Nissan Juke – Driven To Write

And Now We Rise, and We Are Everywhere – (Part One)

Evolution of the Nissan Qashqai

What do we think of when we think of the Nissan Qashqai? The promising 2004 concept which introduced not only the name, but also the talents of Nissan’s London design studio? The worthy but visually underwhelming crossover which made its debut in Paris two and a half years later? The sales phenomenon which led to Nissan’s Sunderland factory producing more vehicles per annum than Italy’s entire automotive industry?

For this writer, the conclusion of the fieldwork element of a four week crash-course in Qashqai Studies is that it is Europe’s incognito car champion. Once I had set the radar on the self-effacing crossover, I suddenly found them everywhere, in all generations (they seem to last well) and trim levels. Before this, I would have more readily paid attention to items of street furniture.

With cars, as with people, solid virtues are a better path to enduring success than egregious self-promotion. I’ve previously commented that part of the success of a mid-size SUV is that almost everyone can Continue reading “And Now We Rise, and We Are Everywhere – (Part One)”

Original Sin

Ten years on, are we ready to forgive yet?

In most creative spheres, there are only so many ideas to go around. Easier then to blend and repackage the pre-existing, a familiar gambit amid the mainstream arts, and especially so in film. We’re all familiar with the putative movie pitch: “It’s Love Actually meets Inception, but, the twist is, everyone’s really a werewolf“, and so forth. After all, why go to the trouble of being original, when its easier to reimagine someone else’s idea.

To many observers the Nissan Juke came across in a similarly contrived manner when it debuted in 2010. A confection of wholly contrary styling features more or less co-existing in an uneasy truce, it was not what anyone would Continue reading “Original Sin”

Staring At Screens

The curious unimportance of visibility in modern car design.

2021 Cadillac Escalade. Image: GM Authority

An oft-noted, yet insufficiently regretted, development in car design in the past 20-odd years has been the ever-rising waistline of the average automobile; a development that, combined with increasingly thick window pillars, has had a seriously negative impact on visibility out of the car (not to mention the effect on interior ambiance).

Looking around at the flanks of cars nowadays, one might be tempted to Continue reading “Staring At Screens”

Jukebox Jury

There’s a new Juke in town.

I’m not going to mince words here. I didn’t much care for the outgoing Nissan Juke. I say outgoing only insofar as I was vaguely aware that a replacement was imminent, but its introduction some time last Autumn rather passed me by. I find this realisation somewhat disquieting, given the amount of time I expend or otherwise squander appraising myself of the ifs, buts and maybes associated with the European automotive industry.

But anyway, it seems the Juke has been replaced – a realisation that gradually dawned earlier this week while innocently attempting to Continue reading “Jukebox Jury”

Toxic Emissions

Does it really matter what car designers say? Should it?

Car designers nowadays are expected not only to be adept at the creative aspects of their calling, but must also learn to articulate it in a manner which in theory at least, helps us, the end user, to engage with and better understand their vision. To be frank, given how some designers appear to struggle with the first component, it is not entirely a surprise to discover that so few of them are anything but inept when it comes to the latter.

It has long been known and indeed commented upon that car designers, and especially those in a leadership role, speak such unregurgitated twaddle. Given the amount of time they spend making impassioned presentations to senior management who require their hands held throughout the stylistic decision-making process, they appear to have lost their ability to Continue reading “Toxic Emissions”

Getting Down With Da Kidz, Heide Style

Volkswagen’s T-Roc compact recreational SUV is not some belated attempt at jumping on the bandwagon. It’s worse than that.

vw-t-roc-2017-1_1 — Livin’ the urban spirit of Photoshopolis, photo (c) autozeitung.de

Despite decades of commentators claiming the opposite, being a designer at VW never was an easy job. One needs to be within spitting distance to current fashion, but still keep the technocratic aloofness that’s characterised the brand’s best products intact. Which is no mean feat under any circumstances. Continue reading “Getting Down With Da Kidz, Heide Style”

Mountains And Dales, Oh, My Quickening Heart

Industrial designers often personify their target market customers as personas. Meet Antonella again.

As we know, the Ford Fiesta’s archetypal customer is “Antonella”. According to Ford she’s left home now and wants her Fiesta plusher, pricier and something else beginning with p. The question is should Ford Continue reading “Mountains And Dales, Oh, My Quickening Heart”

A Photo For Sunday: Highlights

Lines: edge lines, shutlines, graphic lines and most elusive of all, highlights.

Concentrate on the white band of light running from the wheelarch flare, up to the roof and down the A-pillar onward.

Yes, it’s a Nissan Juke which is a polarising car. It’s highlights tell us that the steel pressings are good and the tolerances tight. How? The highlights flow with little interruption across the gaps. I looked at this for several minutes and decided to Continue reading “A Photo For Sunday: Highlights”

Design and Assembly

Recently we returned to the theme of A-pillars.

I went hunting for the ones where the door panel and A-pillar share a surface. It means a shutline runs down the “visual” A-pillar which is itself continuous with the cant rail. It didn’t stop there… I found these three interesting ways to divide the bodyside. Above: note the door’s top edge cuts into the visual A-pillar. The actual A-pillar is partially exposed and part covered. Neatly, there is no need for a pressing to Continue reading “Design and Assembly”

In Need Of A Name

Driven to Write attempts to foster an addition to the motorist’s lexicon.

Someone reading this somewhere might have been given a Christmas present of a book that gives names to things that don’t have names. Like the dust that collects inside PCs which is, maybe, microfluff. I don’t know if such a book exists, but books such as that, given as gifts, often end up in toilets. There is probably even a name for those sorts of books; maybe lavastories. Or maybe not, because they aren’t fiction. At least, I don’t think so although, in truth, I find myself unable to read them. I long ago shook off the worst of my childhood OCD, but I do find the idea of handling paper that has been handled by other people who are crapping as unacceptable. Continue reading “In Need Of A Name”

White Goods : Nissan Cube, Six Weeks On

I’ve now had my Nissan Cube for a month and a half. Any Regrets?

In the spirit of our strapline, I’m presenting Part Two of The World’s Least Relevant Long Term Test, referring to a car that, although still apparently on sale in Japan, flopped in Europe and is no longer available in the USA. My Nissan Cube is a third series (Z12) example, a 2010 1.6 litre manual, petrol-engined Kaizen model in Pearl White. I bought it in June 2015 at just under 30,000 miles.

Why Did I Buy A Cube? Continue reading “White Goods : Nissan Cube, Six Weeks On”

Second Opinion: 2015 Citroen C4 Cactus 1.6 Diesel

SV Robinson’s review of the Citroen Cactus is deservedly our most nibbled item of clickbait here at DTW. I finally had a chance to sample the delights of Citroen’s stylish (or over-styled) supermini crossover so I hope to grab a slice of the action.

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus. I took too long to set up the photo.

The version I tested had a 1.6 litre diesel engine and a five-speed gearbox. Whether it could muster 91 or 99 hp never became clear to me. The version I tested had the handy reversing camera and the full glass roof plus a centre arm rest for the driver. The interior is very colour sensitive and the grey tones of the test car dampened the sculptural quality of much the interior trim. There really is no reason to Continue reading “Second Opinion: 2015 Citroen C4 Cactus 1.6 Diesel”