Ooohh... I want one of these! Anyone having driven and parked in a European city will know exactly why.
(NOT to replace the SVX, but as a city driver)


Nissan’s Pivo could revolutionize parallel parking: drive in, spin around on your own axis and complete manoeuvre. The three-passenger Pivo, which will be shown next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, rotates 180 degrees. There are no mechanical connections between the steering, braking, or accelerator controls.


Pivo puts new spin on parallel parking
Nissan concept car can pivot 180 degrees

GERRY MALLOY
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=969048871196

The days of backing blindly out of a parking spot could be over if the concept incorporated in Nissan's Pivo concept car catches on. The egg-shaped, central compartment of the three-passenger Pivo, which will be shown next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, rotates 180 degrees on its chassis.

That means you can drive forward into a parking place, then rotate the passenger cell and drive forward out of the space.

Specific features enabling that capability include a lithium-ion battery-powered electric-drive system and drive-by-wire technology. There are no mechanical connections between the steering, braking, or accelerator controls and their corresponding chassis systems; just electronic connections.

Similar drive-by-wire controls were also features of General Motors' advanced AUTOnomy and HyWire fuel-cell-powered concept cars, but the rotating passenger compartment is a novel twist.

Other high-tech gizmos in the Pivo include what Nissan calls an Around View Monitor, which reduces blind spots by displaying the surroundings on screens mounted in the car's A-pillars. In addition, an instrument-panel-mounted infrared system allows the driver to operate the navigation and stereo systems with simple finger movements without letting go of the steering wheel.

Prior to the Tokyo show, the Pivo will be on display in Nissan's Ginza Gallery in downtown Tokyo. The display space was designed by a famous Japanese artist named Murakami, and it features a futuristic vegetable garden, huge balloons and illustrations of "Pivo-chan," a character he designed that was inspired by the image of the concept car.