Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Minivans/MPVs, Commercial Trucks
Detroit Preview: Nissan NV2500 Concept previews commercial vehicle for U.S.
by John Neff on Nov 10th 2008 at 11:58AM 
Click above to for high-res version
Nissan unveiled the NV2500 Concept today, which will debut in the metal at this year's 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. No, it's not a high-performance sports car, but rather a multipurpose utility vehicle, a.k.a. panel van, that' previews what the Japanese automaker will soon bring to the commercial vehicle market here in the U.S. You may recall Nissan announced back in April that it was developing three new commercial vehicles for U.S. customers, and the NV2500 hints at the first one. It looks like a bit bigger than a Ford Transit Connect and much smaller than a Dodge Sprinter, which may be "just right" for many companies shopping in the segment. Nissan has already told us this first commercial vehicle is a clean-sheet design developed just for the U.S., and that it will be built at its Canton, Mississippi facility.
[Source: Nissan]
PRESS RELEASE
Nissan NV2500 Concept Set For Debut
Nissan North America, Inc. today announced its Nissan NV2500 Concept, which makes its public debut in early January at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. One of the largest concepts vehicle ever created by Nissan, the innovative NV2500 Concept previews the company's entry into the North American Commercial Vehicle (CV) market in 2010 and is designed to highlight multi-purpose utility solutions in the real world.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent 12:06PM (11/10/2008)
disgusting.
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Mark 12:53PM (11/10/2008)
NV2500 > disgusting
bigbear7787 12:28PM (11/10/2008)
I agree if you were talking about the face... the rest of the body is pretty decent IMO
fixitfixitstop 12:35PM (11/10/2008)
What's disgusting about it? It's a commercial vehicle. I think it would make a nice ice cream or hot dog truck.
Torrent 12:41PM (11/10/2008)
I guess my comment lacked a direct object. My bad.
I just think that from this view, the grille is atrocious, and it looks a UPS truck fsr....
Terry 1:55PM (11/10/2008)
............anyone complain about the look u miss the point.......it's a "commercial vehicle".....it already look much more decent then every other "commercial vehicle" like UPS/USPS "cart"
happy_penguin 4:48PM (11/10/2008)
Nissan are the ugliest, crappiest trucks ever. Toyota isn't far behind that.
Torrent 5:40PM (11/10/2008)
I wouldn't go and say that. I just don't particularly like this one's styling. Nissan and Toyota's trucks/ suv's are pretty good. except for that one tundra tailgate that snapped off. other than that, those are some swell trucks.
happy_penguin 8:12PM (11/10/2008)
You must have forgotten those little engine, suspension and brake problems:
http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/toyota/toyota_tundra.htm
Torrent 8:14PM (11/10/2008)
.......
TJ 12:06PM (11/10/2008)
Could be interesting, depending on the specs....
I would love to see something like this based on the new Ram chassis with coils all around, and a small displacement TD engine.
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Stone 12:25PM (11/10/2008)
Looks good.
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Dasupersprint 12:26PM (11/10/2008)
C'mon, don't say it's ugly. Seems like a honest work vehicle, and by looking at it, I don't see nothing wrong with it.
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Luis Salvatierra 12:28PM (11/10/2008)
The first thing I tought was: is this an element?
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TJ 12:34PM (11/10/2008)
+1
RPM 12:32PM (11/10/2008)
I think I'd prefer this over a Sprinter, just my own taste. But I'm not sure what up with that front end. Is that design or just bad panel gaps? Theres about 2 feet between the headlights and the grille.
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fixitfixitstop 12:37PM (11/10/2008)
The Sprinter is great, but it's not one-size-fits-all. It's often TOO big for small delivery work. I see a lot of xBs and PT Cruisers used for that role around here.
Joel 1:22PM (11/10/2008)
Maybe it's just me but I have always thought that commercial vehicles are huge rolling billboards on american roads for the car companies. Drive any day in any big or medium size city and all you see are huge car company logos in your rear view mirror. Mind you these aren't the most pretty vehicles on the road but you can only see the GMC and Ford logo so many times a day before it becomes ingrained in your mind.
I worry about the capital markets for this type of vehicle right now but it's a smart move by Nissan.
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majortom1981 1:34PM (11/10/2008)
Looks like a screwed up toyota fj cruiser to me
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tr3ck 2:28PM (11/10/2008)
I'm in the group of those who think that the design of a commercial utility vehicle should alway look as much intemporal and blank as possible because we see them everywhere. I mean, this van look maybe good or distinctive right now, but think in 5 or 10 years, if in the case Nissan have a great success with it as a vehicle fleet and we see tons of them everyday, like are Sprinter, Econoline and Savana. We will start to avoid to look at this grille, it will become like a visual pollution.
I don't think this design is intemporal, it should get age very fast. Thing that pretend to be for commercial and utility use with design like this, should stay as concept, not become in production. We don't design a commercial van as we design a Maxima but the North America Nissan design team does not seem to get it.
Message to Nissan: stop spending money to make distinve model just for north america like this and just bring the Kubistar, Primastar and Interstar from Europe instead.
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