With its trackless dual sliders, lack of a B-pillar, and turnaround second-row seats, Nissan hopes its Forum concept will inject a little style into piteously sexless minivans. The concept, which will be shown at Detroit next January, combines the virtues of lair (comfy chairs and a "kids cam" to keep an eye on the sprog) with lure (edgy styling) into one upright, engineless, concept-car package. Thrown into the mix are Bose electronics, a fitting choice as Nissan won't publish specs for the Forum, either.
Man i would love a chair like this in my room to watch TV and play video games
Anyways this concept looks good, but i remember when the Quest concept first debuted it looked very promising and well all know the disaster that turned out to be. Hopefully nissan has learned from their mistakes.
Anyways this concept looks good, but i remember when the Quest concept first debuted it looked very promising and well all know the disaster that turned out to be. Hopefully nissan has learned from their mistakes.
That one has a lot of Renault flavor.
Eugene Leafty Fungi produce 13% of all the CO2 in the atmosphere, my motorcycle produces over 100 gallons of H2O per year.
The article seems to have left out 2 details - unless I missed it. It's got a microwave in the center console (?) and the concept is diesel-powered with a CVT transmission (I would have thought a diesel would have too much torque for a CVT).
Quote, originally posted by rosskoss »
I'd love to know how you determined the soul coefficient of a car through online photos.
The article seems to have left out 2 details - unless I missed it. It's got a microwave in the center console (?) and the concept is diesel-powered with a CVT transmission (I would have thought a diesel would have too much torque for a CVT).
Hohumm... Not a fan of Nissan and Inifinti styling. I call the FX35 "The Shoe"; Quest "The Broken Back minivan". The guys who design these cars should be exiled to Antartica.
Drive-by anonimity in the car lounge - I love it! Sleeper cars - who wants the pressure of being super all the time? The Car Lounge - your source for intelligent opinions and advice! (some people can't even spel)
Though minivan sales have cooled significantly in the past five years, American families snap up more than a million minivans annually. Brands like Ford, Nissan and GM may have pulled back from minivans entirely but Chrysler, Honda and Toyota are still dedicated to providing buyers with those traditionally flavored family movers.
For the companies that dropped their minivans but still need to offer shoppers something for large families, change is coming. Ford is nearly ready to build its new Flex crossover, which offers minivan room with a more wagonlike body. And now Nissan is showing a concept that could bring a crossover with strong minivan overtones to its lineup.
The concept is the Forum, which Nissan says "represents the next revolution in family transportation."
The challenge, Nissan officials add, is "making family passenger vehicles more appealing to both drivers and passengers."
The Forum concept isn't unrecognizable to minivan drivers and owners. It has the big box in back for kids and cargo, but Nissan designers have gone with a higher beltline, styled side glass and a wider stance, to give a more sporty feel to the traditional one-box van. Emphasizing that theme is a curvaceously sweeping grille that is accented by a soft LED light bar. While Nissan hasn't eliminated the sliding doors that parents love, it has carefully hidden their tracks. The front doors swing open to a 90-degree angle. Further enhancing the sense of spaciousness, the Forum's sides have lost the typical B-pillars that would reinforce the middle of its body; instead, designers have penned in stronger door and roof frames.
Atop the Forum, the huge SkyView roof contains hidden sunshades, permitting the glass to be closed off on hot days.
While the goal was to maintain functionality for the kids, Nissan designers set out to style the Forum's interior so it was also appealing to adults. Call it a "family limousine," suggests Rachel Nguyen, Nissan North America's Director of Advanced Planning and Strategy.
"From a conceptual standpoint, the Forum is closer to a family limousine than the minivans Gen Xers have grown up with. But unlike a real limo - or sometimes traditional minivans - the Forum driver is just as important as the passengers," explains Nguyen.
As the name Forum might suggest, the interior of the concept is seen as a place to bring people together. It is divided into two connected zones. There's the parents' zone, up front, with comfortable but sporty seats, as well as the vehicle's gauge and control center, as well as electronics like Bluetooth, for hands-free calling.
The rear, or children's, zone is dedicated to keeping kids safe, comfortable - and something parents will appreciate - entertained. As you'd expect, that means a variety of the latest infotainment systems. There's even a console-mounted microwave, accessible from the front or middle rows, sized for making popcorn.
The second row's turntable-style seating allows the twin buckets to face out for tailgating and picnicking. Or the seats can swivel a full 180 degrees, to face the rear three-seat bench, creating a sort of living room environment.
Nissan has even built in a pair of "Kids Cams," which can be displayed on the instrument panel's LCD monitor. If a little discipline is needed, there's also a "Time Out" system, which will mute all audio devices - and broadcast the driver's voice on all the Forum's speakers. Bose designed a SeatCentric system for the concept, with a variety of speakers, including some built into headrests and seatbacks. Independent audio is available for each of the Forum's three rows.
Under the hood, the Forum features a clean diesel engine, like the one the automaker is planning to offer in the next new Maxima sedan. It's mated to a version of the mileage minded continuously variable transmission (CVT) Nissan has been rolling out throughout its global product lineup.
Whether the Forum will take a place in the Nissan lineup is unclear. It's obvious that the automaker is looking for an acceptable alternative to its slow-selling Quest minivan. If the Forum gets people talking the idea up during the coming auto show season, Nissan very well could find a place for this new people mover.
Close, but The Car Connection is wrong. This is what Nissan says:
Quote »
FORUM's efficient, intelligent design features also extend to the powertrain. Though as a design exploration, FORUM's emphasis is limited to form and functionality, conceptually a modern, next-generation family passenger vehicle would include a clean diesel or other environmentally sensitive powerplant.
"Nissan has previously announced that it will be offering a clean diesel engine in the United States in the next generation Maxima, so a similar powerplant would be a definite consideration for a vehicle like FORUM," said Campbell. "Nissan is also an industry leader in CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) technology, so you could predict smooth, responsive performance worthy of the Nissan badge."
It's cleverly worded, but the Forum concept is a roller. A diesel and a CVT are available in other Nissans, just not this one.
Does it come with a bunch of cranky old-timers, a resident queen b|tch, and a flock of clueless newbs?
Nah, it comes with a free shank in the back and the end of all civil liberties in your country of residence! "A funny thing happened while I was driving the Forum..."
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