QOTD: What Modern Automaker is the Most Daring?
Daring. Thinking outside the box, as it were (a three box, naturally). Putting forth a car which is a bit risky and against the grain of the accepted beige sedan CUV. Increasingly, automakers are unwilling or unable to play in this space. Regulations, fuel economy and stiff competition force each manufacturer in line with the others. A midsize vehicle that’s almost identical to the offering at the dealer across the street is not out of the question.
But there has to be an answer to my Question of the Day, which is thus: Which modern auto manufacturer is the most daring?
It’s a bit harder to narrow it down in 2017 than it would have been in, say, 1995. Fewer brands exist today, and more homogenized offerings clog up all the showrooms. Today I’m going to apply three very simple rules, as my crystal ball says you’ll need them.
- Daring means product offerings which have major features that go against the norm. A trim level, appearance package, or a nice paint color is not daring. We’re looking for something of significance here.
- Modern automakers which are in business in 2017, and have made at least one model you consider daring in the past five model years. Despite your opinion, the 1990 Celica All-Trac is not a modern and daring product offering.
- Your selected brand is just that — a singular brand. Selecting Toyota means there shouldn’t be any Lexus models in your argument.
I’m not going to give a singular answer today, just a couple examples of daring food for thought.
Example number one: the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. It doesn’t matter if you like this vehicle, or if you’re a regular person and absolutely hate it — it was daring. For 2011 through 2014, Nissan offered a midsize, two-door convertible CUV. Nobody else has done this, ever (and there’s a reason for that). But Nissan dared to offer it, and it isn’t as though the engineering of that rear deck and removing two doors was simple. I applaud the chance they took.
Secondly, the Volvo V90. This brand new model is certainly daring in the context of the North American market. It’s large, expensive, and a wagon. It’s stunning to behold, and has styling lacking the flim-flam present on most car designs today. And with front-wheel or all-wheel drive and 250 to 316 horsepower, it won’t be a slouch. The best part is how you can order this V90, and Volvo isn’t forcing the cladded Cross Country AWD model on you like other automakers would. See what I mean? Daring.
So off to you, B&B. What’s your pick for the most daring automaker? And don’t forget the rules.
[Image: timbphotography/ Bigstock.com]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Nissan. Being daring isn't the same thing as knowing what to do.
To me its Volkswagen. A hatchback as is bread a butter seller, with not 1 but 2 performance variants. A Niche retro coupe called the Bettle that almost no one buy's but is still around. Diesel engines proliferating the lineup.....until recently of course. A sport wagon, and lifted all track version of said wagon, in a country that hate's wagons. Very hesitant to jump on the Crossover trend, until recently. Very restrained evolutionary styling is also a bit of a risk in these times. People want flash.