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Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Infiniti, Luxury So then we asked, "Well, what does that mean?" We met Andreas Sigl, the global director of Infiniti's Formula One involvement (that's him above on the right), at the US Grand Prix in Austin last year, and our questions to him were aimed at understanding what Infiniti was doing and where it intended to go. In spite of regard for its products and increased sales, few outside - and even inside - Infiniti seemed to have a clear idea of what the brand stood for. Its F1 partnership with Red Bull Racing was a key example of that. A brand with no motorsports pedigree - save for a listless dalliance with Indycar and the Infiniti Pro Series - was suddenly married to the world's marquee racing series, but one being continually declined by other brands and even its own entrants for a lack of relevance to road cars. The introduction of the Infiniti FX Vettel Edition didn't clarify matters; we still didn't understand how Infiniti logos on Adrian Newey's chassis' made the G, M, FX, et al any better - or who was even supposed to make the connection - and if we were exceedingly cynical we could have said the terrifically expensive Sebastian Vettel-fettled FX mutant was a marketing mission that needed a hand grenade but instead got a high-impulse thermobaric weapon. Seven months after that Austin Q&A with Sigl, during which time Infiniti has become title sponsor of Red Bull Racing and publicly anointed Sebastian Vettel its Director of Performance, we met Sigl again in Montreal during the Canadian F1 Grand Prix. It was there we got an answer to what Infiniti stands for: "We've boiled the brand down to the four 'p's," he said. "Performance, passion, precision and provocation." So then we asked, "Well, what does that mean?", and Sigl gave us some background on what's been happening behind the scenes of the partnership.Continue reading Infiniti gets boiled down to four P's: Performance, passion, precision, provocationInfiniti gets boiled down to four P's: Performance, passion, precision, provocation originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Sedan, Safety, Crossover, Mitsubishi, Racing Mitsubishi has already announced that it will be returning as a competitor to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a pair of all-electric MiEV Evolution II racecars. In addition to these entrants, the automaker will also be the presenting sponsor of the race as well as providing the official safety vehicles to the event using specially prepped versions of the 2014 Outlander and Lancer Evolution. While it isn't clear what exactly will be demanded of the safety vehicles, this isn't going to your run-of-the-mill pace car duty. To get the Outlander and Evo ready for the 156-turn, 12.42-mile course, Mitsubishi teamed up with companies such as BBS, Cobb Tuning, AEM and Muellerized Suspension Systems as well as DC Sports and Kenwood to create these one-off safety cars. These vehicles, and all the racecars, will be at Pikes Peak later this month for the 91st running of America's second-oldest racing event. Scroll down for the official press release.Continue reading Mitsubishi Outlander, Evo to keep things safe at Pikes PeakMitsubishi Outlander, Evo to keep things safe at Pikes Peak originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments