SPECIAL FEATURE: Nissan 360

Nissan laid its product, aspects of its future planning, and the extent of the challenge ahead of it, bare to the world's auto media at Nissan 360 this month in Portugal.

The second global mass media gathering for the company (the first took place in San Francisco in 2004) Nissan 360 centred on the Portuguese resort town of Cascais (near Lisboa). The ride and drive program kicked off on April 28 and will not close its doors until May 24. By the time it wraps up, and Nissan's event team members go home to their respective offices around the globe, it will have hosted over 650 auto journalists.

N360 is designed to give multiple waves of journalists access to vehicles from all of Nissan's major markets. In total, over 100 vehicles were on hand.

Seven road test loops, custom built 4x4 and commercial vehicle courses and laps of the Estoril race circuit -- where the mighty GT-R was put through its paces -- were supplemented by various 'workshops'. These included safety, technology, electric vehicle development (see separate stories) and a special spotlight on Nissan's premium brand, Infiniti.

And while the range of the carmaker's products was obvious, even more so were the challenges ahead of it -- especially in markets like Australia.

Although Nissan produces over 60 models worldwide, the lion's share are currently focused on specific markets. Minicars and mini light commercials for Japan; a host of B and sub C-segment sedan and wagon variants for Asia; and, at the other end of the spectrum, a range of full-size pick-ups and SUVs for the US market, mean there's a significant proportion of models that will never be available for Nissan Australia's consideration. And while the number of models make for an impressive carpark, the maker's true 'world' cars are thin on the ground.

Worse still, the cars for which Australian and European markets are crying out were nowhere to be seen -- even in concept form. Where, for example, was Nissan's Focus/Mazda3 competitor; its sharp midsizer ready to take on Honda's new Euro; the lightweight sportscar to take the fight up to MX-5 or the sharp sub-premium D/E-segment newcomer to humble the 'wooly' V6-engined Camry variants across the globe?

While, based on N360, Nissan's crossover/SUV stable looks in good shape (think X-TRAIL, Dualis in five and seven-seat versions including turbodiesel, a sharper new Murano and more), the maker's light/small car ranks remain depressingly 'monotone'. Rows of Tiida clones and badged engineered tall-boy and two-box models overdue for replacement don't augur well for the maker in what are massive segments internationally. Contrast Nissan's Livina, Wingroad, Sentra and Altima against the global offer of somebody like Ford with C-Max, S-Max, new Fiesta and Mondeo.

Indeed, based on Nissan 360, if Nissan Australia is looking to these international ranks to add 'colour' and sales to its passenger line up, then in the face of vibrant product renewal from Mazda, Honda, the Korean brands and Ford (whose SE Asian models will deliver a price advantage), it has hard times ahead of it.

So too, it appears, does the new Maxima. Though we will reserve our judgment until we drive an Australian specification car, the international market Teana we drove was, in a word, underwhelming. Average dynamics the chassis engineers should be able to fix (fingers crossed!); what they can't change is the car's styling. With a prominent swage line that plunges to the floor behind the rear wheel, the car looks like it's broken its back.

And this from the same company that drew the 350Z and GT-R: what were they thinking?

Set for release in the USA in the next few months, the more 'premium' US market Maxima is a world away from the Maxima/Teana we will get. Handsome, with a hint of the manga muscle that's present in GT-R, and above all 'modern', Nissan needs to make it a world car and send it Down Under.

There were some gems, however... Some flashes of a braver Nissan.

In addition to the sledgehammer GTR, the small-wagon-sized Cube at least provides an alternative to the 'me too' badge-engineered small hatches and sedans. With the next version engineered for markets outside Japan and expected in 2009, this is the sort of car Nissan Australia needs to consider.

Another gem, is the Micra 160 SR. Priced almost identically in the UK to the 1.4-litre auto five-door that's already attracting a strong following Down Under, the 1.6-litre five-speed manual three-door SR is easily as much fun to drive as MINI's cooking model Cooper and better than Fiat's new 500. Add it to the local line-up Nissan and you'll get our vote.

Nissan sold around 150,000 Infinitis last year; 130,000 of them in the USA. Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn recently announced plans to double total Infiniti volumes by 2013. No surprise then that Nissan's plans to take its Infiniti sub-brand global figured large at N360.

Forget the badge's presence in the USA and emerging markets, the western European rolling launch of the brand over the next two years will be the litmus test.

We're yet to be convinced of the likelihood of success. The engineering and execution of the cars looks good, but how will up-scale Infiniti buyers react when they step into a Nissan half the price and find the same controls for navigation, HVAC and the like? This is something Lexus has studiously avoided.

The company has modest volume targets for Europe -- just 25,000 units by 2013. Interestingly, it therefore removed a layer of bureaucracy -- instead of each country having Infiniti infrastructure, Infiniti of Europe will deal direct with dealer groups. Could this be a way for the brand to penetrate a market like Oz? Unlikely, is the official edict...

The company that delivered the stunning GT-R and generations of Zs has a strong engineering and innovation tradition. There were glimpses of that innovation coming to the fore again at N360: a lane departure system that uses existing antilock braking hardware rather than expensive active steering, the wider use of 'clever' CVT transmissions and an example of the packaging possibilities 'drive by wire' technologies can open up for car designers of the future. Many suburban mums and dads will soon be fans of a system of car-mounted cameras that combine with an image processor to deliver a 'God's eye' view of the car in its low-speed environs. Almost like parking by Google earth!

But perhaps the brightest lights at the end of the tunnel were almost ignored by too many of those who attended N360.

On the walls of the conference's 'home room' were two hints of  things to come -- a fabric-sheathed phantom of wheels and panels, and a bright metalised full-size plan view model of a high-performance car to come. The first showed clearly the theme and dimensions of the new Zed -- what's become known as the 370Z. The second is the car that will usher in a new era for Infiniti as its coupe flagship.

Neither in isolation will underpin Nissan's future prosperity, internationally or Down Under. They do, however, show what the company can do. It needs now to apply the same smarts, engineering essentialism and innovation to its cooking models.

THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING

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