My favorite magazines as a kid were Car and Driver issues from the late 1980s with all of the glossy concept cars. The 1986 Buick Wildcat, 1986 Pontiac Trans Sport and 1988 Pontiac Banshee had the sleekest next-century style. The Wildcat even flashed a flatscreen instrument cluster while the Trans Sport ported a laptop in its dash. They prefigured today’s rides, but none fully match the 2023 Nissan Ariya electric crossover.
Nissan’s bomb EV wears its turntable style with pride. I wish you could have seen my neighbors’ faces and cranked necks as I glided this fantasy into the driveway, lifted the garage door and plugged in.
I find it beautiful. Where a grille would normally be is a black panel adorned with the new Nissan badge, illuminated by 20 LEDs and flanked by angry headlamps. The fluid design embraces the Japanese term iki, which implies cutting-edge nature. I’ll take that to mean it looks to be shaped by water and microchips. It’s especially fetching set over 19-inch slicer alloy wheels.
