The interior of the FORUM will be very similar to the recently unveiled Nissan Intima Concept. The FORUM features trackless sliding doors and no B-pillars, aiding in entry and exit. The Forum was penned at Nissan Design America.

Like we reported last month, the FORUM will feature swiveling second row seats — as shown in the latest sketch — similar to those found on Chrysler’s minivans. However, Nissan’s version swivels the entire second row bench at either 90 degrees — to make getting into the third row easier — or 180 degrees to face the third row bench.

While the FORUM doesn’t actually have a powerplant between its front fenders, Nissan says a clean diesel would be the engine of choice — the same powerplant that will be used in the U.S.-bound 2010 or 2011 Nissan Maxima diesel.

The FORUM is designed in consideration of the needs of adults in the front and children in the back — to be easy for Mom and Dad to drive, while simultaneously keeping control of activity in the back. Rear-seat cameras, dubbed “Kid’s Cam,” monitor the behavior of the occupants and display it to the driver, while a “Time Out” button on the steering wheel allows all audio to be muted and the driver’s voice to be broadcasted throughout the car.

A console-mounted microwave is large enough to nuke a bag of popcorn and is accessible to the first and second rows, and the single-dial Bose Media System allows for all audio, video, navigation, and hands-free phone use, along with hard-drive storage of digital media files.

In the back of the vehicle, the entire second-row seating arrangement is able to rotate a full 180 degrees to face the third-row passengers, and individual monitors are built in for movies or video games. Every seat in the FORUM features individual audio programming, allowing each passenger to listen to a different type of music.

A Bose FreeSpace audio system integrates speakers and a wireless media player into the vehicle’s exterior for audio entertainment outside the vehicle. Shag carpeting covers the interior floor for an elegant look.

A Suite of Technological Innovations. Nissan North America’s advanced minivan design study, the Nissan FORUM Concept, offers an array of innovative family communications systems – including an advanced Bose Media System with proximity sensor-based information controller, a one-button audio muting system, 2nd and 3rd row monitoring cameras, and individual seat-mounted speakers for every row. Created at Nissan Design America in La Jolla, Calif. and Farmington Hills, Mich., the FORUM Concept makes its public debut at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.