Today's teenagers can't imagine a world where they can't carry a music collection in their pocket, where there aren't hundreds of TV channels, where money doesn't come out of a hole in the wall. Today's teenagers exist in a universe where it's sometimes difficult to distinguish real life from the video game, but where the creative possibilities are endless. Record and mix your own music CD? Sure. Shoot and edit your own movie? No problem. Just download the software on to your home computer and start clicking the mouse. So, say hello to the PlayStation generation. And say hello to their sports car. But here's the surprising thing about the Nissan Urge: It might be aimed at cyber-savvy Gen-Y drivers, some of whom are yet to get their license, but the reason it exists is as old and primal as the automobile itself. It's a performance car, pure and simple. The idea for the Urge came from an informal Internet survey conducted by Nissan to find out why a lot of young men bought used pickup trucks as their first vehicle. The answer was straightforward: They're cheap. Okay, said Nissan, we know you can't have everything for $20,000 or less, but if you could have two things, what would they be? Answer: technology and performance.
The technology bit wasn't necessarily about the hardware of the car itself, but how it interacted with the stuff the respondents used in their everyday lives--cell-phones, MP3 players, video games--and was pretty much what the Nissan folks expected to hear. But the strong desire for performance was a real surprise, says Nissan Design America design manager John Cupit, who started working on this project two years ago. Cupit, like many in the auto industry, looked at the success of so-called Gen-Y vehicles like the boxy Scion xB and assumed today's young car buyers were more interested in the social aspect of car ownership rather than the quality of the driving experience. "Our original sketches had a four-door configuration because we figured the social aspect was important," he says. "We thought they wanted a fun car they could hang out in with their buddies, easy to get into the back seat, and with room for four or five. But they wanted an all-out performance car that was easy to buy." What everyone had missed was the influence of driving games like Gran Turismo on an emerging generation of car buyers across America. There are kids growing up in Iowa and Nebraska and Ohio who are more familiar with the big- horsepower GTRs and Evos and 911s they race and tune in cyberspace than they are with old Buicks and pickup trucks. "These guys love video games," says Cupit. "They know those cars; they're legendary. And they want that kind of thrill in their first [real] car." The Urge is all about delivering that thrill. It starts with the lean, pared-down look, inspired by the exposed hardware on high-performance "naked" bikes, the ones without the sleek fairings wrapped around the frame. (It comes as no surprise to learn Cupit's garage is full of old Italian bikes: Moto Guzzis, Laverdas, Ducatis.) Part of the Urge's hood is glass, so you can see the engine and some of the car's structure. The glass in the lower half of the doors retracts so you get a wind rush through the cabin. The bodywork is pulled tightly around the mechanicals, tapered so much at the front and rear that the fenders almost look stuck on, like cycle guards. "It's not the classic wedge that you see on a lot of sports cars," says Cupit. "It's kind of wide and stocky, but it looks light and nimble." From some angles, it looks rather like a Lotus 340R, the stripped-back street racer built off the mid-engine Elise platform. The massive shoulder and the way the body swells between the wheels is almost like a Formula 1 racer. The widest part of the Urge's body is slightly wider than the outer surface of the tires, which helps occupant safety in side impacts. Safety considerations also drove the decision to give the Urge a rollbar linked to the windscreen structure to create a cage around the passengers. "These kids are practical," says Cupit of the car's target audience. "They're going to be using their parents money to help them with this purchase, and they want their approval on this car also." New lighting technology allows a compact headlight package up front; at the rear, the taillights stick out from the bodywork like those on a motorcycle. "It's a new idea and gives the car a completely different look." Nissan is tight-lipped on the Urge's mechanicals, admitting only that it rolls on a rear-drive platform and has a target weight of 2400 pounds, less than an MX-5. Suspension is independent all around, all four brakes are discs, and the transmission is a six-speed manual. Powertrain? No comment, smiles Cupit, other than to say it's smaller displacement and higher revving than the 350Z's V-6. Will Nissan build it--or is this just another show-pony? "I don't think it would show the car unless the company were taking a long, hard look at the idea," says Cupit. "We're doing a lot of clinics and market research with the car. There's much interest in it within Nissan." Cupit notes the Urge wouldn't have to change much for production. "If you take away the show-car entertainment--the yellow see-through material around the holes in the door, some of the glass hood treatment--the basic size, dimensions, and proportions are doable." It needs proper bumpers front and rear, and that third seat probably wouldn't make it to production, either, but the motorcycle-style taillights would stay, as would the openings in the lower half of the doors. "That's something we're looking seriously at for production." The Urge's biggest hurdle, however, is Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who insists every new Nissan make money for the company. With a target base price of just under $20,000, rising to no more than $24,000 fully loaded, Cupit admits it's a tough call. But the continuing success of Mazda's MX-5 proves it can be done. "It's edgier, a guy's car," he says, comparing the Urge against the segment benchmark. "The Miata hasn't been a guy's car historically." So what's the secret? "The car has to appeal on a human, emotional level first," says Cupit. "Styling and performance. It's simple."
