New Cars 2011: Infiniti QX56

In the field of full size luxury SUVs, there are quite a few contenders. Marques like Lexus, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, are all thought of when the topic is brought up. Not to be outdone, Nissan's luxury branch, Infiniti, has redesigned their contender in the segment for 2011.
Launched in 2004 as a 2005, the Infiniti QX56 was based on the also-luxurious-but-cheaper Nissan Armada. That truck, in turn, is based on the Nissan Titan. As you would expect, the Armada and its Infiniti cousin share all of its mechanicals, from the 5.6L 317 horse V8, to the smooth shifting 5 speed automatic. It and the Armada share pretty everything else, from the multiple seating arrangements to the clever (but often quite problematic) power liftgate. Inside, the first generation trucks boasted excellent room in all three rows of seats, a feat that is tough for most three row SUVs, and plenty of luxury touches to win over Lexus shoppers.
Unfortunately, whereas the first-generation trucks looked impeccably sexy from damn near every angle, this new truck.. well.. it falls short; dramatically. I mean, just look at it. It looks like someone forced a G37 to have sex with a Nissan Armada, and its shows. This new vehicle appears to have partially melted at the factory. From the oddball shaped headlights, to body that appears to have massive amounts of baby fat glued to its sheetmetal, right down to the slim, rounded-square taillights, the whole thing looks awful.
There's a reason for that, though. Since the Nissan Armada itself isn't a big seller, Infiniti decided to base their latest luxuotruck on the much endowed, but quite ugly Nissan Patrol SUV. This thinking is right in line with that of Lexus; their newest SUV, the GX460, is based on the worldwide smaller version of the Toyota LandCruiser "Prado". Like the Lexus, Infiniti hopes it can sell what is seen as a "tough truck" worldwide as a luxury vehicle here. Most US customers wouldn't know what either of these vehicles are, but for true enthusiasts, the new QX will be a disappointment.
And that's a shame, too, because despite the horrid exterior, I'm sure the QX is a really great truck mechanically. Too bad styling comes first for much of the US' car buying public.