While Infiniti's crowd favorite at the 2007 New York Auto Show is sure to be the drop-dead gorgeous G37 coupe, the bigger news is the introduction of an entirely new Infiniti product line. The EX Concept previews a new SUV that will slot below the FX to compete with the Acura RDX and BMW X3 when the production version goes on sale in late 2007. It looks like a seven-eighths scale FX with the new G35's front grafted on, and that's not meant to sound like a bad thing at all. It manages to look sporty and elegant at the same time, a quality that other companies haven't quite perfected.
While this concept will change slightly for production, expect its overall shape to stay the same. It will ride on a modified G35/37 platform, and should use engines borrowed from the sedan, meaning that we expect an EX35. The concept's liquid crystal glass roof (allowing it to change from transparent to translucent) could be feasible for production, albeit with a high price tag. Two technologies that have been confirmed for production are Infiniti's Around View Monitor (AVM) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP.) The AVM system features front, side, and rear-mounted cameras to prevent parking lot fender benders by displaying a panoramic view of the car's surroundings on a console-mounted screen. Building on Infiniti's lane departure warning system, LDP takes the concept a step further by actually intervening (through the car's stability control system) when the driver inadvertently swerves out of his or her lane. We're told this technology is just a stopgap for a later system, which will actually replace the driver with an Arnold Swarzenegger robot assassin. Don't worry, he won't hurt you.