Nissan Pathfinder: Body On Frame Is Like, So Last Month

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Nissan unveiled is 2013 Pathfinder in suburban Detroit and in downtown Manhattan’s Meatpacking District (just two blocks away from the PATH train, get it?) The fashionably rugged, but far from off-roadish locales were carefully chosen:

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Mnm4ever Mnm4ever on Aug 05, 2012

    "vastly reducing its weight..." I wonder, is it vastly lighter? Is the fuel economy that much better? Its funny, SUVs became popular because people thought they were cooler than station wagons and minivans. So now they are trying to make them more appealing by turning them back into station wagons. The next marketing wave will be touting how they took the traditional SUV and made it lower to the ground for better aerodynamics and easier ingress.

    • Gannet Gannet on Aug 05, 2012

      "The next marketing wave will be touting how they took the traditional SUV and made it lower to the ground for better aerodynamics and easier ingress." Here's hoping. In other encouraging news, I note this car doesn't have the ridiculous over-emphasized wheel openings so popular from Japan of late, nor even much trace of Bangleized surfacing. Just shape. Thank you.

  • C170guy C170guy on Aug 05, 2012

    Here is what it comes down to: did they add lightness? It looks like they are trying to say that unibody saved them some weight, but did they add it back elsewhere? Sometimes "heavy" means "stuck."

  • Graham Graham on Aug 06, 2012

    Ugly and unremarkable, but cheaper. Which reminds me...did this Rick Ash drone work for VW recently?

  • Junebug Junebug on Aug 06, 2012

    One of my neighbors ran a little country store for years, he inherited it from his dad and when the time came to pass it to his son he celebrated by buying a new (his first new car) Toyota 4Runner Limited. Oh, it was pretty, and I was so happy he had something nice after working long hours/weekends all those years and raising 2 kids too. A couple weeks later he was in a Lexus SUV, I did a triple take and stopped to ask him why. He replied that that damn 4Runner rode like crap and his old lower back couldn't stand it. He got a great deal on the Lexus and loved it. See BOF aint for everybody!

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