Hi,
I hope that all you folks get to look at the video (
now included in the ABG post) -- I think this is the best way to judge aesthetics in images (second to seeing it in person). Nissan was designing the Leaf with a definite aim:
Quote:
A Question of Style
Interestingly, unlike the current alt-fuel darlings from Toyota and Honda, Nissan has purposefully eschewed a fastback shape for a more formal five-door appearance. Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's senior vice president and chief creative officer (read: styling director) admits he wanted the car to be unique, but not so bizarre as to be off-putting to most car buyers:
"From the beginning, we did not want to make the car very strange, because one of the perceptions of the EV [is that] people think that EVs are toys, or cheap... that you cannot drive high-speed, that EV means 'not real car.' But the car we have is a real car – you can drive it at 140 kilometers, you can sit four or five passengers comfortably.
By that measure, the more upright yet unique Leaf is a success – it is a slippery shape with real passenger space, yet it doesn't resort to visually polarizing aerodynamic tricks like faired-in wheel housings and to maximize aero. Instead, it has a smooth face (secreting two charging ports hiding beneath the Nissan logo), strangely prominent blue-tinted headlamps that manage airflow as much as they do nighttime vision, and a roofline whose rearmost pillar reminds us of another Nissan – the Murano. The Leaf has an almost Gallic rump that recalls that of the Versa, a design that in turn reminds us of offerings from Nissan's European partner, Renault.
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They did not want it to look like a Prius/Insight, and though it has the same basic shape of those cars, it obviously looks more "normal" than they do. As I said earlier, I would prefer a lower sill line -- which would improve rearward visibility. And I hope that it can be had with steel wheels, so one can use smooth wheel covers.
I want it to work well; and as long as it avoids any "stupid" styling that hurt how it works, then I'll be happy. Form should follow function, like the Aptera. Styling should be limited to the "graphic" adjustments of the aerodynamic shape. Again, the best example of this is comparing the earlier Aptera MK-0 and Typ-1 to the current model. They changed the height, and they changed the "graphics" of things like the shape of the windows and the headlights, and while the overall shape is the same slippery form, the newer models look much better.