Electel Blogspot

A fairly easy job for American automobile stylists around 1950 was the creation of a design for a convertible.  Mostly it required razing the top off a coupé or two-door sedan and replacing it with a retractible canvas top design.  And those designs were largely shaped by engineering requirements. That task became more difficult to a greater or lesser degree when the shape of the source of the derivation interfered.  Below are images of some American convertibles from that era whose canvas top (and related sheet metal) designs were more or less awkward.  Unless noted, the photos are of cars listed for sale. Gallery First, a 1949 Chevrolet (Mecum auction photo).  General Motors stylists were at the top of their game, and the raised convertible top is attractive.  This was in spite of the rounded trunk lid and the body shape falling off towards the rear, two elements that might have led to a less satisfactory result. This 1949 Hudson Commodore 8 convertible r...

The Nissan Murano is a crossover SUV first introduced in the USA for the 2003 model year (Wikipedia entry here . Model years 2011-2014 saw a convertible version on the American market.  It was not part of the next-generation Murano line introduced for the 2015 model year.  This brief production run suggests that sales were not strong.  Perhaps that might have been due to its unusual concept -- convertible version of what is basically a station wagon body type.  Or maybe the problem was its awkward styling.   Regular Muranos were tall, like other SUVs, whereas convertibles are expected to be low and racy looking.  So Nissan stylists had the difficult task of making a tall car look racy.  The result was rather odd looking, made even more odd by the rear (backlight) windows on the raised canvas top. The images below are factory-sourced. Gallery The CrossCabriolet was of the second-generation Murano, sold in the USA for model years 2009-14.  Above is ...

Nissan has developed a concept car to show how its Leaf electric car can be used in natural disaster emergency response, writes Brian Byrne . The Re-Leaf has weatherproof sockets directly on the exterior, which means the car can be used as an emergency power source for charging both 110v and 230v devices. In real-world situations since 2011, the Leaf has been used in Japan for such emergency purposes as running a medical ventilator, or LED floodlights over periods beyond 24 hours. The Re-Leaf concept has a wider track and raised ground clearance. A LED light bar on top is another feature. The rear seats have been removed to provide a flat floor for emergency equipment. A pullout desk at the rear includes a 32-inch LED screen and separate power supply to hook up a computer for use as an operation hub at disaster sites.   There are no plans to put the Re-Leaf into production at this time.    

The milestone car heading to its new owner in Norway. Nissan marked the production of the 500,000th LEAF, the world’s first mass-market 100pc electric car to celebrate World EV Day, writes Trish Whelan . The milestone was achieved at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, England, almost a decade after the model first went on sale. The plant has built more than 175,000 LEAF cars since it began producing the model in 2013. The car was delivered to customer in Norway ahead of World EV Day. Maria Jansen in Norway said they had a LEAF in 2018 and loved it and are very excited to become the proud owners of the 500,000th Nissan LEAF. “This car really meets our needs with extended range and enhanced technologies. LEAF offers customers advanced technologies to enhance safety, comfort and control on the road. These include the award-winning ProPILOT - a hands-on, eyes-on system that allows the car to stop, restart and stay centred in its lane - and the e-Pedal technology for one-pedal driving. With more...

Nissan's Altima model was enlarged for the 2002 model year to become a "standard" size car in terms of the North American market, and has maintained essentially similar wheelbases (1.9 inches, 4.9 cm variation) over three later redesigns. Although he retired from Nissan's California styling center in 2000 before all details were finalized, the design theme was developed under the direction of Jerry Hirshberg (1940-2019).   He later appeared in television advertisements discussing the new styling. As might be expected, over time original theme features fade somewhat.  Yet they are still present in modified form.  Side views are presented blow. Gallery Hirshberg's original 2002 Altima design.  Salient features are the dogleg C-pillar, the wide, flat brows over the wheel openings, and the side character line crease that rises towards the rear. A 2007-vintage Altima.  According to the link above, it used a different platform.  Yet the body has every appearanc...

A few years ago I wrote about the restyled 2016 Nissan Maxima .  I mostly complained about the fussy ornamentation.  Observing one in a parking lot the other day provoked new thoughts regarding its design. For some time now, the Maxima has been an upscaled variant of Nissan's mainline Altima brand.  Styling-wise, Maximas are Altimas with different sheet metal here and there to provide a distinctive appearance.  (Though Altimas have had a somewhat similar "feel" over the time since they were enlarged in the early 2000s, Maximas don't strike me as having any design continuity beyond their Altima base.) To set the scene, the 2016 Altima had a height of 57.9 inches (1,471 mm), according to Wikipedia.  The height of the '16 Maxima from the same general source was 56.5 inches (1,435 mm).  It's possible that the Maxima's roof sheet metal is a bit flatter than the Altima's.  It's also possible that Maxima bodies sit a little closer to the ground.   Perh...