Ford, Nissan Design New Models

Crossovers are selling like hot cakes in America. Low-riding SUVs like the Nissan Murano and Ford Edge that combine attributes of off-roaders, MPVs and estates are rapidly gaining market share. Ford has also predicted that the crossovers will cover a big share of more than three million sales a year in America by the end of the decade as more and more automakers are joining in the crossover bandwagon.

Automakers are starting to look for more ways on how they can improve further the design and features of their crossover in order to become more competitive in the market. Currently manufactured cars are designed for younger family buyers but as this population ages their needs also change and in the process they tend to look for something different. Automakers would like to be ready to answer these changing needs,also for trucks.

Ford has already introduced their concept crossover called the Airstream at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show – a vehicle, which they say, will satisfy consumers especially retirees who love to travel.

Aside from Ford’s Airstream another crossover with similar layout was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show designed also for aging baby boomers—the Nissan Bevel. This car is specially designed for 45 to 60 years old men who are “hobbyists” or DIY enthusiasts who always carry lots of things while traveling around.

The Bevel was a “category buster” and designed for people who just don’t want an off-roader or an MPV but for men and also women with hobbies, who love to tinker with things and handymen. The Bevel, just like the Airstream has an asymmetric door layout with a single offside driver’s door and wide-opening double doors on the nearside plus a rear tailgate that flips over to surprisingly turn into a loading shelf.