2011 Infiniti QX Offers Bold Exterior, Powerful Yet Efficient 5.6-liter Direct Injection V8 and World-Class Luxury Interior

- All-New Second-Generation QX56 Full-Size Performance Luxury SUV Features Advanced Technology, Including Hydraulic Body Motion Control System -

It starts with a breathtaking presence, a calm strength derived of clean, fluid lines that attract and hold your attention. It continues with the highest level of luxury, not just for the driver and front seat passenger, but all occupants - world class, personalized control over their environments for passengers in every seat in the house. Add in an exceptional driving experience provided by a powerful, yet efficient V8 engine design and available Hydraulic Body Motion Control system. Then top it all off with intuitive functionality, which anticipates and responds to the users' needs and desires. Introducing the all-new 2011 Infiniti QX, the latest example of inspired design, performance, technology and craftsmanship from Infiniti. Available in two models, the QX56 2WD and QX56 4WD.

"Following closely on the introduction of the all-new 2011 Infiniti M, the 2011 Infiniti QX gives us an incredible presence in full-size performance luxury vehicles - perfect for buyers seeking style comfort, roominess and driving exhilaration," said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Business Unit. "Like the new M, the QX offers a range of available innovative technology, including Blind Spot Warning and an advanced Hydraulic Body Motion Control system."

The second-generation Infiniti QX56 has been totally redesigned from the platform up. Its new high-stiffness frame structure enhances ride comfort while reducing noise, vibration and harshness. The new 5.6-liter V8 engine combines the responsive acceleration of Infiniti's VVEL (Variable Valve Event & Lift) technology with the efficiency of Direct Injection Gasoline (DIG) and 7-speed automatic transmission. With 400 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque, the QX can handle tasks such as towing boats or trailers (8,500-pound towing capacity, when properly equipped), while also offering 14% better fuel economy (EPA Combined) than the previous generation QX.

Inside the distinctive QX body is an interior long on luxury, including standard Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation System, Around View Monitor, Bose 13-speaker Premium Audio System, available perforated semi-aniline leather seating and an available Tri-Zone Entertainment System with dual 7-inch color monitors, which allows different sources to be played at the same time. The 2011 QX also offers ample 1st row and class-leading 2nd row roominess.

What Women Want -- In A Car

By Johnathan Walsh

Still irresistible after all these years, the Volkswagen Beetle is the top car among women. Following closely are the Nissan Rogue and Hyundai Tucson compact SUVs and Volkswagen Eos convertible, according to a new survey.

Auto industry researcher TrueCar today released a demographic study that looked at more than 13 million vehicle registrations from the past two years. Beyond determining which cars women buy most often, it found "there is still a sizable gender gap when it comes to vehicle registrations," says Jesse Toprak, TrueCar's vice president of industry trends and insights. "Of the more than 200 models we examined, only nine were registered by more women than men and none of the brands had a registration rate that was higher for women," he says.

According to the study more men than women - at a rate of 64% to 36% - register vehicles in the U.S., even though females make up 51% of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Surveys like these are tricky because you can slice the data several ways. The number of women buying cars differs from the number of women driving and registering them. The TrueCar survey looks at the gender of the name on the registration alone.

Here are the nine vehicles on TrueCar's list that were more popular among women than men, and the percentage of women registering them:

Volkswagen Beetle 56.1%

Nissan Rogue 53.5%

Hyundai Tucson 53.0%

Volkswagen Eos 53.0%

Volvo S40 51.9%

Honda CR-V 51.3%

Kia Sportage 50.5%

Toyota RAV-4 50.4%

Nissan Sentra 50.1%

Top 10 brands among women are Kia, Suzuki, Mini, Subaru, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, Volvo, Lexus and Mitsubishi. For these car makers the percentage of registrants to women ranges from 45.8% for Kia to 41.5% for Mitsubishi.

Girl drivers gone wild

Long considered more responsible than boys behind the wheel, a growing number of girls admit speeding and aggressive driving. And their insurance rates are rising.
By The Wall Street Journal

Some big auto insurers are raising the rates they charge to cover teenage girls, reflecting the crumbling of conventional wisdom that girls are more responsible than boys behind the wheel.

In a survey of teenage drivers, Allstate Insurance found that 48% of girls said they were likely to drive 10 mph over the speed limit. By comparison, 36% of the boys admitted speeding. Of the girls, 16% characterized their own driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005. And just more than half of the girls said they were likely to drive while talking on a phone or texting, compared with 38% of the boys.

The results were "a surprise to many people," says Meghann Dowd of the Allstate Foundation, an independent charitable organization funded by Allstate that sponsored the survey.

While teens 'fessed up about their own bad behavior, they said their friends drive even worse. Sixty-five percent of the respondents in the study, male and female, said they were confident in their own driving skills, but 77% said they had felt unsafe when another teen was driving. Only 23% of teens agreed that most teens are good drivers. This suggests teens recognize in their friends the dubious and dangerous behavior they won't admit to indulging in themselves.

The data were gleaned from online interviews with 1,063 teens across the country. It was conducted in May 2009 for the Allstate Foundation by Tru, a youth research and marketing firm in Chicago.

The survey relied on what teens reported about themselves, and Dowd says that means the results could have been affected by how forthcoming individuals were when answering the survey questions.