Honey, I melted the Nissan

Nissan

In Paris, Nissan is showing off its new (or should we say, "nouveau"?) Nuvu concept car. The little 3-passenger hatchback seems aimed right at Toyota's iQ and forecasts what a future city car from Nissan could look like.

That styling won't click with everyone out there in readerland, but concepts are supposed to be a little eccentric. We think. Still, it looks as if someone left little Billy or Molly's plastic Pikachu toy next to the stove too long: cute face, slightly melty-looking body.

Those of you whose kids play with Pokemon know that Pikachu has electric powers. So, it happens, does the Nissan Nuvu. It's an EV concept, and since Nissan has been very vocal about its plans to release an electric car in the near future, that's noteworthy. Unfortunately, the automaker is only speaking in generalities about the powertrain. Electric motor? Check. Lithium ion battery? Check. Range? 80 miles or so on a charge. Top speed is reportedly 75 mph or so. The interior is an all-white fantasyland that looks great and will never come remotely close to production.

So, what can we glean from this? Well, that 80-mile number probably the range target Nissan wants to hit whenever the EV it's developing hits the scene. And despite its somewhat kooky looks, toned-down styling elements from the Nuvu will likely be seen on a future production car like the next-gen Micra. So, your take: Hug it or hate it?

Alex Nunez is Associate Editor of Autoblog.com.

Alex Nunez's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.