-push mentality.”

Palmer stated that the company looks at Audi as a model for how a luxury brand can enjoy success while maintaining a healthy distance from the volume goals of a mass-market parent company. For that reason, Nissan recently hired former Audi of American president Johan de Nysschen as Infiniti’s Senior Vice President.

De Nysschen has pledged to help reinvent Infiniti as a quality-first tier-one premium brand, with one of his first decisions since signing on being to push back a previous goal of selling 500,000 worldwide from 2016 to 2017. Rather than chasing sales targets, de Nysschen wants to make certain that Infiniti develops the “brand metrics which entrench Infiniti as an unquestioned member of the club of premium automotive brands.”

Over the next four years, Infiniti will begin put its new strategy into action by releasing four new models – a compact hatchback derived from the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, a production version of the LE electric concept and two mystery vehicles. De Nyscchen has hinted that the Essence supercar concept may still make it showrooms, as could a non-traditional model positioned above the M sedan.