Maybe you thought we were nuts when we told you not once, not twice, but thrice, that Nissan was going to build a two-door convertible version of its Murano crossover. But it's true. It's for real. And the 2012 Nissan Murano Convertible will debut at the 2010 LA Auto Show in November... with or without without the basket handle on this rendering.
It will go on sale in the early spring of 2011, just in time for you take advantage of the first annual crossover convertible driving season.
For sure, turning a midsize crossover SUV into a convertible is a strange move by Nissan, especially in lean economic times. Even if the design ends up being utterly gorgeous, the drop-top Murano will be a niche seller at best. Should we give Nissan credit for taking a risk and creating something new and interesting, or declare the Murano convertible DOA?
rustyshacklfrd says:
04:11 AM, 07/30/10
Michael Scott's new corporate lease for his last season?
tekknikal says:
04:51 AM, 07/30/10
i thought this was a joke among nissan employees at the smyrna plant, when they featured it in an employee video a couple years back.
dougtheeng says:
06:03 AM, 07/30/10
yikes. this isn't getting better every time i see it. quite the opposite.
billt9 says:
06:20 AM, 07/30/10
Well there's no actual photo of this car yet.
The illustration on this post is an abomination.
If Nissan does it better than the photochopper, there's still a chance this can be a decent vehicle.
ergsum says:
06:46 AM, 07/30/10
Well something has to replace the PT Cruiser ragtop in the rental fleets in Florida.
mrryte says:
06:50 AM, 07/30/10
"Should we give Nissan credit for taking a risk and creating something new and interesting, or declare the Murano convertible DOA?"
Both. New and interesting doesn't always translate into sales....
questionlp says:
07:36 AM, 07/30/10
Nissan needs to hit the huge reset button on most of their designs, between the Armada replacement (overseas and the Infiniti version here), the Juke and the Cube, they have just hit the proverbial wall when it comes to design.
Sadly, the only decent looking Nissan/Infiniti out right now is the 370Z (the G37 coupe comes close, except for the fat slab that is the rear end).
firstwagon says:
08:17 AM, 07/30/10
I'm impressioned. I didn't think anything could make the PT convertible look like a smooth well thought out design.
However Nissan has done it. Compared to this thing, the PT looks great.
roadburner says:
08:23 AM, 07/30/10
This is a textbook example of the answer to a question that NOBODY asked...
ed124c says:
08:42 AM, 07/30/10
I can't remember a convertible with the "hoop" being successful. I know Olds made a Cutlass with one, and I think there was a VW Rabbit with one.
Without the hoop. and with significantly better styling........ I still think DOA.
I agree with roadburner and would add that, not only is it something nobody asked for, it is also not something anyone would want to buy.
I also agree with above comments about Nissan's designs in general. My advice to Nissan is to steal away the Hyundai designer-- or at least, for heaven's sake, copy Hyundai's designs.
greenpony says:
10:01 AM, 07/30/10
@ed124c: A Japanese automaker copying a Korean automakers designs... Why does that sound backwards?
Anyway, I say build it. And in the words of everyone's "favorite" talk radio host, let the market decide.
felonious says:
10:24 AM, 07/30/10
Looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.
lmbvette says:
10:30 AM, 07/30/10
LOL @ Airplane reference.
ed124c says:
10:53 AM, 07/30/10
@ greenpony: Well, at least I said "at least" copy Hyundai's designs-- that leaves Nissan the option of adopting all styles that are "at best" better than Hyundai's.
ms3hothatch says:
11:13 AM, 07/30/10
I don't think that you will get a positive response for the Murano C from enthusiasts reading insideline.com. This car will likely be bought by women who don't read insideline.com. I can see a convertible crossover a a nich player. I wonder how many women would lie a practical convertible and even some guys. That's probably the target audience for this vehicle. It is definitely not most insideline junkies like myself.
ms3hothatch says:
11:16 AM, 07/30/10
I meant "niche player" and "women would like a practical..."
bds231 says:
11:44 AM, 07/30/10
+1 rustyshacklfrd !!!
I'm not so sure about the super-negative responses, think about all the big family convertibles they had back in the day before aircon. There aren't too many these days... the Solara is probably the closest but it's still not something you would buy with a family.
If they make a droptop that you can put 4 people in regularly, you'll see one on every street corner here in LA.
drewsrx says:
12:07 PM, 07/30/10
Yup, the commenter's here sound pretty clueless about who will buy these things. This is basically the Japanese (street only) version of the Jeep Wrangler. Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, you will see these popping up. If it can seat 4 people comfortably and do some light off-roading, it will be successful.
Bold move by Nissan, I have to give them credit for that...
audisport says:
12:14 PM, 07/30/10
This thing is going to be UGGGGLLLYYY... I predict that Nissan will sell less than 4,000 total in the US during its first sales year.
santiagofdz says:
12:41 PM, 07/30/10
WTF is up with nissan? Vitamin C? This fugly thing??? C'mon!
designsells says:
12:46 PM, 07/30/10
GOD, this just proves my theory that the big Japanese car companies are moving into the next phase of imitating the big American car companies. It started with boring design for every model from Toyota, Nissan and Honda (... lets be careful not to do anything too stylish and give the customer a reason not to buy), then Toyota's quality crash, now products no one wants -- remember Chevy's $5,000 optional power sliding roof for their SUV, and what was their 2-seat sport truck called from a few years ago? Lets not forget the Pontiac Aztec! Kia and Hyundai are doing to the Japanese brands what the Japanese brands did to the US brands 20-30 years ago.
davicho says:
02:05 PM, 07/30/10
GREAT!
Out with the old = PT Cruiser
In with the new = Murano Convertible
Gee Nissan WTF you thinking??? This thing looks like an overgrown PT Looser. So you turned to Dodge to help you build a better Titan (even though I think you turned to wrong truck maker) and that did not fall through...instead you extract the blueprints that were in the dumpster of Chrysler's design studio and you make this horrible looking POS. Following the PT Caca steps is not moving forward...
lexusaddict says:
11:49 AM, 07/31/10
@mrryte
"Both. New and interesting doesn't always translate into sales...."
Exactly.Case in point: the X6. The 5 series GranTurismo. The PT Cruiser. The Chevy SSR. I have a feeling this won't work too well. Most likely, it will be around the pricing of a 370Z convertible. Who's gonna pass that up for an SUV with two doors?
ford_flexer says:
10:05 AM, 08/ 1/10
This is death of nissan moment of silence nahh-nahh,nahh-nahh hey,hey,hey goodbye and good riddens
lt1boy says:
12:34 PM, 08/ 1/10
It looks like a shoe.
1sportpackage says:
03:32 PM, 08/ 9/10
My sons and brothers-in-law are all 6'4" or 6'5" and get to ride in the back. This is the only convertible I can afford (nix Bentley, Rollers) that will do the job. My other cars (Bimmers 3 and 5) can fill in the driving excitement part. Don't care for the hoop though...