The King is DEAD, long live the King. Very appropriate for the all new Infiniti QX56 being launched in the USA later this year. But first, we have to set the stage for the review itself - not the vehicle. Infiniti hosted small groups of journalists at the 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville. The hotel itself was worth the trip. Quirky, quaint with 42 plastic red penguins to entertain the guests. Penguins with bibs at dinner. Penguins with a shower cap in the tub. The "museum" part of the hotel's title relates to the art on display - all by artists alive today and produced during the 21st Century. When an artist dies, their works are removed to a private gallery in the owners' quarters on the 4th floor of the hotel. Oh, yeah, THE BOOK - found in the bar with a plain cover is worth the price of a martini.

The great drive in the QX56 through bourbon country and horse country from Louisville to Frankfort (Kentucky's capital) was picturesque and the roads were great. Not much traffic. Rolling hills. Perfect for the large sport ute. Major surprise, however, was that the historic mile-after-mile of white fences Kentucky horse country is known for has transformed into creosote black fences... lower cost and longer life. The drive through northern Kentucky is highly recommended. Hopefully you have more than a stock rentacar. Don't forget to stop at Choctaw Jim's general store in Campbellsburg. They make a mean peanut and jelly sandwich with peanut butter bread. Yum. The only blemish is that the authentic American Indian artifacts mostly are made in China.

Intiniti QX56 Formidable Competitor in Premium Luxury SUV Class Now, about the second generation Infiniti QX56. As you probably know, the first generation QX is based on the Titan pickup and assembled at Nissan's Canton, Mississippi assembly plant. The new QX is based on the Japanese market Nissan Patrol and produced in Japan.

Continue reading "Bourbon, Bluegrass and THE BOOK - Driving the 2011 Infiniti QX56" »

Posted by George Peterson at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The Nissan Maxima has a long history of success in AutoPacific's research, scoring class-winning VSA wins in 2004, 2005, and 2007. This year's Maxima took the segment crown back again, with the 2010 Maxima winning top honors in the Luxury Mid-Size Car segment. The Maxima was particularly highly rated with respect to driver's seat comfort, exterior and interior styling, power/acceleration and being fun to drive.

While seemingly minor changes, Nissan moved Bluetooth and XM satellite radio to standard equipment for 2010MY, as well as upgrading from an aux jack to a USB port for MP3 players, the end result brought Maxima back to the top.

Once again, the Maxima shines!

For a complete list of winners and description of the Awards, click here.

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Funky First Timer - cube Wins VSA First time out of the box, the funky cute Nissan cube (with a small "c") wins AutoPacific's 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Award for Compact Cars. The cube is a tour de force in packaging winning its class in ease of getting in and out, seating capacity, flexible seating and, possibly most important in this class, cupholder design and size. cube beats some serious competition - Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen New Beetle, Kia Forte, Honda Civic. It doesn't win by sheer force of winning numerous categories. It wins by having very respectable ratings in all.

The cube is a pleasure to drive if you are just loafing around town. It turns heads and mostly gets thumbs up from other drivers. The buyers run the gamut from GenY through Boomers. GenY buyers are looking for cool transportation that doesn't cost much and can carry their buddies and some stuff. Boomers are looking for an affordable small vehicle that is easy to live with, easy to get into and out of and can carry adults in the rear seat. When you exit a cube, you usually have a smile on your face.

cube is a FLOATER One of our analysts calls it FLOATING. This is when you just go out for a relaxing drive on the weekend with no particular place or time in mind. cube is perfect for that. It's a perfect FLOATER.

For a complete list of winners and description of the Awards, click here.

Posted by George Peterson at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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National Survey Reveals Cadillac as Top Premium Brand, Buick as Top Popular Brand, Ford Motor Company Has Most Awards with Seven, Suzuki Kizashi as Top Car and Lincoln MKT as Top Truck

TUSTIN, Calif. (May 20, 2010) -- AutoPacific today announced its 14th Annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions.

"While the auto industry is showing signs of improvement, more than ever before, manufacturers need to be able to differentiate themselves. Proof of satisfied customers is as good as gold," says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. "We've found that more than 25% of new car buyers are positively influenced by owner-based awards like the VSA when deciding on a new car or truck."

AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award is an industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new car or light truck. This study by the Southern California-based automotive research firm summarizes the results of over 42,000 new vehicle owners.

"Vehicles that score highest in the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are delivering value and satisfaction across a wide range of attributes," says Peterson. "The winners perform well in 48 separate categories that objectively measure the ownership experience."

Continue reading "Autopacific Announces 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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The data for April 2010 new vehicle sales are now in, and there is some dramatic news in the full-size pickup arena.

