Nissan Adds "Old People" Features to Models

Older drivers will be pampered by Nissan

In an effort to sell more cars and attract another segment of buyers, Nissan's designers have come up with an interesting idea.

According to drive.com.au, the Japanese car maker intends to make their vehicles more friendly to older drivers. Seeing that Japan's population is growing old and elderly drivers have special needs, Nissan's designers are upgrading the vehicles with "an aging suit". That means old drivers can benefit from special car features like belts strapping their knees, door handles opening from either side or more knobs inside the cars to grab for support.

"These design proposals don't require super new technology, and most of them don't cost that much," Etsuhiro Watanabe, associate chief designer, explained. "They're designed to make using and seeing easier."

Designers believe this kind of changes would make Nissan cars more attractive to  drivers over 65. Besides, the new designs are relatively cheap to implement, which makes the idea appropriate to cope with the hard times automakers are going through these days.

"A car must be something that gives people the freedom of movement," said Naoki Yamamoto, another Nissan designer. "We hope customers will appreciate how useful these designs are."

As a matter of fact, Nissan has always been attentive to such details that would differentiate their vehicles in the eyes of car buyers. For instance, the door handle of a Nissan minivan looks like metal ring, which makes it easier to be opened by either hand.

Other interesting features that have been designed by Watanabe include navigation equipment that displays routes in fatter and clearer red and numbers on speedometers with easier-to-read font.

Judging by these features Nissan is boasting about, it seems that old drivers will feel pampered by the Japanese car maker. We do hope that these features will also contribute to a drop in accidents where elderly drivers are involved.