06 Sep 07
Nissan is looking to the future for its big launch at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Mixim concept car is Nissan's attempt at wooing the young drivers of the future, the digital generation for whom the car is 'an oily, noisy throwback to the last century'. After all, Nissan reckons, who would drive across town to see mates when you can text, instant message or communicate via a social networking site? Gloomy stuff if you're a car company.
But Nissan is optimistic that cars in the mould of the Mixim - which it thinks will be the kind of car on the market in 2020 - will 'refresh the opinions' of the young people who will be the next generation of drivers.
The product of Nissan's Exploratory and Advance Planning Department in Tokyo, the Mixim is based around the twin beliefs that young people's lives are ruled by the computer and that, for them, the car is an anachronism that damages the environment.
To counter these beliefs, Nissan has built a car with controls inspired by video games, computers and F1 cars, and which produces no harmful emissions, thanks to its electric powertrain.
It has also designed a car with futuristic looks that has been designed by a team with the average age of 25 to appeal to even younger people.