When compared with April 2009, Ford's F-Series share of the full-size pick segment is up...way up! Up from 34.3% of segment last year to 39.1% of segment this year -- an increase of 4.8%.

The Dodge Ram share of segment is down by an equally impressive amount, from 18.8% of segment to 12.6%, a 6.6% loss.

The GM entries (Chevrolet Silverado, and Avalanche, GMC Sierra and Cadillac Escalade) and the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan have all about maintained share of segment. The results are very similar if you compare April 2010 to April 2009 or if you look at the first four months of 2010 with the first four months of 2009.

What did Ford do right? No doubt the current F-150 and F-250/350 Super Duty models are as good as any vehicles in their segment. That helps! But what happened to the Dodge Ram? Both the Ram 1500 and Ram 2500/3500 heavy Duty models are great products - especially with the Ram's Cummins I6 diesel. As far as I can tell, pricing and incentives are also competitive. So what's the problem? My speculation (and it is no more than that) is that pickup-truck buyers concern about Chrysler's future may be at the heart of the problem.

Posted by Jim Hossack at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Nissan has today announced U.S. LEAF pricing. On the eve of the New York show, they have successfully caused a near-unanimous "WOW" across the industry with an amazingly low price for high-technology system. Profit per vehicle is not something automakers are happy to talk about in any situation, but the expectation is that Nissan may not make any profit on the LEAF for many, many years. Still, the combination of an affordable price and the years of deep legwork Nissan has done in preparing consumers and communities for the product, the LEAF is the biggest step yet in advancing the cause of electric vehicles. What does this mean for the success of LEAF? Here's my first reaction...

Pricing Summary
$32,380 ($25,280 after $7500 Federal tax credit)
$349/month for 36-month lease (Nissan takes the credit to enable that price)
$2200--AeroVironment home-charging dock and installation (also eligible for tax credit)
$99 Registration fee, refundable (www.nissanusa.com)

Continue reading "WOW! $25,000 For an EV? Here Comes Nissan LEAF!" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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PickupTucks.com and AutoPacific have taken a look at all the new trucks sold in the past 10 years and made their picks for the most significant trucks of the decade. The trucks that made the list introduced cutting edge technologies and pushed the segment into new territory.

"Despite the economic challenges of the past two years, it's hard not to look back at the last ten years without calling it the decade of the pickup truck," said PickupTrucks.com editor Mike Levine. "Sales of full-size pickups hit 2.56 million units in 2004 and Ford's F-Series trucks remain the nation's best-selling vehicles, 33 years in a row."

Though there are many trucks that had a significant impact in the last decade, it's clear that the 2009 Ford F-150 earned the title of "Most Significant".

"On balance, we thought the 2009 Ford F-150 was the most significant pickup of the last decade," said Jim Hossack, vice president of consulting for AutoPacific. "It sells in high volume, owners like it and its body, chassis and powertrain are all first rate. Features abound, and there are more models, series and options than can be counted. It's a good looking truck and suitable for the widest possible range of tasks and uses."

After the jump are those trucks deemed most significant, in no particular order.

Continue reading "PickupTrucks.com and AutoPacific Announce the Most Significant Trucks of the Decade" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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370Z: Second Generation Continues Purist Roots
With the 370Z Roadster on sale this month, Nissan's 370Z full family has arrived. The latest coupe went on sale in January 2009, followed by an on-road track car in the NISMO 370Z in June 2009. This summer, we found time for all three.

370Z should be Nissan's personality distilled, affordable and practical, but edgey and at home in Everyman's garage. Good thing for them, Nissan successfully refined without sacrificing its edge or rough-and-ready nature. If you didn't like the 350Z, you're not going to like 370Z. If you did, there's only more to love.

The new car is easy to pick as a modern Z. Against the 2003-09MY car, proportions have been adjusted and it lost a few inches. The new car takes cues of today's Nissan family in its lights, and the convertible top looks more of a piece than the 350Z. There's more power under the hood, always nice, but less weight being carried around, even better. Weight was lost with the shrinking of the Z, but also with selective use of aluminum (including hood and doors).

