Year
after year car manufacturers spend actual resources making concept
cars, most of which are crazy looking/just plain stupid and never go
into production (Unless you're Audi because then VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING
goes into production). When I saw the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet
concept in 2010, I laughed for days because it was SO INCREDIBLY RIDICULOUS. Then Nissan, thinking the CrossCabriolet would be a good idea decided put it into production in 2011. I saw my first ever
Crosscabriolet today on the freeway going to school and it really is one of
those "SOMEONE ACTUALLY BOUGHT ONE" moments.
Let me talk you through why it's so laughable:
1. They basically took the Murano, a practical 4 door crossover (The lovechild of a car and a SUV) then removed the two rear doors and chopped the roof off. Not a mustang, or a Porsche 911, a Murano.
Don't stare at it too long, or else you'll go blind.
2. If you take a car such as a mustang or a Porsche 911 which was originally designed as a hardtop and chop the roof off, you compromise the structure. In essence now the two ends which were once supported by the roof and floor is just now supported by the floor. To add rigidity to the chassis, you have to essentially reinforce the floor even more. As a result, cars like the Porsche 911 cabriolet, Audi R8 Spyder, Infiniti G37s convertible weigh substantially more than their hardtop variants. Increased weight not only spoils handling, it reduces fuel efficiency, acceleration, braking and overall vehicle dynamics and driver enjoyment. This problem doesn't exist on cars which started life as a convertible in the first place (Honda S2000, Miata, Jaguar F-type) as these were designed without a roof in mind in the first place, and don't suffer from decreased rigidity and the extra weight.
3. It's still a crossover with a high center of gravity but now with no roof. Not a great idea for rollover safety even though it has deploying roll bars (which don't help if your head is taller than the roll bar)
4. Due to the fact that this now a convertible, it is now extremely impractical. The rear seats do not fold down and trunk space is heavily compromised. There are two less doors and seating for 1 less person.
5. It costs $41,995. Yes, you read that correctly.
6. Even for the high price listed in #5 floor mats are a $190 option. Navigation doesn't come standard either.
7. Nissan finally decided that they won't be making a replacement due to poor sales (Really, what did they expect?).
8. It has the Nissan VQ35DE engine which they literally recycled from 2001-2003.
tl;dr, Nissan takes a practical, 4 door crossover and turns it into an expensive, impractical tall-riding convertible for people who try too hard to be edgy
Let me talk you through why it's so laughable:
1. They basically took the Murano, a practical 4 door crossover (The lovechild of a car and a SUV) then removed the two rear doors and chopped the roof off. Not a mustang, or a Porsche 911, a Murano.
2. If you take a car such as a mustang or a Porsche 911 which was originally designed as a hardtop and chop the roof off, you compromise the structure. In essence now the two ends which were once supported by the roof and floor is just now supported by the floor. To add rigidity to the chassis, you have to essentially reinforce the floor even more. As a result, cars like the Porsche 911 cabriolet, Audi R8 Spyder, Infiniti G37s convertible weigh substantially more than their hardtop variants. Increased weight not only spoils handling, it reduces fuel efficiency, acceleration, braking and overall vehicle dynamics and driver enjoyment. This problem doesn't exist on cars which started life as a convertible in the first place (Honda S2000, Miata, Jaguar F-type) as these were designed without a roof in mind in the first place, and don't suffer from decreased rigidity and the extra weight.
3. It's still a crossover with a high center of gravity but now with no roof. Not a great idea for rollover safety even though it has deploying roll bars (which don't help if your head is taller than the roll bar)
4. Due to the fact that this now a convertible, it is now extremely impractical. The rear seats do not fold down and trunk space is heavily compromised. There are two less doors and seating for 1 less person.
5. It costs $41,995. Yes, you read that correctly.
6. Even for the high price listed in #5 floor mats are a $190 option. Navigation doesn't come standard either.
7. Nissan finally decided that they won't be making a replacement due to poor sales (Really, what did they expect?).
8. It has the Nissan VQ35DE engine which they literally recycled from 2001-2003.
tl;dr, Nissan takes a practical, 4 door crossover and turns it into an expensive, impractical tall-riding convertible for people who try too hard to be edgy
