First impressions are quite something…
“What the fuck are those?”
“What are these supposed to be? New Dodge of some sort?”
“No fucking way.”
“Sweet mother of fuck.”
“Burn it.”
“I don’t hate it. It has potential, but needs work.”
Raw, unfiltered, emotionally driven and even sometimes surprisingly rational: these were some of the first impressions from select DODOlogic contributors, but the internet was filled with many similar comments after seeing the first images of the IDx. When it comes to an affordable rwd sports compact from Nissan, it’s safe to say many have a very specific car in mind; a car our minds have been constructing for the better part of a decade. So, such foul initial comments are to be expected.
My first reaction to the IDx wasn’t exactly positive either. “Guess it’s never to late to quit cars. Thanks Nissan…” were my exact words.
Well, that moment is gone and after some time to let in sink in and a chance to view more pictures, these cars have started to grow on me. I prefer the NISMO’s more aggressive styling and higher output engine, but it’s going to need a true manual transmission. I can see elements of past Silvia’s and Datsun’s taking design cues from older generations than I was expecting. It looks short and stocky and doesn’t have the same sleekness I really like about the FR-S. This is not my vision of an S16, which is fine because this is not an s-chassis car; I just really wish it was. The IDx is something else entirely and although it’s just a concept for now, I’m curious to see if what winds up at the dealership would be something I’d own.
RyanB: “Initially I hated it, because it isn’t what I wanted. I saw red and went crazy. I don’t hate it as much anymore because I believe it will get better. But I still don’t like it…. The big thing is coming to grips with the fact that as a consumer this car isn’t aimed at me in the slightest. As of today I would take the midlife crisis Toyota… but Nissan can still change my mind.”
Megan: “I agree with Ryan, first impressions are wtf, not appealing at all.”
Dylan: “My overall thoughts on the car are that it’s good. While it may not be what we want, it’s a step in the right direction. It is a smaller, RWD platform that will in some trims feature a turbocharged engine. It is a concept so we have to look past the looks at look at what ideas it represents. I’ve had a few conversations recently about what’s going to happen when all the S-chassis in the world are crumpled and useless. We need new cars like this. We need new platforms to build upon. The BRZ/FRS is a great start and I really hope other companies start following suit. This concept by Nissan is an example of that. With the huge success of the FR-S, Nissan has realized there IS a market for whatever the hell you want to call these cars. Those are my thoughts on the ideas that these concepts represent. My ideas on the actual look is that the lights are cool, bumpers could use a look over, and I like the body lines, which is most likely the only thing that’ll stay if/when the production model is released.”
Devan “After seeing the first photos of the IDx concept I’d have to say I was upset, no, actually I was pissed off. It had appeared to me as though Nissan was attempting to create their own “cool car wave” much like Scion and Subaru have done, but I wasn’t having any of it, for the time being.
Flash forward to two days later and I’m definitely eating my own words, because to be honest, what in the hell do I really know or understand about car designs? What do I really know about Nissan’s marketing strategy behind this concept? – Nothing at all.
When it boils down to what I as a car enthusiast want to see from Nissan, specifically, it really doesn’t matter, because I myself don’t even know what I want or what that would look like. I get so tired of people saying “why didn’t they make a new s-chassis!?” Well because when all these board members, marketing strategists, investors, engineers and CEOs get together they’re not thinking about the twenty-five year old film student who enjoys drifting and does media for an autoblog, they’re thinking about a global market and a product that can carry on into the future for a long time. They’re also looking at people who are young and old, who are into cars and who are into driving innovative designs. But also, just people who want to own something new and “hip” (If I dare use that word).”
Devan continued… “You know what I enjoy about this car? It’s new, it’s fresh and it’s a start of a beautiful friendship (mind the Casablanca quote). I am really focused on the fact that this is a new step that has the car community buzzing with excitement and I really hope it pays off for Nissan. Because whether we like it or not, we’ll see it at SEMA, we’ll see it at the TAS and we might even see it in our own drive ways. I won’t dive into the design because I’ll sound like a goof trying to come off like I know what it takes to design a car.
Lets give this car a chance, lets adapt and enjoy what’s to come…either way we don’t have a choice.”
Please take time and really look at all the pictures I’ve provided to get a sense of this car and join us in the continuing debate/discussion. Share your opinion and the reasons why you feel the way you do. But try not to settle for your initial impression, which may be a lot like ours; give it time and be open-minded. After all, this car isn’t in production yet so it can still change. Nissan says they are open to discussion, so make your voice heard.
All images from nissannews.com
Looking at it, I see a LOT of cues from previous Nissans that were complete badasses from the seventies. Anybody else notice that this new IDX bears a lot of resemblence to the legendary Skyline 2000GT?