Continue reading "2010 Nissan 370Z: The Family is Here" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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"The 2009 Motorist Choice Award for the Compact Pickup segment is the Nissan Frontier. A sturdy truck and worthy winner, Frontier combines the traditional product virtues of quality, reliability and durability with attractive financial considerations so important in today's challenging economy." - AutoPacific

"A strong retained value and low maintenance costs were the keys to the Nissan Frontier win." - IntelliChoice

Owner Satisfaction Highlights
• Reliable/Dependable
• Quality
• Durable/Long Lasting
• Vehicle and Brand Reputation

Cost-of-Ownership Strengths
• Strong Retained Value
• Low Maintenance Costs

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Awards Show Consumers Enjoy Luxury and Size
(August 11, 2009) -- Right brain, left brain; the practical versus the emotional -- an age-old dilemma often at the center of decision making when buying a new car or truck. The 2009 Motorist Choice Awards recognize new cars and trucks that give their owners both economic and emotional satisfaction, helping new-car buyers find vehicles that best satisfy all of their personal-transportation needs. The fourth annual Motorist Choice Awards survey, announced today, scores 196 cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs. With the top overall scores in both owner satisfaction and value, the Lexus LS placed highest of any 2009 model year vehicle.

Large and luxury vehicles dominated this year's results. The top 34 ranked cars, and 106 of the top 107, are large cars, luxury cars, sport utility vehicles, crossover SUVs or minivans. Only one small car, the BMW 1-Series, scored in the top 100, landing in the 35th slot. Toyota Prius is the next-highest-scoring small car, coming in 107th.

Awards are given for top-scoring vehicles scoring in each of twenty-three segments, as well as for the top-scoring brand. Nine manufacturers earned segment wins, led by Toyota with nine awards (including three for Lexus), followed by General Motors with six (Chevrolet 4, Cadillac 2), Honda with three, and Chrysler with two (Dodge 1, Jeep 1). Audi, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and Volkswagen took top honors in one segment each.

(And check out our video on YouTube.)

Continue reading "Motorist Choice Awards Reveal Vehicles That Please Both Hearts And Minds" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Nissan will deliver its next all-electric vehicle in late 2010, for fleets only initially, in the United States as well as Japan and Europe. After teasing the project with a prototype of the drivetrain under a home-market Cube, Nissan has announced the name and released first photos of the production version.

The new car will first be built in Oppama, Japan, but also at Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee, plant. Battery production will initially be in Japan, with Nissan scouting supplemental sites around the world, and including the United States.

Continue reading "2011 Nissan LEAF: First Look" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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"The win of the Nissan Armada of AutoPacific's 2009 Ideal Vehicle Award shows that Nissan learned what Large SUV buyers want and delivered on their product requirements. Armada owners gave their SUV best-in-class wins in six of fifteen rating categories," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, Inc. "In a product segment where buyers value ease of use, generous space, good ride and handling combined with power and acceleration, the Armada excels." Top-scoring Armada attributes include:
* Power and acceleration
* Exterior styling
* Visibility
* Ride and handling
* Ease of entry/egress

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Public Responds Positively to Ford's Actions, but Some Still Have Reservations
TUSTIN, Calif. (June 17, 2009) -- American consumers' opinions about Ford Motor Company have been positively influenced by the company's decision not to accept government bailout funds, and by the bankruptcy filings of rivals General Motors and Chrysler. Automotive research and analysis firm AutoPacfic conducted an online survey of more than 900 U.S. consumers regarding their purchase intent and opinions of individual car companies. Highlights include:

* Asian and European manufacturers scored highest when the survey asked "How concerned are you about buying/leasing a vehicle from" a particular maker, with an average of 61% "Not concerned at all." Ford scored 48%, far ahead of GM's 15% and Chrysler's 14%.

Continue reading "Survey Indicates Ford Benefits From Troubles Of Others And Not Taking Bailout" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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We're signing off for the year but we'll be back after the first of the year. Here's to a Happy Holidays and a prosperous 2009 - more prosperous than the latter half of 2008, right?

In the meantime, we'll leave you with this holiday gem: Car Magazine commissioned Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Nissan, and Ford to redesign Santa's sleigh. This is one of the coolest ways we've seen Christmas and cars fused. Below is one of Bentley's submissions.

Click here for the rest.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Posted by Ed Kim at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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It might be all too easy to dismiss the Nissan Cube as a copy of the original Scion xB that's a few years too late. It's similar in size and profile to that now-iconic box and offers a similarly commodious interior package.

Continue reading "2008 LA Auto Show: Nissan Cube" »

Posted by Ed Kim at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The current 350Z has been a great success and halo for a revitalized Nissan that went from painfully dull and underachieving throughout the late 90s and early part of this decade to avant garde, high-tech, and extroverted from 2002-on. Based on Nissan's acclaimed FM platform and powered by the company's renowned 3.5L V6, the car has successfully communicated Nissan's great performance heritage without resorting to retro cliches.

Today, Nissan unveiled the 2009 370Z, which as you might guess is the next generation of Nissan's sports car that is powered by a 3.7L V6. It's mechanically pretty similar to the last version but refined in every way. In this way, it's actually much like all of the latest Nissan and Infiniti products that are essentially cautious restyles of the breakthrough Nissan products from the company's renaissance a few years back.

