Get Rid of The Goofy Looking Headlights

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OPECsux

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 28, 2013
Messages
84
Location
King, NC
Please Nissan, get rid of the ugly headlights on this car. I understand that they are designed to deflect air around the mirrors but come on, they protrude like 6 inches above the hood, it seems like a half ass solution to the noise caused by the mirrors. Other than the headlights the rest of the car looks fine to me. I bet that front end would look great with flush headlights. If you redesign them please make it something that we may retrofit on our cars.
 
Other reasons for protruding headlights:
1. So it doesn't look like Nissan Versa:
http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/versa-hatchback?next=Versa_Gateway.Versa_Hatchback.Versa_Hatchback.vlp.button1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2. Allows the hood to be dropped lower and decrease wind drag.

You might find this thread interesting:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12515" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
As DanCar has implied, the design of the headlights is functional - not just cosmetic. Changing them would likely have detrimental impact on both noise levels and range.
 
I like the headlights. I think they look awesome. I think it is a style that will be more popular in the future on all cars.
 
I get as many or more positive comments about the bug-eye lights than I do odd looks or worse. I thought they were a bit odd myself at first but now hardly even think about them. The rear also looks a bit different but I think we also grow accustomed to it. They're both part of what makes it "stand out", as it were...
 
OPECsux said:
I do like the rearend/taillights, it's very futuristic to me.
FWIW, I don't like the taillight design nor other cars that preceded it w/a similar design (e.g. 1st gen Pontiac Trans Port minivan).

Also, FWIW, the Leaf's Chief Vehicle Engineer referred to the headlight design as "charming". :)
 
adric22 said:
I like the headlights. I think they look awesome. I think it is a style that will be more popular in the future on all cars.
I thought they were weird at first, but I have become very fond of the "bug-eyed" look. It is one more thing (besides the ocean blue color) that helps me pick my Leaf out in an instant in a crowded parking lot of cars.
 
Leaf basically looks like an anime character - people who don't like anime (and usually think hummer is beautiful) think Leaf is ugly ;)
 
OPECsux said:
Please Nissan, get rid of the ugly headlights on this car. I understand that they are designed to deflect air around the mirrors but come on, they protrude like 6 inches above the hood, it seems like a half ass solution to the noise caused by the mirrors. Other than the headlights the rest of the car looks fine to me. I bet that front end would look great with flush headlights. ...

I had similar feelings about my '90 Miata, with the pop-up headlights. It wasn't long before kits were available to convert them into flush headlights and I seriously considered it. And of course Mazda long ago made the change themselves.

But now when I look at a Miata... excuse me, "mx-5 :cry: "... it's lost its charm. Too sleek. Too refined. To me, the pop-up headlamps represent the soul of the 1st-gen Miata that won my heart. It didn't need a makeover after all.
 
The leaf looks quirky, bulbous, and friendly. I think if they made the leaf more conventional looking, people would forget it is supposed to be an innovative electric car. If they made it more sleek and aggressive it wouldn't perform like it looked. I would prefer if they actually made the leaf look even more bulbous and distinguishable from gas cars and have even more emphasis put on aerodynamics over aesthetics. For example, getting rid of the chrome strip and black hole in the car's front and use aerodynamic wheels (like Honda Insight Wheels ). If you're gonna stand out you might as well go all the way :D.
 
veramis said:
The leaf looks quirky, bulbous, and friendly. I think if they made the leaf more conventional looking, people would forget it is supposed to be an innovative electric car. If they made it more sleek and aggressive it wouldn't perform like it looked. I would prefer if they actually made the leaf look even more bulbous and distinguishable from gas cars and have even more emphasis put on aerodynamics over aesthetics. For example, getting rid of the chrome strip and black hole in the car's front and use aerodynamic wheels (like Honda Insight Wheels ). If you're gonna stand out you might as well go all the way :D.

My impression is that Nissan was trying to walk a very fine line between being too obviously an EV, which would turn people off (day-glo colors, whacky configurations), and being too unremarkable. They do need some "EV recognition", but not too much.

CitiCarYellow.jpg

GEM.jpg
 
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