Gold IDEA Design Award for Nissan SUT Concept Vehicle; Caps Off Successful 1999 Auto Show Season for Nissan

28 May 1999
Gold IDEA Design Award for Nissan SUT Concept Vehicle; Caps Off Successful 1999 Auto Show Season for Nissan
    GARDENA, Calif., May 28 -- The Industrial Designers Society
of America (IDSA) today announced that Nissan Design International, Inc. (NDI)
has won a Gold IDEA in the 1999 Industrial Design Awards for the Nissan Sport
Utility Truck(TM) Concept Vehicle.  The award is co-sponsored by Business Week
and IDSA.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990528/LAF004 )
    "NDI is honored to be presented this most prestigious award from our
peers," said Jerry Hirshberg, president of NDI.  "We knew when the SUT(TM)
first appeared on the sketch pad of Chief Designer Doug Wilson that we had a
winner on our hands."
    The Nissan Sport Utility Truck(TM) Concept Vehicle is a unique fusion of a
SUV with truck.  The key to the new SUT Concept is a flip-up liftgate behind
the rear passenger seat, which creates an interplay between what its designers
call the "clean and dirty zones."
    "The SUT(TM) Concept's intersection of a truck and SUV addresses an
obvious need in the marketplace," said Hirshberg.  "The concept grew from a
real-life experience, when Wilson struggled unsuccessfully to fit a palm tree
into the back of his Nissan Pathfinder.  The SUT solved his problem and
identified a new market need -- SUV owners are reluctant to throw dirty stuff
in the back of their vehicles and many SUVs just don't have the utility of a
real truck."
    With the rear seat folded down and the hatch open, the SUT offers the
utility of a full-length compact pickup bed and will accommodate 4x8-foot
sheets of plywood or other materials.
    The bed also features twin storage compartments (one on each side) located
behind the fenderwells and a special removable partition to compartmentalize
the bed, keeping smaller objects from moving around without having to be tied
down.
    The 1999 Industrial Design Awards Jury awarded 36 Golds, 60 Silvers and 68
Bronzes from a field of more than 1,130 entries.  The winners will be
displayed on a special web site, called the IDEA 99 Gallery, on http://www.idsa.org.

    A Winning Season
    The bright yellow Nissan SUT(TM) Concept Vehicle debuted at the 1999 North
American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.  The Detroit show also
saw the rebirth of the famed Nissan Z-car with the Z Concept, also designed by
NDI.  The Z Concept immediately captured the hearts of the media and public
and was named "Most Fun" in the Detroit show by AutoWeek magazine.  The Z
Concept will form the basis of a new production Z-car, coming to the U.S.
market by 2002.
    Another Nissan concept vehicle, the New Concept Sedan (NCS), wowed viewers
when it appeared at the 1999 Chicago Auto Show.  This daring vehicle combines
the style of a sports sedan with the interior versatility and accommodations
of a minivan or SUV.  The NCS was featured on the April 1 "Live! With Regis
and Kathie Lee" national television show.
    In addition to critically acclaimed concept vehicles, Nissan North
America, Inc. debuted many new production vehicles this year, including the
1999.5 Nissan Pathfinder, 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, 2000 Nissan Maxima
and 2000 Infiniti I30.

    About Nissan Design International
    NDI was established in La Jolla, California, near San Diego, in 1979.
Jerry Hirshberg joined NDI from General Motors' design department as founding
Director of Design in 1980 and later added the title of President.  Hirshberg
currently serves as on-camera spokesperson in Nissan's new "Driven" broadcast
advertising campaign.
    Chief Designer Doug Wilson has created such designs as the Nissan Pulsar
NX, Infiniti J30, and the 2000 Nissan Maxima.
    Besides the 2000 Maxima, NDI has designed production vehicles such as the
Nissan Truck, the first Nissan Pathfinder, Pulsar NX, Quest, Altima, the
Infiniti J30, the 2000 Xterra and the next generations of Pathfinder and
Sentra and many concept vehicles including the award-winning Gobi pickup.
    In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
manufacturing, sales and consumer and corporate financing.  Nissan in North
America employs more than 20,000 people in the United States, Canada and
Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs through more than 1,500 Nissan and
Infiniti dealerships across the continent.  More information on Nissan in
North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be
found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.