Infiniti injects new life into 2011 M & 2010 G Sedan

On December 1, Infiniti held an event in Beverly Hills to reveal the much anticipated full-sized 2011 M. This fully redesigned M is an absolutely beautiful car. One might notice the design cues taken from the Essence Concept. The interior quality is arguably amongst the best in the world. Stunning. The M35 will become the M37, powered by the 3.7 liter V6 powerplant from the G37 making 330 hp and 270 lb/ft of torque. The M45 will be gone too, being replaced by the M56. The M56 gets a beastly 420 hp and 417 lb/ft of torque. Both will be available in all-wheel drive as usual. It sure seems that Infiniti is gunning pretty hard for the BMW 5 series sedans, whether intentional or not.

Infiniti also announced a few changes for the 2010 G37 Sedan. It seemed to be a bit of a small news item at this M focused event, but it was one that had my full attention. I won’t list everything but will hit on a few highlights. Most notably, the front fascia has been redesigned to be a bit more aggressive. Also, thankfully Infiniti finally ditched those horrible fog lights integrated into the headlight assembly. Now the fogs are where they should have been all along, down low. The rear-end has been subtly redesigned as well, although it’s the technology inside that will be noticed most by Average Joe. The nav system has been upgraded and now includes a 9.3GB hard drive for music, 7 inch touch-screen, real-time weather and traffic, and a restaurant guide. If that isn’t enough, you can even opt to stream mp3s over Bluetooth directly to the system. It seems these days even economy cars are getting some impressive tech, so kudos to Infiniti for a mid-cycle techno-kick to keep us nerds happy.

All in all, Infiniti has done a great job to keep the G37 exciting while we wait on a full redesign. Is that coming in 2011? Who knows, but this 2010 G37 remains one of the best luxury sports sedans on the road. If Santa is kind enough to drop $37,000 in my stocking this year, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to spend 2010 in a new 6MT Sedan.

Infiniti Essence Concept

For those who aren’t familiar, the Infiniti Essence Concept car is a gas/electric hybrid vehicle utilizing Infiniti’s “3D Motor” technology.  This electric motor provides 158 bhp and twice the torque of your run-of-the-mill unit.  Combine this with another 434 bhp from the twin-turbo 3.7 liter V6 and you’ve got a nice-sized 592 bhp and can get almost 30 mph in combined city/hwy driving.  You’ll notice plenty of intriguing things as you look through the photo gallery, including that the Essence has no mirrors.  There are 6 cameras to do that job.  One on the roof, one on each A-pillar, one in each quarter-panel vent, and one on the trunk lid.

Ever since I saw the press release on the Infiniti Essence Concept and read it would eventually come to Dallas, I was on a quest to find out the location, date, and time it would be here.  That quest ended a week or so ago when I received a response from @InfinitiNews on Twitter.  The Essence was to arrive at Hotel ZaZa on September 24.  I showed up and met Josh with Infiniti, who eloquently explained more about this hybrid beauty. A few photos were all I could take before leaving for another event, but Josh informed me there was an Infiniti owners event there later that evening. Perfect. I conveniently own an Infiniti G35 and could then get some night-time shots as well. So I swung by later on for a few minutes and then left with some more pictures and some champagne in my belly. It was a good night.

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The Chevy Experience

Chevrolet has once again taken over a small parking lot on the south side of the State Fair of Texas. I highly recommend checking them out if you go to the fair this year. I was able to attend the Sneak Peek a couple days ago and was impressed with the “Chevy Experience”. You can even drive a Bumblebee Camaro around the course. Unfortunately, “no wheel spin” is the rule…something about not wanting mangled fenders and flattened fences. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the Chevrolet lineup.  So after you get some fried butter, stop on by.   If you’re on Twitter, follow @GMTexas and let them know you’re coming!

Click image to open photo gallery

Team Hall & Nass takes on Dustball Rally

Stickers. That’s what jump-started meeting Team Hall & Nass in person.

Johnny Hall and Taylor Nass were on a multi-day streak of little to no sleep in preparation for the 2009 Dustball 1500 Rally. Johnny and I had conversed over Twitter for months and on this day I was on my way to meet him and check out the bright yellow 2009 Corvette Z51 ZHZ convertible as he prepped it for the rally. That night I met his wonderful navigator as well…the blonde beauty who would run the electronics, consult the maps, and help Johnny solve the gimmick rally challenges over the next few days.

I was able to shoot a few pictures and help out Johnny with the many decals needing applied to the car that night. They planned on getting up early the next morning to head to El Paso where the Dustball Rally begins. It was a long night, but filled with great conversation, several pitchers of tea, a late-night run to Wendy’s, and still not being done when I left around 2am. Johnny and Taylor ended up pulling an all-nighter that night before heading to El Paso.

What happened over the next few days will only fully be known by Team Hall & Nass and the other 30+ teams who traversed their way from El Paso to Las Vegas and back. The three day event was 2 full days of driving and challenges with a full day of rest in the middle. Even then, not all teams would make it to the finish line. Team Hall & Nass had quite the adventure and was often a front-runner for the win. However a series of events prevented them from a finish. The story of their rally experience in “Stickers”, as they affectionately named their Dustball Corvette ZHZ, can be read at http://teamhallnnass.wordpress.com/.  Make sure to check them out!  Also, someone is spreading a nasty rumor that some newbies might be bringing a family car to the 2010 Dustball Rally. The nerve. More to come on that. : )

After the rally, Johnny and I met a few times for a couple photo shoots to capture the Dustball Corvette ZHZ. We even attended a Men’s Steak-Out and Motor Show at Northwest Bible Church where he entered the car. Check out the Dustball Corvette as it intimidates lesser Corvettes and Bombardier luxury jets. Click each of the images below to check out the photo galleries!

New Photo Galleries!

There are four new photo galleries recently added!

Dustball Rally’s Team Hall & Nass – It’s a rally…not a race!

Princeton Car Show -Aug 09 – A great show with some photogenic cars!

Cars & Coffee – Aug 2009 - Egos flare and craziness ensues

Men’s Steak-Out & Motor Show – Can I see out of an Indy car?

Family Portraits

Last weekend we got up and drove out to Myers Park here in McKinney for a little photo shoot. The hope was that Hampton would stay happy in front of the camera longer outside than he normally does inside. It worked! He had a few episodes, but overall he did great.

Click Here to see the whole gallery.

It’s the little things

I love when automakers pay attention to the little things…things that many may not notice at all.

I’ve had my 2005 G35 with the Bose stereo for over a year now and every time this happens, it brings a feeling of appreciation with it. I’m pulling into a destination and have the music blaring. Key off. I get out and walk away. When I return to the car, I often am still in the mood for loud music. Perfect. It comes back on at the same volume. But what If I’m not in the mood? Well, a click or two of the knob to decrease the volume actually resets it to zero. No matter how loud it was before, I now have to raise the volume to hear anything at all. I’m sure many cars’ head units have a similar feature, but it still doesn’t detract from it’s usefulness.

On the flip side, the layout of the center stack and head-unit is horrendous and a Nissan designer should have been fired for it. Why in the world should one have to replace not only the center stack panel, but the air-conditioning control unit? It’s asinine.