Yes, but what do the people think?
Perception and reality collide on a California fall evening on the Third Street Promenade. Months before the Urge is scheduled to make its public debut under the bright lights of Detroit's Cobo Hall, it's parked in the heart of Santa Monica's bustling shopping precinct, drawing crowds of curious onlookers. There's no hype, no hustle, no branding--just the car. And a couple of jeans-clad Nissan employees armed with clipboards and engaging smiles. This is a first for Nissan. Normally, concept-car clinics are closed-door, invitation-only affairs, the target audience carefully defined, and the Q&A download carefully structured. Here, the Urge must earn its street cred--on the street. A risk? Sure. The camera phones are everywhere, and sometimes the unfiltered feedback isn't what you want your bosses to hear. This evening is just another step along the long and tortuous journey every concept car must take on the road to the showroom. We might live in one of the most motorized societies on the planet, but stuff we think is obvious isn't always so to John Q. Public. More than a few onlookers spy the electrical cord used to power the interior lighting and assume the Urge is an electric car. Others look at the clear yellow plastic covering on the doors and decide the Urge wouldn't offer much protection in a side impact. With the Nissan badges covered up, there's plenty of speculation about who makes the Urge. "It's a Volvo," says one guy authoritatively to his buddy. "I've seen it on TV." Another 30-something swears it's a new Pontiac. Only one person, a woman in her 20s, nails it: "It looks like a Nissan at the front," she says to her male companions, gesturing at the grille, which is indeed a riff on the company's European corporate face. Then she utters the words the Nissan staffers want to hear: "I love it." Gas mileage is a hot topic. The Nissan staffers run the line that this is a fast performance car, and immediately most people start wondering about the mileage. Because they can't give any detail on the powertrain, they can't counter the negatives. Memo Nissan: If you build this with a high-performance four-cylinder engine under the hood, make sure your advertising gets the gas-mileage message across loud and clear. Americans don't equate fast with economical. Finally, there's the price. More than a few people guessed a sticker in the $80K area, bringing wry smiles to the faces of the Nissan folks. When asked who she saw driving the car, one young woman replied, "Lots of rappers. NBA stars." One guy in his late 20s decided to play hardball, saying he'd pay "as little as possible." Okay, how much? "I wouldn't pay more than $30,000 for it."
The technology bit wasn't necessarily about the hardware of the car itself, but how it interacted with the stuff the respondents used in their everyday lives--cell-phones, MP3 players, video games--and was pretty much what the Nissan folks expected to hear. But the strong desire for performance was a real surprise, says Nissan Design America design manager John Cupit, who started working on this project two years ago. Cupit, like many in the auto industry, looked at the success of so-called Gen-Y vehicles like the boxy Scion xB and assumed today's young car buyers were more interested in the social aspect of car ownership rather than the quality of the driving experience. "Our original sketches had a four-door configuration because we figured the social aspect was important," he says. "We thought they wanted a fun car they could hang out in with their buddies, easy to get into the back seat, and with room for four or five. But they wanted an all-out performance car that was easy to buy." What everyone had missed was the influence of driving games like Gran Turismo on an emerging generation of car buyers across America. There are kids growing up in Iowa and Nebraska and Ohio who are more familiar with the big- horsepower GTRs and Evos and 911s they race and tune in cyberspace than they are with old Buicks and pickup trucks. "These guys love video games," says Cupit. "They know those cars; they're legendary. And they want that kind of thrill in their first [real] car." The Urge is all about delivering that thrill. It starts with the lean, pared-down look, inspired by the exposed hardware on high-performance "naked" bikes, the ones without the sleek fairings wrapped around the frame. (It comes as no surprise to learn Cupit's garage is full of old Italian bikes: Moto Guzzis, Laverdas, Ducatis.) Part of the Urge's hood is glass, so you can see the engine and some of the car's structure. The glass in the lower half of the doors retracts so you get a wind rush through the cabin. The bodywork is pulled tightly around the mechanicals, tapered so much at the front and rear that the fenders almost look stuck on, like cycle guards. "It's not the classic wedge that you see on a lot of sports cars," says Cupit. "It's kind of wide and stocky, but it looks light and nimble." From some angles, it looks rather like a Lotus 340R, the stripped-back street racer built off the mid-engine Elise platform. The massive shoulder and the way the body swells between the wheels is almost like a Formula 1 racer. The widest part of the Urge's body is slightly wider than the outer surface