Update: Here are the two concepts plus one more on the bottom of the stack-next stop is the shredder…

A passerby in Nashville, Tennessee, spotted these Nissan concept cars. In a salvage yard. In the open. Because you know why; they’re headed to the crusher. Nissan doesn’t want them and doesn’t want the potential liability of selling them. So they’ll soon be just a memory, and no one can save them. Still, as car enthusiasts, we hate to see this happen.

Concept cars live a precarious life

Concept cars lead a fragile life. They’re significant for a short time, becoming a financial liability once they’re not. And they pose a quandary; they can’t be licensed, so they can’t be sold. But the carmaker has no more use for them. Some get donated to museums. Many end up with a date with the crusher.

The gray concept is the 2007 Bevel, and the green one is the Quest concept. Both were prominent Nissan concept vehicles in their day. As Nissan’s headquarters is nearby in Franklin, Tennessee, logistically it makes sense that vehicles no longer of use would end up here. The images shot by Michael Cooper found their way onto Facebook.

“They’re not for sale”

The Drive recently did some digging, and got the answers we expect to hear, but would rather not. As expected, the salvage yard spokesperson said they’re not for sale and will be crushed. A Nissan spokesperson says the two concepts remained in the heritage collection. But they’ve deteriorated to the extent that they can’t be maintained according to Nissan. So it is a fait acompli. 

The spokesperson added that they are part of “a long-term disposal plan.” According to Cooper, the Bevel looks to be in good enough condition to wash off and drive. The broken window and missing wheels of the Quest are the only issues we see. Otherwise, it looks pretty unscathed. Inside, both are dusty but otherwise appear ready for the next show, which will be for the crusher.

Someone should sneak the concept cars out of the scrap yard

Could these two be snuck out of the yard? It’s happened in the past, though not with this scrapper. But Nissan requires video evidence that the vehicles in question were, indeed, crushed. That wouldn’t be so easy to do. 

So without some divine intervention, you can say bye-bye to these interesting Nissan concept vehicles. In their time, they were important beacons into Nissan’s design inspiration. The Bevel was significant enough to warrant a facelift of sorts. We’ve got images of it in its previous brown metallic version.

Why didn’t Nissan donate these concept cars?

The big question we at Motorbiscuit have is why weren’t these donated to a museum? It seems like a simpler solution to the release of a vehicle with no VIN number, no safety features, and iffy drivability. It allows for the existence of these excellent concepts, hopefully, forever. And they can act as ambassadors for the brand, and automotive design in general. All of these reasons seem like win-wins to us. 

But is there something else we’re missing? We’d like to see these concepts donated to the myriad of car museums in the US. Was crushing them an easier solution? We’ll never know. But as they’re still around, wouldn’t it be great if Nissan could put a bit more effort into keeping them around?