Friend-ME (Japan, 2013)

Nissan introduced the Friend-ME concept at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show, aimed at the future car-buying Chinese youth. The car may look like a coupe, but it is actually a four-door sedan.

The Friend-ME was inspired as a car to be driven at night and looks best in bright city lights. The headlights of the Friend-ME are vaguely inspired by contemporary Nissans like the 370Z but everything else is all new. The front has a V-shaped grill with the lines of the V leading directly to creases in the hood that lead to the edges of the hood. The side shows a car with a short hood and long, low roofline. The rear has a short fastback with steeply raking glass and V-shaped taillights that echo the shapes of the headlights and grill.

Inside, the center console extends from the dashboard to the rear seats, but the rear passengers get their own displays for the car’s speed, navigation and fuel economy. Each passenger is also equal when it comes to the inf...