Mercedes' AMG and BMW's M are the only consistent mainstream performance lines. While Ford dabbles with the ST and Chrysler with SRT, American brand-within-a-brand badges still haven't found solid footing. The same can be said for Japanese efforts, though Toyota has made strides with the unveiling of the Toyota Motorsports Lexus LS 650 Super Sedan earlier this week.
Nissan too is pegging hopes on in-house tuning. The brand plans to transform its Nismo subsidiary into a distinct sub-brand to rival AMG for notoriety. We've seen Nismo badged Jukes before…and we've been impressed. Nismo was launched in 1984, focusing on track performance, but will now balance race ready vehicles with luxury road cars.
[via The Detroit Bureau]