Nissan Takes on Homer Simpson Car Design

I was a fan of The Simpsons until the horror days of the "new writers" set in. I could not tell you exactly where it all began - but I can safely state I first took true notice of the decline of this once great television empire when Grandpa Simpson's kidneys exploded and a potentially humorous series of scenarios met a single climactic-Homer moment when a car hauler stopped in time to avoid hitting Homer, and in a twist of irony, the top car fell on him. The situations themselves had potential, but they all failed in the same way the second half of The Simpsons Movie did. I will always look upon the old days, the Golden Years, the Glory Days with fondness - and therefore the Nissan Pivo 2 holds a certain kind of sentimental place in my heart.

No true Simpsons fan can forget when Homer's estranged brother, Herbert Powell, gave him the opportunity to design a new car from the "Working man's" perspective to save his career from corporate mismanagement. Following a series of scenes where a die hard Homer intently drew, designed, brain stormed, and redrew ideas for his new super car, Herbert waited and prodded patiently.

At the unveiling of the monstrosity - an $82,000 a car beast with bubble domes and tail fins - Herbert throws himself onto the ground declaring that he is ruined. Homer described his car - named for himself - as "strong and powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a nerf bat." It should come as no surprise that these words were the first to pop into my head when I saw the unveiling of the new Nissan Pivo 2, promising that a rear gear is unnecessary and offers a slew of remarkably unnecessary tools that drive up the cost of the car.

And to top it all off, it's even got the bubble domes.

Nissan promises that this "future" car will help revolutionize driving, so that even those who are not necessarily adequate drivers can feel safe.

"With this easy-to-handle car, you can feel comfortable while driving," Masahiko Tabe, senior manager of the advanced vehicle development group at Nissan Motors, said. "You can go everywhere without worrying about your driving skills."

It sports a "facial feature recognition system" that changes the tone of the conversation software in the car to match your stress levels. It can further detect your level of sleepiness and goad you with promises of cafe shops at up to 500 meters. Amusingly, following Homer's part time job he took on at the Kwik-E-Mart to help pay for Lisa's horse, it would not be surprising if this came in handy to save him from picking up a wooden fence as a hitchhiker to his car.

As the car goes on to be showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show, there's a sincere hope that they do not deny or play off of TheSimpsons feel that comes with this car. It would be worth it to hire Dan Castellaneta to make an appearance advertising this car along Danny DeVito as Herbert Powell.

But the most important question about this "futuristic" car is does it have an extremely large beverage holder, shag carpeting, and several horns that play "La Cucaracha"?

Sources:

Story Broken by the Associated Press - http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/japan_nissan_car_tech1_dc
Edmunds.com - http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=122927