By Robert Emslie
Just a reminder that Nissans (and cars in general) used to be a whole lot more interesting.
Image: SubcompactCulture
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Just a reminder that Nissans (and cars in general) used to be a whole lot more interesting.
Image: SubcompactCulture
Kamil Kaluski 
Jeff Glucker 
Greg Kachadurian
I’ve met more than a few people that have more frontal area than this entire car.
I’ve had motorcycles with bigger fairing real estate than the front of this car.
As a previous owner of a GL1800A, I’m with you, dead_elvis, inc.
Had an ST1100, too, set up as a long-distance rally bike. Keeping the wind/rain/snow off your person is crucial if you’re going to effectively live on the machine for up to 36 hours at a time.
Aren’t cars interesting now? I think we’re right in a new golden era, even if used cars remain the smart buy. Apart from the constant death threat to Manuel, we have a lot of strange cars on the road. There’s a lack of two door wagons, yes, but I hope that’s just a matter of time. And anything “Mini” doesn’t count.
My college pal worked at the Nissan shop in town. They had one sportback and couldn’t give it away. Somehow a bay door fell on it and the car went back to Nissan. Oops.
I always like the screaming chicken’s iteration:
http://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2015/04/DN043-4169.jpg
http://www.vettewagon.org/images/67wagonr_1.jpg
That’s a nice rear hatch you have there.
http://bright-cars.com/uploads/volvo/volvo-1800-es/volvo-1800-es-07.jpg
I really do wish the factory had done something along these lines…albeit, without the funky lines.
http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/800×450/format/jpg/quality/85/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/02/challenger_wagon_450.jpg
http://www.wallpaperup.com/uploads/wallpapers/2014/05/09/350379/682ec8dd7185d717a827e445899aa2e1.jpg
We could all have been making MID4 jokes instead of NSX jokes. Oh well.
The problem is, when auto designers try to break the rules today we wind up with this. Now, I’ve said it before that I have some respect for the Murano Crosscabriolet. I love that they took the risk to do something different. However, respect doesn’t equal “like”. It is ugly.
http://images.hgmsites.net/hug/2012-nissan-murano-crosscabriolet_100370204_h.jpg
Those remind me of one of those comically disproportionate children’s cars that a child has put a relatively too-small toy person into.
I have the same thing with big pickup trucks and SUVs driven by small people. Folks, the driver’s seat back should roughly align with the B-pillar, not be halfway between A- and B-pillar!
If your arms and legs are to small to achieve that position comfortably, please buy a smaller vehicle or prepare to be mocked.
I was once almost run over by a midget in a lifted F-150.
I can’t wait to see the first one of these that gets lifted (can’t be by much because crossover bones), knobbies, a cage, and off-roaded hard.
Someone, anyone, with more money than sense, please do.
I knowingly searched in vain for an offroadable Crosscabriolet and had the misfortune to discover this:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Range-Rover-Evoque-rendering-625×416.jpg
Behold the Range Rover Evoque Convertible. Does 2 in the market mean this is now a trend? I certainly hope not!
Yes but unlike the ‘Moron oh’, that has nice proportions and with the Range Rover name has access to a much better demographic. I won’t be surprised if they have some success. The Murano is the Daimler Dart, the Evoque is the XKE. One ugly, one not.
Think of them as a ‘luxury first gen Ford Bronco/Chevy Blazer’ updated, (like the one in Zoolander). To me these make more sense than the other ‘coupe style’, cross-overs like the X6 etc. If you’re going to reduce the utility of a sport utility, you may as well increase the ‘sportiness’.
And what could be more ‘sporty’ than a car with no roof?
Daimler Dart/SP250
http://www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/images/L-Daimler-SP250-Dart.jpg
Jaguar E-Type/XKE
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00839/motoring-graphics-2_839583a.jpg
True, but wait two decades and see what nostalgia does to it.
Demolition derby candidate?
I wonder if anyone is restoring these yet? If not who will be the first hipster to do so? I’d volunteer but I’m a bit broke at the moment.*
I think these came with a CA engine if I recall correctly. A CA18DET swap would spice it up nicely.
Also, why do the backs always seem to be a different colour to the rest of the car, I wonder.
Also also, the Juke Nismo suggests that Nissan is still interesting, even if not invariably particularly good.
*chronically
I know they’ve been installed for decades and they’re probably fine, but the daring fleet-wide CVT switch turned me away from (used, natch) Nissan. Do they deserve more looks?
Manual, sure.
CVT, if you’re missing a leg, or use of one.
I suspect that they were all gray because they could be had as a dealer installed option. Only one color to inventory.
The SE model with the twin cam 1.8 was trouble prone and pricey to repair. I had a 1988 SE (without the Sportbak) and I spent a lot of money keeping it running. It was a joy to drive, but painful to own.
It always struck me as odd that Nissan never did a micro-pickup variant of these – all the right ingredients were there to make it an option while retaining the already-alterable rear end.
Thankfully, someone saw fit to remedy that oversight. Or not, depending on your point of view.
If the cab had a bit of graceful buttresses instead of being lopped off at the end like a fourth-grader’s writing assignment, and the bed were about half again as long …
this perhaps?
I still really like those. I’ve never actually driven one, which may have something to do with that.
Spoiled for choice. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/64a10f5292db0ec6985ce470d60d7e508afc1177b4d7ebbd20ad59ce6d047b2b.jpg
The funny thing is that I actually kind of like it at this length – it’s mostly impractical but looks like it could be both fun and useful in certain ways.
What would be interesting would be to park this next to a Baja and measure the differences in bed dimensions.
So not like the Suzuki Mighty Boy? http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Suzuki-Mighty-Boy2.jpg http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule/curbside-capsule-suzuki-mighty-boy-the-name-says-it-all/
That’s less of a bed and more of a back pocket
Nissan still does interesting stuff. Just not interesting stuff that I like.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Nissan_Juke_Nismo_2014,_Latvia.jpg
Isn’t this the manual trans turbo car?
It could be interesting to me- but I can’t be bothered to look it up.
Maybe. That would make it FWD right? Again, not caring enough to look it up. It’s probably cooler than what we get in NA. Anyways the styling at least is interesting, but not something I want my own face to be associated with.