on the passenger's seat.
Misato (OFF):“What am I going to do?”
MDWigs: Misato is driving a modified 1981 Alpine Renault A310. I say “modified” because the original cars were petrol-powered, left-hand side steering cars, while this one is battery-powered (see C-105). Apparently Misato drives this car because Sadamoto's inspiration for her character came from Fujiko (a character from Lupin the 3rd), who drove an Alpine Renault A110 in the 1st episode of the TV series.
Dr. Nick: An excellent example of sexy French engineering from the good old 1970's.Back then Alpine was considered to be a very futuristically designed car, and it doesn't really stand out as outdated from the Sci-Fi settings of NGE, either.
Additional Commentary
Kendrix: ... well, "not outdated" except for that phone with a cable on it... the fact that they had one of these Nerv phones (get used to them, too) built into their employee's cars is the first thing to begin showcasing Nerv's level of crazy-prepared-ness, before we saw all those improbable displays. The car is also meant to reflect that this is "The Future ~" because while 2015 sounds like the classic "twenty minutes in the future" kind of setting to us, it was closer to "exty years from now" when it was first created, hence the "futurustic" car. (That's always a big question one has to ask oneself before making a Sci-Fi... just how far ahead. The closer it is to the present, the more relatable the setting is and the more you can mention present-day problems, but being closer to the present means it must seem feasible for the tech to have appeared in the meantime - no one will buy us having FTL by 2030, for example. ) Shinji's cassete player was also cutting edge by the time the series came out, the implication being that everyone would have such cool stuff by 2015. Such prediction are sometimes strikingly accurate... and sometimes, they aren't. Our modern MP3 Players and the sheer amount of music that fits on them looks rather Star-Trekian compared to a tape or a CD.
I like how it was done, tough, establishing the setting as "the future", without any cheesy exposition scenes, but by showing us little details as they went on (Misato's automatic front door, the battery-powered car...) just as background details.
Other things remarkable of this frame are, of course, more technology drawn with love for details (This time, Sadamoto is to blame - he's a car buff.) a picture of someone who will obviously be relevant to the plot, and our first dose of SAABISU! - At this point, half the audience will still be fooled into thinking this is your average giant monster show, and thus, this female who seems to have a clue of what is going on is presented in a cool, bond-girl like manner. Of course, to mantain the tension, they're not showing us her face yet.