of the tires, which helps occupant safety in side impacts. Safety considerations also drove the decision to give the Urge a rollbar linked to the windscreen structure to create a cage around the passengers. "These kids are practical," says Cupit of the car's target audience. "They're going to be using their parents money to help them with this purchase, and they want their approval on this car also." New lighting technology allows a compact headlight package up front; at the rear, the taillights stick out from the bodywork like those on a motorcycle. "It's a new idea and gives the car a completely different look." Nissan is tight-lipped on the Urge's mechanicals, admitting only that it rolls on a rear-drive platform and has a target weight of 2400 pounds, less than an MX-5. Suspension is independent all around, all four brakes are discs, and the transmission is a six-speed manual. Powertrain? No comment, smiles Cupit, other than to say it's smaller displacement and higher revving than the 350Z's V-6. Will Nissan build it--or is this just another show-pony? "I don't think it would show the car unless the company were taking a long, hard look at the idea," says Cupit. "We're doing a lot of clinics and market research with the car. There's much interest in it within Nissan." Cupit notes the Urge wouldn't have to change much for production. "If you take away the show-car entertainment--the yellow see-through material around the holes in the door, some of the glass hood treatment--the basic size, dimensions, and proportions are doable." It needs proper bumpers front and rear, and that third seat probably wouldn't make it to production, either, but the motorcycle-style taillights would stay, as would the openings in the lower half of the doors. "That's something we're looking seriously at for production." The Urge's biggest hurdle, however, is Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who insists every new Nissan make money for the company. With a target base price of just under $20,000, rising to no more than $24,000 fully loaded, Cupit admits it's a tough call. But the continuing success of Mazda's MX-5 proves it can be done. "It's edgier, a guy's car," he says, comparing the Urge against the segment benchmark. "The Miata hasn't been a guy's car historically." So what's the secret? "The car has to appeal on a human, emotional level first," says Cupit. "Styling and performance. It's simple."
Yes, but what do the people think?
Perception and reality collide on a California fall evening on the Third Street Promenade. Months before the Urge is scheduled to make its public debut under the bright lights of Detroit's Cobo Hall, it's parked in the heart of Santa Monica's bustling shopping precinct, drawing crowds of curious onlookers. There's no hype, no hustle, no branding--just the car. And a couple of jeans-clad Nissan employees armed with clipboards and engaging smiles. This is a first for Nissan. Normally, concept-car clinics are closed-door, invitation-only affairs, the target audience carefully defined, and the Q&A download carefully structured. Here, the Urge must earn its street cred--on the street. A risk? Sure. The camera phones are everywhere, and sometimes the unfiltered feedback isn't what you want your bosses to hear. This evening is just another step along the long and tortuous journey every concept car must take on the road to the showroom. We might live in one of the most motorized societies on the planet, but stuff we think is obvious isn't always so to John Q. Public. More than a few onlookers spy the electrical cord used to power the interior lighting and assume the Urge is an electric car. Others look at the clear yellow plastic covering on the doors and decide the Urge wouldn't offer much protection in a side impact. With the Nissan badges covered up, there's plenty of speculation about who makes the Urge. "It's a Volvo," says one guy authoritatively to his buddy. "I've seen it on TV." Another 30-something swears it's a new Pontiac. Only one person, a woman in her 20s, nails it: "It looks like a Nissan at the front," she says to her male companions, gesturing at the grille, which is indeed a riff on the company's European corporate face. Then she utters the words the Nissan staffers want to hear: "I love it." Gas mileage is a hot topic. The Nissan staffers run the line that this is a fast performance car, and immediately most people start wondering about the mileage. Because they can't give any detail on the powertrain, they can't counter the negatives. Memo Nissan: If you build this with a high-performance four-cylinder engine under the hood, make sure your advertising gets the gas-mileage message across loud and clear. Americans don't equate fast with economical. Finally, there's the price. More than a few people guessed a sticker in the $80K area, bringing wry smiles to the faces of the Nissan folks. When asked who she saw driving the car, one young woman replied, "Lots of rappers. NBA stars." One guy in his late 20s decided to play hardball, saying he'd pay "as little as possible." Okay, how much? "I wouldn't pay more than $30,000 for it."
Nissan Urge Concept
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Rating : 4.5
Published :
Rating : 4.5
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