Nissan Forum Concept

I had a chance to chat with a couple of Nissan representatives to discuss their Forum concept. I was attracted to the design because of my family's need for a minivan. We have found that for us a minivan is still the best solution and it would be great to drive around in something a bit more stylish that what is available today.

My first question stemmed around the B-Pillarless design. Is it possible for production? I got a lot of shrugged shoulders and "Don't know about the safety ramifications" type quotes from folks gathered at the stand. I will tell you this, Nissan has show several van concepts with the missing pillar. It's true that it could all be for show, but I wouldn't completely count this feature out. Stay tuned.

Next up is the overall richness of design on the interior. Would Nissan consider marketing such a vehicle? The vibes I got from the design staff were much more positive with this question. Nissan is very keen to try and break out of the minivan death spiral and due something unique. When the first generation Quest debuted it had a wild instrument panel that didn't exactly wow buyers. Nissan changed things around inside during a model refresh and it helped the van gain traction, but the Quest has never been a really big player in the segment.

While standing around and looking at the Forum, the music coming out of the van was sounding great. Bose has done a fab job of integrating its FreeSpace outdoor audio system into the edge of the sliding doors (above photo) for tailgate parties. There is the now famous and practical "time out" button that allows the driver to silence all media and broadcast their message to the troops, interior surveillance cameras "eyes of mom" and the silly microwave in the console. The rotating pedestal middle row seats are a show car treat as well.

If the Forum did have an engine, it could be diesel says Nissan. The first Nissan product to get a diesel here in the U.S. will be the Maxima, so it wouldn't be stretch to see the Quest offered with an oil burner. I would be very interested in a diesel van myself.

I'm going with a big "hit" rating for this concept. Hats off to Nissan for not abandoning the idea of the minivan. Would a luxo-treatment for a minivan gain a lot of buyers or continue to relegate Nissan to a small niche of a decreasing market? That is the question that product planners must answer before something like this Forum hits the streets. My hunch is that we will see something similar to the Forum coming from Nissan in the next few years.

Long live sliding doors!