Continue reading "2008 LA Auto Show: Nissan 370Z" »

Posted by Ed Kim at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Is My Pickup Better Than Your Pickup?
Among our contributors are owners of vehicles from a MINI Cooper (two, actually), Audi TT, Ford Flex, an aging Ford Taurus, and a Toyota Tacoma. For us, it is always fun to apply our analysis and industry knowledge to our own lives and rides, and the Frontier provided the chance to do that again. While I drove the Xterra and Frontier during an afternoon on a press preview, contributor Keagan Patrick took the Frontier that spent a week with California HQ out for some seat time and direct comparisons against his Tacoma.

Follow the jump for his take!

Continue reading "Counterpoint: Tacoma Versus Frontier, an Owner Weighs In" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Products Apparently So Good, They Needed Little Improvement.
Nissan's current Frontier and Xterra were introduced for the 2005MY. Four years later, they came to the showroom with minor changes. And though Nissan is planning a retreat from the full-size pickup-truck business, due to a product-sharing agreement with Chrysler that still has time to implode, executives tell us work is underway on the next iteration of Frontier, Xterra, and Pathfinder. We've got a couple of years before those arrive, and Nissan says they keyed 2009 changes at providing more of the attributes customers already know and love their Xterras and Frontiers for.

In a tough truck market, the goal is to ride out the panic, see where things fall, and keep as many buyers as possible to ensure the smallest sales slide you can. In this depressed market, Nissan tells us their trucks haven't fallen as much as the other guys (though they didn't have as far to fall). Nissan's also adjusting options and trim-level mixes as those customers sticking with trucks are less focused on luxury and more on utility and practicality.

Continue reading "First Drive: 2009 Nissan Frontier and Xterra" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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It's rare when two same class heavyweights are introduced concurrently. Both the 2009 Nissan Maxima and 2009 Acura TL were launched this summer and both are very nice entry luxury entries. The cars are very similar, but the positioning of each is very different.

The Maxima, a derivative of the front wheel drive Nissan Altima and assembled at Nissan's huge car/truck plant in Smyrna, Tennessee is the range topper for Nissan cars in the USA. The Acura TL is front wheel drive with optional SH-AWD - "Super Handling All Wheel Drive". The TL is the middle of the Acura car lineup and Acura's highest volume vehicle and is assembled alongside the Honda Accord in Marysville, Ohio.

You might think that a better comparison would be the Acura against Infiniti with the TL lining up against the Infiniti G37 sedan. But the G37 sedan is based on a rear wheel drive platform. The TL vs. the Maxima is a more real product-to-product comparison.

Continue reading "2009 Acura TL vs. 2009 Nissan Maxima: Who Wins?" »

Posted by George Peterson at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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AutoPacific: The all-new Nissan Rogue was a hit with owners, who declared it a 2008 Motorist Choice Award® winner. Ratings for exterior size, ingress/egress and interior materials beat out its competitors, many of which are on their second or third generation of vehicles. Drivers also gave the Rogue top ratings for braking, power, ride, handling and being fun to drive.
IntelliChoice: The Nissan Rogue is a strong model in a very competitive class. The Rogue has an above average retained value, fuel costs and maintenance costs.

Posted by Katrina Ohlemacher at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Green technology at the Woodward Dream Cruise? Hmmm. You could fit a whole Prius under this baby’s hood, I guess.

Continue reading "Road Noise: The Green Parade" »

Posted by Katrina Ohlemacher at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Owners in the Economy Car segment rated Nissan Versa’s passenger room, handling and ingress/egress very highly. Though the vehicle is positioned below the Sentra, owners are finding the Versa really retains many of the qualities found in larger vehicles.

Posted by Katrina Ohlemacher at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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VehicleVoice recently had the opportunity to spend the weekend in a 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid.

Like other manufacturers, Nissan’s first hybrid model in 2007 came late to the party. Honda and Toyota entered the market seven years earlier. Nissan licensed Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology to speed up bringing the Altima hybrid to market.

Nissan uses a 40 hp electric motor that assists a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine to generates a combined 198 horsepower. This power is directed to the wheels via an electronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Continue reading "2008 Altima Hybrid: The Mainstreaming of Hybrids Begins" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Tustin, California, June 30, 2008 – An “ideal” is defined as an excellent or perfect example. In the annual Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA), announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, owners rate their new 2008 model year cars and trucks by how close they come to their ideal, as measured by 15 key vehicle attributes. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal.

Continue reading "AutoPacific Announces 2008 Ideal Vehicle Awards" »

Posted by Katrina Ohlemacher at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Posted by Katrina Ohlemacher at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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