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A car that might make you happy to be alive
of today’s automobiles. The BSW’s primary job is to warn drivers when an unseen vehicle is ap- proaching in an adjacent lane. A related technology — various- ly called “lane-departure warning or “lane-keeping protocol” — alerts drivers when they are wan- dering into adjoining lanes be- cause of drowsiness or other inat- tention. The lane-policing systems em- ploy discreetly mounted exterior cameras in combination with in- terior sensors that monitor speed and direction. A vehicle ap- proaching in the “blind side” of an adjoining lane triggers a visual warning in the affected side-view mirror of a BSW-equipped vehi- cle.
T
If driver inattention leads to lane wandering, the lane- departure warning system beeps or chirps in an attempt to inter- rupt the driver’s slumber behind the wheel. Like many U.S. automotive journalists, I greeted the lane- policing technologies with dis- dain when I first used them — in my case in 2005, four years after Nissan Motor began experiment- ing with them in Japan. Both sys- tems were annoying. I pushed their disabling buttons almost in tandem with starting up the cars in which they were installed. Other automotive journalists did the same. But despite that lukewarm media reception, Nis- san and many of its rivals — BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadil- lac among them — continued de- veloping the lane-policing tech- nologies. They had reason. In North America and Western Europe, the numbers of older drivers were growing. More cars and people were crowding the streets of the world’s cities, gener- ating the need for more proactive automotive safety.
WARREN BROWN
On Wheels
But I had not fully shaken off an adolescent mentality common to many automotive journalists: a belief that accidents happen only to people who know nothing about cars or driving, or who think that “fun to drive” means any driving without family mem- bers as passengers or targeted hosts, or who, deep down in their gasoline-soaked souls, hope that all of the hoopla over alternative propulsion systems and fuel econ- omy is something that will even- tually go away. I’ve left that unsustainable school of thought in writing and thinking about automobiles. I pay more attention to things the auto- motive media once fashionably ig- nored or put aside as less than sexy.
Safety is one of those things, which is why I’m using this col- umn to thank Nissan and others for continuing to improve the
hings once annoying be- come valued with age. Consider the blind-side warning systems on many
BD
SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2010
2011 Infiniti M37
NUTS&BOLTS
Bottom line: Top-line safety in premium luxury cars such as the InfinitiM37 should go theway of exclusive health insurance policies— migrating downward to the masses. Honda, Hyundai, Ford,GMand Nissan, thankfully, are beginning to do that. Life and death on the road should not be determined by the size of one’s pocketbook.
Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent marks in all three.
Head-turning quotient: Simply beautiful. Reminiscent of a glass sculpture inside and out—everything smooth, flowing, uninterrupted. Loving this one is easy.
Body style/layout: TheM37 is a front-engine, midsize premium luxury sedan available with rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive (as driven for this column). It has four doors and a traditional notch-back trunk.
INFINITI
lane-policing technologies I once dismissed.
One of those systems on this
week’s subject car, the 2011 Infini- ti M37, probably saved me and my wife, Mary Anne, from death or serious injury. Yes, I’m finally getting around to the car of the week. In compos- ing this piece, I realized that I might not have been around to write it without Nissan’s work in lane-policing technologies. I could go on endlessly about
the virtues of the Infiniti M37, made by Nissan, as an automo- bile. Let’s be real. How difficult is it to make a fine car at a base price of $48,400? Any car com- pany that can’t do that should not be in business. The M37, available with rear- wheel or all-wheel drive, is a fine automobile. Its interior of leather and Japanese-ash wood trim be- speaks luxury with taste. But for people who equate value and per- formance with horsepower, the M37’s 3.7-liter, 24-valve V-6 engine (330 horsepower, 270 foot-pounds of torque) may not be enough, which I find amusing. That Infiniti V-6 is one of the smoothest, quietest, most pleas- antly performing midsize sedan engines available anywhere. It is equipped with electronically con-
trolled valve lift and timing to precisely meter the intake of air and fuel, thoroughly burn the mixture, produce maximum pow- er, and efficiently treat (clean) and exhaust the spent gases. Super-low-friction air induc- tion in conjunction with the use of low-friction-coated pistons also facilitates the movement and compression of the M37’s air-fuel mixture. It all works wonderfully well, yielding maximum power at minimum fuel consumption. So what? We were in the middle lane heading north on Interstate 87, yes, to visit our New York daugh- ters. It’s what parents do. I saw an old Chevrolet Camaro barreling up the left lane, appear- ing to infringe on me in the mid- dle. I instinctively turned right. But the right side-view mirror blinked furiously. Mary Anne screamed. There was a truck in that lane. I maintained my mid- dle-lane position — the safest of two unsafe alternatives. That blinking blind-side- warning light dominates any thoughts I have about the 2011 In- finiti M37. Thank you, Nissan. Thank you, Infiniti.
brownw@washpost.com
Brown is a special correspondent.
Engine/transmission: The standardM37 engine is a 3.7-liter V-6 with 330 horsepower, 270 foot-pounds of torque, and 24 valves with electronically controlled valve lift and timing for better power output and fuel efficiency. It is linked to a seven-speed transmission equipped with hill-holder control. The transmission can be operated automatically or manually.
Capacities: There are seats for five people.Maximum luggage capacity is 15 cubic feet. The fuel tank holds 20 gallons of gasoline— premium is recommended “for best performance.”
Mileage: Look folks, know what you’re getting. The InfinitiM37 is a high-performance car, a breed not known for top fuel economy. As such, it gets a somewhat decent 17 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. And, again, that’s premium gas recommended.
Safety: Top marks from the federalNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Institute for Highway Safety. The lane- departure-warning and blind-side-protection systems are part of an optional, $3,000 technology package. Get them. Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes, four-wheel anti-lock brake protection, emergency braking assistance, electronic stability and traction control, side airbags, rear head air bags.
Price: Base price on theM37 with all-wheel drive is $48,400. Dealer’s invoice is $44,682. Price as tested is $56,415, including $7,150 in options and a $865 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $51,729. Compare with Audi A6,BMW5-series, Buick LaCrosse CSX with HiPerstrut,BMW5-Series, Cadillac CTS-V, Lexus GS350, 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Lincoln MkZ.
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3Next week: The 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe.
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