Rumor: Nissan Land Glider Coming Stateside As Infiniti

A while back I covered the unconventional Nissan Glider, a 1 + 1 EV that leans into turns like a motorcycle that would be making its debut at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. There's always lots of crazy stuff at car shows, and the craziest always seems to pop up at Tokyo, so the Nissan Land Glider wasn't that much of a surprise. What is surprising is the rumors that Nissan will actually produce the car and bring it to America badged as an Infiniti.

At just 47 inches wide, the Land Glider could be seen as helping with congestion, and as a pure EV, it helps with pollution. As odd of a car as it is, from the get go, Nissan said the Land Glider was a candidate for production. That might even make a certain amount of sense, because you cold see a car this odd being adopted in markets like Japan or Singapore.

But the strangest rumor is that Nissan is considering manufacturing the car for worldwide use and badging it as an Infiniti and also bringing it to America. If the Land Glider is brought to the U.S. it most likely will be turned into a single-seater, since the concept's single rear passenger seat is said to be too vulnerable to make it through safety testing.

Other than concerns like that, I think that this rumor will turn out to be false. For one thing, Infiniti is Nissan's upmarket brand here in America. The Land Glider doesn't say "upmarket" in any way shape or form. I don't care how much leather and high gloss fit and finish you put into a car like this, I just can't see a stockbroker, or a stockbroker's wife for that matter, getting out of one.

Sure, I could see it hitting the SoCal ultra-green ultra rich crowd – but that's more a niche than a crowd. There are only so many Ed Begley Jr. wanna-bes out there that would consider a car like this as an Infiniti. Even as a Nissan the car would be a tough sell, but that would be the market to hit. If Nissan were to market it as cheap, friendly, quirky two-seater, then they might sell.

But going up-market? I don't see that working at all.

Source: AutoBlogGreen