mikeyb
07-04-2005, 01:22 PM
Infiniti reportedly planning entry-level sport wagon positioned below FX models
KATHY JACKSON | Automotive News
Posted Date: 7/4/05
LOS ANGELES -- Infiniti dealers will get a new entry-level sport wagon.
Sources inside and outside the company say the vehicle will arrive in 2007 as a 2008 model. It will come in two versions, the CX25 and CX35.
Guido Vildozo, market analyst for Global Insight in Lexington, Mass., says the five-seat vehicle will be smaller than the Infiniti FX35 and FX45. It will come with a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine or a 3.5-liter V-6 and be built on Nissan's FM platform.
He says the four-cylinder engine may get a supercharged performance version similar to the supercharged engine on the Nissan Sentra SE-R.
"It's an X3-type vehicle," he says, referring to BMW. "The FX may eventually grow in size."
The 2005 FX35 starts at $35,710 including shipping.
Another source says the company is considering a hybrid version of the new vehicle. Hybrids use gasoline engines and one or more electric motors to power the wheels.
Nissan North America Inc. will introduce its first hybrid, an Altima, next year as a 2007 model. Infiniti spokesman Bill Garlin would only say that the company is "always looking at new stuff and new possibilities."
But Infiniti dealers are expecting the new vehicle.
"I can't confirm that it is coming, but they told us that was something they would prioritize," said John Capps, former chairman of Infiniti's dealer council. "As much as a year ago they pretty much did everything but outright tell us we would get it."
The new Infiniti wagon will have more than BMW to contend with when it hits the market.
The new Acura RDX sport wagon is scheduled to arrive next year as a 2007 model.
Cadillac also expects to have a similar vehicle in 2008 as a 2009 model named the BRX.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102712
KATHY JACKSON | Automotive News
Posted Date: 7/4/05
LOS ANGELES -- Infiniti dealers will get a new entry-level sport wagon.
Sources inside and outside the company say the vehicle will arrive in 2007 as a 2008 model. It will come in two versions, the CX25 and CX35.
Guido Vildozo, market analyst for Global Insight in Lexington, Mass., says the five-seat vehicle will be smaller than the Infiniti FX35 and FX45. It will come with a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine or a 3.5-liter V-6 and be built on Nissan's FM platform.
He says the four-cylinder engine may get a supercharged performance version similar to the supercharged engine on the Nissan Sentra SE-R.
"It's an X3-type vehicle," he says, referring to BMW. "The FX may eventually grow in size."
The 2005 FX35 starts at $35,710 including shipping.
Another source says the company is considering a hybrid version of the new vehicle. Hybrids use gasoline engines and one or more electric motors to power the wheels.
Nissan North America Inc. will introduce its first hybrid, an Altima, next year as a 2007 model. Infiniti spokesman Bill Garlin would only say that the company is "always looking at new stuff and new possibilities."
But Infiniti dealers are expecting the new vehicle.
"I can't confirm that it is coming, but they told us that was something they would prioritize," said John Capps, former chairman of Infiniti's dealer council. "As much as a year ago they pretty much did everything but outright tell us we would get it."
The new Infiniti wagon will have more than BMW to contend with when it hits the market.
The new Acura RDX sport wagon is scheduled to arrive next year as a 2007 model.
Cadillac also expects to have a similar vehicle in 2008 as a 2009 model named the BRX.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102712