Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand has been without a true range-topper since the Q45 ended production in 2006, but the Japanese automaker doesn’t have any plans to rush a BMW 7-Series competitor back to the market.

According to Nissan, the automaker’s recently-announced NV commercial cargo vans will eventually be offered in other configurations including a multi-row people-carrying variant and, potentially, a Cummins diesel-powered model.

For China’s rapidly-growing industry, 2009 will be remembered as the year when domestic sales skyrocketed despite global tumbles from more established players from Europe, Japan and the United States. Warren Buffett-backed BYD – or Build Your Dreams – says its net profit increased to 3.79 billion yuan, or about $555.4 million, up significantly over the 1.02 billion yuan the year before.

Completing the new 5-Series lineup, BMW has officially taken the wraps off the 2011 5-Series Touring. Although a popular option in Europe, it remains doubtful the United States will have access to the 5-Series wagon, especially given the recent launch of the new 5-Series GT.

Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Toyota have teamed up with the Tokyo Electric Power Company to form a new association, CHAdeMO, to speed up the process of installing quick electric vehicle chargers worldwide. The name, according to the automakers, is a pun for the O cha demo ikaga desuka, or “Let’s have a quick tea while charging” in English.

A newly released six-page congressional memo outlines NHTSA’s inability to reproduce any form of unintended acceleration after testing the vehicle alongside Toyota technicians and engineers. The driver who reported the incident, James Sikes, maintains that he is not seeking monetary damages but stands by his claim that the event was not a hoax.

Kia has officially unveiled the next Optima four-door coupe, ahead of the full reveal set to take place at the 2010 New York Auto Show. Kia’s new flagship sedan/coupe looks to be a far more attractive and far more worthy of a flagship designation.

Among enthusiasts, there is an indescribable, almost universal appeal in owning a simple, basic daily driver. It’s the kind of car that can be your closest companion as you slog through traffic trying to get to work during all four seasons, yet you won’t feel bad when you grant it a single annual scrubbing at the $5 wash-o-matic.

Today, Honda announced that it has already managed to record 7,000 orders for the all-new CR-Z “sport hybrid” in Japan. Honda says its annual target is just 12,000 units, and the CR-Z has accumulated nearly 60 percent of expected orders since it went on sale on February 25, 2010.

New reports suggest that Subaru may be forced to abandon its attempt at fitting an all-wheel drive system into the automaker’s FT-86 variant. Subaru has been mostly quiet in regards to the progress of its next sports coupe, but the latest report suggests that costs have taken all-wheel drive out of the equation.

We have a set of fresh spy photos showing off a never-before-seen Ram Power Wagon truck, identical to one of the vehicles shown in Chrysler’s recently released sketches for the upcoming 44th Annual Easter Jeep Safari. Chrysler hasn’t revealed its intention for the vehicle yet, but it looks to have the makings to be a Ford Raptor-fighting lifted off-road pickup.

Off road icon Jeep will make a big splash at this year’s 44th Annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, by unveiling three off road-oriented concept vehicles. Two are based on the venerable Wrangler, while the third takes the decidedly on road-oriented Jeep Patriot in a rugged direction.

Although Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand is now sold in a number of world markets, the up-scale brand is still largely tailored to American tastes. However, with Lexus now looking to expand its presence in Europe, the Japanese automaker is reportedly taking a more worldly approach to its next-generation IS line.

Earlier this morning Orange County, California, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced that he will be filing a suit against Toyota Motor Sales USA in order “to enjoin them from continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.”

A set of leaked patent office drawings gave us our first look at the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Convertible, but left plenty to the imagination. Given the lack of detail in the leaked drawings, we decided to hand things over to our in-house artist, giving us a far more realistic preview of the upcoming SLS AMG Convertible.

In a bid to improve its green image, Bentley has announced its entire Continental lineup will be FlexFuel capable for the 2011 model year. Bentley first debuted its FlexFuel technology in the Continental Supersports Coupe in 2009.

Geely may still be on track to purchase the Volvo brand from Ford, but the Chinese automaker could be struggling to source the necessary capital to keep the Swedish brand up and running once the transaction is complete.

Toyota is reporting a surge in sales in the realm of 40 percent, compared to the sales for the same time last year. As a result of the boost to sales, Toyota says it is evaluating the possibility of continuing zero percent financing and deep discounts beyond the March Sales Event.

Following a quick tease at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show, our spy photographers have spotted Buick’s upcoming Excelle sedan — both inside and out! General Motors has released one official sketch of the Excelle, but has playing details of the compact premium sedan close to the chest.

As we previewed yesterday, Ford finally released images and specifications of its long-anticipated replacement for the Crown Victoria-based Police Interceptor today. Ford says it is a “purpose-built” and toughened up version of the standard Ford Taurus, with optional EcoBoost and all-wheel drive.