Something new from Nissaan

[ThomD]

From Autoblog:

Historically, America's commercial vehicle marketplace has been dominated by domestic automakers. Besides a small percentage of Sprinter sales from Dodge while under Daimler ownership, the fullsize van market has really only been occupied by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Nissan is ready to change all that, and its opening salvo in the commercial vehicle marketplace is its NV series of vans.

Nissan's NV series – "NV" rather unimaginatively stands for Nissan Van, for what it's worth – relies on three different designations, NV1500, 2500 HD and 3500 HD, and two different roof heights (the High Roof is only available on the NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD models) to provide a platform for every conceivable need. Opting for the tall version will provide enough room for most people to stand up inside with no need to duck.

Interestingly, Nissan's research indicates that commercial van owners are the least satisfied of any vehicle segment, and as such, the automaker says that the NV design is that of an armored car a 'clean-sheet' approach resulting from one of the most researched projects Nissan has ever undertaken. That research has yielded a vehicle that utilizes a fully boxed steel ladder frame and rear-wheel drive with either a 4.0-liter V6 or an optional 5.6-liter V8. Both engines are mated to a standard five-speed automatic transmission.

No matter which engine or roof style is chosen, the NV will come with a user-definable interior layout that can accept standard-size drywall or plywood or any number of aftermarket cargo solutions. Up front, there are a number of storage pockets and compartments to hold whatever is needed, while High Roof models offer an overhead console for additional storage options.

Pricing is not yet available, but Nissan promises the NV series will hit authorized commercial U.S. dealerships before the end of the year. Want to know more? Be sure to check out our gallery of high-res images below and click past the break for the official press release.

More photos at the link http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/2011-nissan-nv/

 

[T.Low]

Nice to see some change to that segment. Its a more usuable size for me than the new Ford Transit, which is too small.

I like the flat folding passenger seat as I always have my lap top belted into the passenger seat for work. I would actually prefer to lose the dash from the heater controls up and replace it with a flat surface to mount my lap top, right next to the speedo gauge cluster.

I would like to have a center console that is big enough for hanging files.

Make my driver's seat swivel to access my printer right behind the passenger seat.

When someone designs a good mobile office and work space in a van type hauling configuration with 4wd option, they win.

 

[Herbie]

Nice to see some change to that segment. Its a more usuable size for me than the new Ford Transit, which is too small.

I assume you mean the "Transit Connect", which is, yes, WAAAY to small for anything other than a "panel delivery" type vehicle. If a Chevy HHR panel is too short for you, then the TC will fix you up, but otherwise its less useful than a good station wagon in a lot of ways. If they'd brought that diesel engine over, then maybe...

The real Ford Transit is full-size-ish, but like most good things, we don't get it here!

I agree, Tom, as soon as somebody starts building in "mobile office" type features, its going to be a huge step forward for a lot of customers. Make 4x4 a real checkbox-option on the order sheet and the game is over.