I’ll give Nissan its dues when it comes to bringing out retro styling, but from a marketing perspective, they’re late to the game. Ford did it first with the mustang, and now everybody is trying to catch up. What I like about it is that it’s a very agressive looking (and hopefully can pass for) baby godzilla. Only thing I would really hope for out of the new design is a good old manual gear box and make it a 2+2 coupe when they do make it street-legal.
I find this concept polarizing to say the least. First few minutes perusing the photos and it comes across as blah. But then you don’t hate it as much. Either way, it’s anything but pretty. Any time I see a new car these days that has an instant familiarity to it, it is tough for me to take to it. This car being reminiscent of an old Datsun is a massive understatement – especially the side mirrors being on the hood (which will not make production). I can’t help but get the impression that if/when this car debuts, it will be more in spirit to a Sentra than the 370z. It’s just awkward and not at all forward thinking, trying to cash in on its former glory with retro styling which is all but done to death. In my opinion, the designers are trying too hard to make the IDx cool. And when you try to be cool, often times you get the opposite effect. The only way I see this car becoming a classic, instead of sales success, is if it has a great engine and chassis but no one buys it.
In my honest opinion, I think when a car has a predecessor, it should share very many similar characteristics as the previous generation car, in order for it to be considered a “member of the family.” The 350Z, and 370Z were great examples, and the 370 borrowed a lot fro mthe 350’s design, lines, and characteristics. The S13, S14, S14A, and S15, all shared characteristics that slowly changed, but not too radically over the course of 14 years. And each and every one of them looked fantastic. Now, all the automotive manufacturers out there are concerned with making big, fat, inflated, bulky looking cars, with huge fenders, lame looking lights, lousy cheap looking interiors, and they always try to take it over the top with designing vehicles. In 1999, Nissan KILLED the overall look of the car with the S15. The super aggressive, yet subtle looking front headlights, the sleek and smooth roofline, the perfect wheelbase, and a turbo 2L that had the most fun power to weight ratio. The interior looked good, and it was not overdone in the slightest. It still looked like you were in a cool car, rather than some guy’s vision of a futuristic car. I think that’s the real problem with all new modern cars of today. Everyone is too focused on making everything look futuristic, with tasteless cosmetic designs, with mind blowingly bright LED tail lights, and super smooth, and very sudden contours and jagged edges in the lines of the bodies. It throws off the entire look of the car. Hear me out on an example here; anybody can build a hot rod, but the goal is, to nail the overall look of the car. There’s a tasteful way to do everything, but if you overdo it just to make your car different from over other car that comes off the lot, then your design has no purpose at all in my mind. And it will have no distinguishable characteristics that will make it unique, like you see every other car on the road today, with the LED lighting, the cheap plastic snap together interiors with the gauges set up in a strange way. Nailing that timeless design too, is a very crucial thing to making an iconic car. Look at the Ferrari F40. The design objective was to make a street car with 100% track use in mind, to give the most exhilarating feeling to the driver, as he’s on his way to get a cup of coffee. Japanese cars, like the R34, the Supra, and the RX7 FD, all are very timeless designs, and they are iconic cars for the way they were designed, not to be incredibly mind blowing and have all these stupid little things integrated into them. There was so much more car than electronics in each of those platforms, and that’s why so many people have come to love them. These new designs that come out every year have nothing to compete with, and they only look different for the sake of being different. Not for being cool, or for an enthusiast to drive erratically. The FRS has had so much success, because it’s design WAS different, and VERY stylish. The lower body lines, the longer nose, the interior was not overdone, and there is tons of aftermarket support for these cars, simply because it was an appealing, affordable, easy to work with car. The previous S-chassis cars, were all very simple to work on, appealed to the masses, and they weren’t insanely expensive to drive, maintain, and personalize. This new concept from Nissan, is bulky, has a very narrow wheelbase, and looks like just another cheap plastic car, that borrowed absolutely ZERO characteristics from the S15. Imagine bringing the S15 back, just call it the 2014 S15 Silvia. It would sell to so many people, because it was an appealing, sporty, and affordable car. I don’t care how affordable or “sporty” this concept car is, my brain does not tingle when I look at it, and think subconsciously, “That’s a sweet looking car.” It looks like a bloody Hotwheel. I really hope Nissan gets their shit together, but considering they designed the atrocity that is the Juke, I highly doubt they’ll get anywhere, or improve their designs much more than the concept. I hope that they will prove me wrong, and bring back the sleek, slimmer, aggressive and sporty design back, and prove me wrong. If I was any good at drawing up concept designs, I would send in ideas to Nissan’s head designer, and say, “This is what we like. This is how a car looks. Your concepts look like lunch boxes with built in LED lights. Stop it.”