Nissan Shows "Urban-Relevant" Hydrogen-Powered SUV Concept
You can tell immediately that it is a concept: It has suicide doors. Nissan will show the fuel-cell propelled TeRRA SUV concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show that opens on September 27.
“Our challenge was to take Nissan’s strength in SUVs and crossovers forward into the zero-emissions era, fuel cells being our new frontier in zero emission mobility” said Francois Bancon, Nissan’s division general manager of product strategy and planning. “Not big and tough for the desert, the aim was a new approach to SUVs that’s relevant to urban life.”
“We took our inspiration from the lifestyles of youthful customers in Northern Europe,” said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan senior vice president and chief creative officer. Apparently, he referred to polar bears.
The instrument cluster is an electronic tablet that serves as an “intelligent key.” The driver docks it when entering the car and removes it when leaving. When docked in TeRRA, the tablet’s default view displays speed and other key performance indicators. But the driver can easily toggle to entertainment, communications, navigation and other views. Outside the car it provides all the functions we expect from a tablet, plus it stays continually in touch with the vehicle.
According to Nissan, the proposed 4×4 fuel cell electric powertrain “is far from imaginary.”
The front wheel propulsion system is from the LEAF. In each back wheel is an in-wheel electric motor, based on the PIVO concepts. The juice comes from Nissan’s proprietary hydrogen fuel cell stack. According to Nissan, the company “is ready to mass-produce fuel cell electric vehicles whenever hydrogen becomes widely available.” By that time, the car should have proper doors.
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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Urban + Relevant = FAIL Just using those two words makes me want to ram my '95 Pathfinder into one of these things.
Looks like Renault styling has infected its partner, Nissan. It's that upright, wrap-around rear window, and the little butt below it. Only Renault. Until now.