This is post #1 of a three post set across our various blogs here at the 417 Automall, with spotlights on the Infiniti, Nissan and Kia manufacturer presentations at the 2012 Canadian International Autoshow in Toronto, ON.  You can read the Kia post by clicking here, and the Nissan feature by clicking here!

Read on to explore what Infiniti Canada had to offer at the AutoShow last weekend!

I made the road trip down to Toronto this weekend to attend the 2012 Canadian International Autoshow with a good friend of mine who’s quite a car enthusiast.  We brought the wives, but they quickly abandoned us for the Eaton Centre, and met up with us later that evening, where, after we were back at the hotel, they calmly explained to us, amidst the chest-high piles of shopping bags littered around the room, what they had spent at the mall.

Winston Churchill used to drink in victory, because he deserved it, AND in defeat, because he needed it.

Smart man, that Churchill.  With Winston in mind, we all went for drinks – they, with smiles…  and us, in tears.

But before we found out that the girls had purchased half of Toronto, we had an amazing time at the AutoShow, and I had my camera at the ready.  Infiniti, Nissan and Kia all had HUGE sections of the showroom floor to themselves, and they used it brilliantly.  The full vehicle lineups were on display for all three manufacturers, but the real stars of the show were the set pieces and the concepts on display, the stuff we don’t see everyday on the lot back in Ottawa.

There’s a lot of pics, so we’re splitting up this report over three posts, one for each manufacturer.  This is the first post of the series, and you can click on the links either at the top of this post or at the bottom to navigate around the various parts of the series.

We arrived in Toronto about 1:30pm on Saturday, and made our way to the convention centre.  Up the large escalator, slight turn past the long line of Fiat 500s, and lo and behold, the Infiniti display is the first we encounter.

High class velvet ropes everywhere, with Infiniti representatives looking dapper in their suits, this layout was all style and more substance.  The entire Infiniti lineup was laid out, with eager explorers jumping in and out of the cars and running their fingers over the endless soft-touch leather surfaces, found everywhere in Infiniti interiors.

“Oohs,” and “aahs,” abounded, and people jumped from G to M to FX, enjoying the luxury tour.  They made a great call selecting that sleek Malbec Black colour for the demo lineup; the barely purple shimmer on the black gleamed brilliantly as the dozens and dozens of lights shone overhead.

My cohort has a not-so-small infatuation with the QX56, and it was a pain to try to pry him out of there.

As we passed the current Infiniti product lineup, we come across the Red Bull F1 car – Infiniti signed on as a F1 sponsor of Red Bull Racing and the Red Bull F1 Challenger car in 2011.  Still, what a nice surprise to see it here at the show!

The engine employed by this F1 car is a Renault one, and there was some speculation where the agreement was signed about whether the engine was going to be rebadged as an Infiniti as well, but that ended up being omitted in the agreement.

The Red Bull team finished 1st in the F1 standings for the last two years – this is a very famous F1 car in recent years, and it’s a beautiful and amazing feat of engineering to behold.

Up next was the concept successor to to the Infiniti Essence, unveiled back in 2009.  This car was painted in a brilliant pearl colour and branded the Infiniti Etherea.

Just beautiful, isn’t it?  That interior looks frighteningly clean, god help anyone who opts for white leather like that. I love that subtle purple stitching on the seats though, I love the low stance and the intensely clean design lines running the lengths of this beautiful concept.

Suicide doors were a nice touch too, as well as the stainless steel speedo.

The Infiniti Etherea first debuted at the 2011 Geneva show, but this was my first opportunity to see it in person.  Infiniti has described it as “…a four-door coupe with five-door practicality – a hatchback that doesn’t look like a hatchback.”

Something like this would be marketed to an entry-level luxury buyer who wants the build and performance quality of the price point, but also demands the flexibility and utility of an everyday vehicle that compromises to get the job done and fulfill the transport and cargo needs of a busy person.

The design speaks towards an aim at a younger demographic, as well.  Given a little time to spit, polish, and focus group test the attitude and style of the car, and I think with some tweaks, they have on their hands a winner here.

Definitely edgy – Infiniti is known for being anything but tame with it’s design.

Lastly, what would be an Autoshow for Infiniti without featuring their new 7-seat crossover, the Infiniti JX / JX35. There’s a LOT of hype surrounding the new Infiniti JX, and for good reason – at the price point it sits at, offering the wealth of safety, technology, and performance options that it does, and comparing it directly to it’s competition, it looks like a sure winner and an easy pick for anyone shopping in the 7-seat luxury crossover segment.  It does more, for less, and look gorgeous from any angle.

Speaking of angles, I really went wild with the photos here.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, please enjoy this epic:

We mentioned in an earlier post that our president, Paul Giacomin, was away last week at an Infiniti meeting down in Arizona, test driving the JX and getting up to speed on the vehicle launch, due out sometime this year in spring.  We’ll have his thoughts and comments shortly, stay tuned for that post.

Also in JX news, we just got the layout designed for the interior/exterior information pages of the Infiniti JX microsite, so you can look forward to that information coming soon as well.

And AGAIN in JX news, pricing has become available for this new crossover, and last I heard from Ron Major, sales manager at 417 Infiniti, we’ve already pre-sold 6+ of the new JXs.  You can get your order in now and be one of the first people in Ottawa, ON to be driving a beautiful new JX35 Infiniti crossover.  As always call (613) 749-9417 for any information on the new JX crossover that we don’t as yet have listed on the website, or click here to submit an email to 417 Infiniti!

Navigate the 2012 Canadian Internation AutoShow coverage by clicking through to the Nissan or Kia postings!