While driving in Phoenix Arizona, with no hills, few dense areas, and parallel parking rarely a necessity, is relatively easy, the fact is that we do a lot of it. We can try to walk as much as possible, and Valley Metro transit is improving (despite budget restrictions), but if you live in the Valley of the Sun then you are destined to spend a good portion of your average week in your vehicle. This is where Nissan’s recent concept cars have been attempting to pick up the slack.
In 2005 at the Tokyo Motor Show Nissan premiered the Pivo concept car. The Nissan Pivo concept car is an electric car with a unique revolving cabin, compact packaging, multiple drive-by-wire systems, and excellent visibility. While other recent electric and hybrid cars have been looking toward improving the experience of the city bound motorist via fuel economy, the Pivo looks at the future of city driving from all angles.
Two things tend to stand out when one views the Pivo, or its more recent update the Pivo 2, for the first time. One is the ultra-modern, fishbowl like design of the cabin. This “Jetsons” style cockpit spins 360 degrees in either direction. When coupled with wheels that can take the vehicle perfectly sideways, this car makes common city driving inconveniences, such as reversing and parallel parking, completely obsolete.
The other major standout aspect is the interior of the cabin. This three seater features multiple cameras to eliminate blind spots, fighter jet style steering wheel and display, and a built into the dash personal robot companion. While the last feature may remind you of R2D2 from Star Wars, it may be closer to a GPS with a face. And a little bit of character. This robot has an expertly designed expression engine, using multiple parts such as eyebrows and eyes to make expression and display emotions. Nissan has not released much detail as to the practical applications of this robot co-pilot, but we will likely see in the coming years that the possibilities of this concept will go far beyond cuteness and GPS.
While Nissan first introduced the concept in 2005, and then released an update in 2007, an official production date has not yet been set. yet, as a concept is often intended to do, this vehicle has spurred fresh design and engineering from with Nissan’s ranks, and will likely be showing up more and more in the company’s current production models.
Phoenix Arizona residents can view and test drive any of the new Nissan models at any Phoenix Valley Nissan dealer.
