Nissan talks future plans at Detroit auto show

Nissan Sports Sedan Concept

The name pretty much tells you what this creature is. Nissan officials confirmed that the Sport Sedan Concept is also the basis for a production car due in 2016, and while they wouldn't specify which one, it isn't too hard to guess. The SSC gets power from a V6 generating roughly 300 hp, and its dimensions approximate those of the current Maxima sedan. What we're looking at is the next iteration of Nissan's original “four-door sports car.” It's also a bellwether of the Nissan brand's design themes over the next several years, including the flow-over “V-Motion” grille, boomerang light clusters and sharply creased character lines across the flanks—intended, according to one Nissan executive, to “put some emotion into the side view.”

IDx Confirmed

Nissan's Datsun-inspired IDx concept, a surprise star at November's Tokyo Motor Show, has begun navigating the rocky path from concept to production car.

“It's in the plan,” said Nissan product chief Andy Palmer at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The IDx has moved “into the first stage of the development process. The next stage is project validation and then looking at the business case. It's no one's intent to waste millions of the company's money, so obviously we have a good feeling about this one.”

Palmer offered no specifics on a production IDx, except to say that it would likely be built in relatively small volume. Nissan presented two versions in Tokyo and again at NAIAS: The minimalist IDx Freeflow, reminiscent of the original Datsun 510, and IDx Nismo, which is the design studio's take on the ultimate sport-themed car for the Nintendo generation.

Another GT-R

Palmer also confirmed that a subsequent generation of the current Nissan GT-R supercar is in development, though he wouldn’t say when it will appear or exactly what it will be, except that it will likely arrive with some sort of hybrid powertrain.

Megatrends

Andy Palmer could tell you what’s in Nissan’s product plan 10 or 15 years from now, though he almost certainly won’t.

As chief planning officer for Nissan Motor Co., Palmer directs planning, development and implementation of the company’s global product strategy. He isn’t likely to tell you how much horsepower the next-gen Nissan GT-R will have (though he promises there will be a next-gen GT-R), but he’s happy to share his thoughts on guideposts that will direct the auto industry over the next couple of decades.

Palmer calls them megatrends, and he sees three.

The first is the quest for zero emissions (at least from the cars), and it will be carried by electrification. Within 20 years, electric power will be ascendant, and perhaps even the predominant automotive force. Palmer doesn’t expect hydrogen fuel cells to be as significant as batteries over the long haul, for one simple reason: Hydrogen is less efficient than batteries at turning energy into transportation, and with improvements in the energy density in batteries that Palmer expects by the 2020-25 timeframe, he does not believe the range advantage of hydrogen will be significant.

The second megatrend is the connected car.

“That goes far beyond what we’re familiar with now in [Web-based] communication or info-matics,” he says. “We’re talking about monitoring the health and safety of the driver and occupants. In five years, every new car will be extensively connected.”

The third trend will move us toward the fully autonomous car. Palmer “pledges” the first one in Nissan showrooms by 2020.

“We’re not necessarily talking about a situation where you get on the road, push a button and then go to sleep,” he says. “To me it’s about safety and instances where it’s [best] that the vehicle supersedes the driver’s control. If the objective is ‘zero emissions, zero fatalities,’ the only way that can be achieved is with autonomous cars.”

If Palmer’s lack of references to things like high-performance or enthusiasm or fun leaves you on edge, maybe you needn’t be. He predicts that the 650-horsepower supercar will remain a fixture over the next 20 years—at Nissan and across the car-industry.

“One of our [slogans] is ‘Innovation and Excitement for Everyone,’ and that requires halo cars,” he says. “From our perspective, that means that GT-Rs and Zs and Nismo [models] are necessary.

“Across the industry, in a 20-year timeframe, we’ll almost certainly see 650-hp [sports cars], though they’ll likely include electric assist. The question is how much. The internal combustion engine remains in the picture. The journey is nonetheless a journey to zero [emissions], so in 50 years that might be different.”

The North American International Auto Show, known to most as the Detroit auto show, continues to serve as a barometer for the entire industry. This year, we'll expect to see the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the 2015 Ford Mustang and the BMW M3 and M4. The 2014 Detroit auto show is held at Cobo Hall in Detroit, MI and is open to the public from January 18-26.

By J.P. Vettraino