Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand will face an uphill battle when it launches in nine European markets later this year, but the Japanese automaker is prepared to meet the challenge with a slew of improvements to its current lineup. Instead of just taking its North American lineup to Europe, Infiniti engineers have made 300 to 500 improvements per car for the European market.
Because Infiniti will be going-head-to-head with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW in their home markets, the luxury brand will beef up its lineup with features that European luxury buyers have come to expect. Some of the improvements include knobs instead of push-button controls, more-powerful windshield wiper motors, new stabilizers, bigger brakes, thicker window seals and a new seven-speed automatic transmission, according to Automotive News.
Some Euro-spec Infiniti models will also be powered by larger engines than their U.S. counterparts — a 3.7L V6 instead of a 3.5L unit.
But even with the improvements, Infiniti is not guaranteed success in Europe. The automaker does not offer a four-cylinder engine — a powerplant that makes up 80 percent of the market in Europe — and won’t offer a diesel engine until 2010.
No word if the improvements will be worked into Infiniti’s U.S. lineup.
05/27, 1:04 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Figures that buyers of euro-cars like to play with their knobs.
05/27, 1:17 PM
posted by:
olds307
It’s obvious here: Americans buy whatever crap Japan puts out, because it’s Japanese.
Europeans have a little more national/continental pride than we do, and they typically buy what their country puts out. The most popular car in Europe is Volkswagen. Honda barely sells anything there.
Nissan knows this, so that actually have to make their car seem like something better than it is, for that market.
05/27, 1:32 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I wouldn’t get too excited and start bashing Ininiti as if we’re getting the shaft. Most of the improvements listed look like those required for sustained high speed, as in autobahn, type driving. Over here that gets you a prison buddy.
05/27, 1:37 PM
posted by:
LaCaLover
Honda sells loads in the UK, they make them in Swindon, Wiltshire. Nissans are made in the UK too. National pride bollocks, germans buy plenty of Renaults and the British are sluts and will buy anything.
Europeans are just more demanding when it comes to the refinement and build quality of their cars which is why they laugh at Chrysler interiors
05/27, 2:11 PM
posted by:
Stinky007
Europeans are somewhat strange, they won’t tolerate Japanese or American cars but will buy any crap that VW puts on the market! They’ll buy diesels, slap on the “sport” package on it and brag to their friend they have a “diesel M5″ or a “diesel AMG”. “Looks the same, almost as fast, does 100mpg” they say.. The extent of their deuchebaggery can only be rivaled by the stereotypical US Prius owner.
Honda has some really good offers for Europe but people hardly buy them. Take for example the Civic Sedan, which sells for 20kE in Romania, all takes included, almost fully loaded (no GPS though or leather). Still, people in my country insist on buying more expensive, less powerful, worse equipped VWs and Skodas… Go figure!?
I think Infinity will have a hard time here unfortunately
05/27, 2:23 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
Infiniti is definately going to have to do something. Europeans aren’t as easily tricked into buying an overpriced Nissan rebadge as we gullible Americans are.
05/27, 2:44 PM
posted by:
Jazz
johnnycanuck, I highly doubt that 300-500 changes per model can be chalked up to the autbahn. Furthermore are the US models getting these upgrades? Bigger brakes are good no matter the market.
05/27, 4:28 PM
posted by:
olds307
UK doesn’t count, they’re worse than US.