Snow doesn't stand a chance against the Nissan Winter Warrior

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - The compact SUV market is the fastest and largest growing segment in the auto industry. They are wildly popular in Chicago, and that's why auto makers are going to roll out several of their latest and greatest compact SUV’s at the upcoming Chicago Auto Show.

As practical as the compact SUV might be, sometimes practical can be a bit boring. But there is nothing boring about the SUV 'concept' Nissan is about to roll out in Chicago.

Behold the Nissan Winter Warrior concept, which is a fleet of 'off-road' snow monsters equipped with ultimate attitude making its global debut in Chicago. They look good tearing up terrain at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, but they aren't too shabby standing still either.

"We finished them late last week,” said Dane Passe.

Passe of Nissan North America was kind enough to give FOX 32 a walk-around of the Murano Edition. Frankly, this machine screams Chicago and it's even covered in little number 23's.

"They are probably going to think Michael Jordan; He's the greatest isn't he? Yes he is,” Passe said.

But as 'great' as that would be, those 23's are not a shout-out to Michael Jordan.

"The 2 in Ni and the 3 is San in Japanese. Anytime you see a factory Nissan effort, you will always see a 23,” Passe said.

Doesn’t mean Jordan wouldn't drive one, though.

"I would like to hope that he would. I'm sure he has a mountain property somewhere that he needs to do some severe off-roading, and we would like to offer these vehicles to him to do that very thing,” Passe said.

Forget 'mountain property,’ because this Winter Warrior would definitely 'snow-proof' your city commute. It begins and ends with those 'new shoes,’ which are made in Michigan by a company called 'American Truck Tracks'.

"Pretty much, they are factory fresh. You can drive it around the block if you like. We just prefer there be snow on the block,” Passe said.

And about that snow: if you haven't noticed, there's a shortage in Chicago these days.

"I want to know where is the snow? We are thinking the same thing. We have more in Nashville. I think you just jinx us. Maybe. If you did, than you have to give me the keys. No problem,” Passe said.

Nissan also revealed its 2017 Armada Wednesday night. It has very little in common with the Armada it replaces. It has a new look, new power plant, and new bones throughout. The new Armada is based on the Nissan Patrol, which is sold in other parts of the world.

On Thursday, we expect Toyota to take the wraps off its new Tacoma pickup. Ram also has a truck to debut, along with reveals from Kia, Ford and Mercedes-Benzes.