The Nissan Gobi was a

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by ...

pickup truck designed at Nissan Design International by Bruce Campbell under the leadership of Jerry Hirshberg. It was introduced at the 1990 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Design

Bruce Campbell and Diane Allen are separately credited with designing the Gobi concept. The cab of the Gobi concept was influenced by helicopter design, and was laid out asymmetrically with driver-oriented controls. The concept was a styling exercise that was built on a shortened

Nissan Hardbody The Datsun Truck is a compact pickup truck made by Nissan in Japan from 1955 through 1997. It was originally sold under the Datsun brand, but this was switched to Nissan in 1983. It was replaced in 1997 by the Frontier and Navara. In Japan, it ...

pickup truck platform and could reach showrooms in 18 months, if approved. Hirshberg called it "an economical entry-level vehicle with the excitement of a sports car" although a Nissan spokesman noted it was engendering an enthusiastic reception among "women and young professional people ..not as much by entry-level buyers." Storage bins on the Gobi concept were whimsically labeled for "stuff and things" and "odds and ends". The glovebox is removable and can be worn as a backpack when detached, and the sides of the bed fold down to facilitate movement of cargo. The last showing of the car was in April 1990 at the

New York Auto Show The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first S ...

. Plans to produce the Gobi were shelved in August 1990 as "production costs would exceed what the consumers would pay." the Gobi concept was stored in the basement of the

Lane Motor Museum Lane Motor Museum is located in Nashville, Tennessee and features a collection of mostly European automobiles. The museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, founded by Jeff and Susan Lane, his father having founded the family's automotive ex ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, near Nissan North America headquarters.

References

External links

* . Gobi is shown starting at 3:14. * * * * {{Nissan

Gobi The Gobi Desert ( Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast ...