Many thanks to Autoblog reader Aaron, who appears to have been in the presence of printed materials pertaining to the 2010 Nissan Cube, which is set to be unveiled next month at the LA Auto Show. Aaron captured the moment with his camera phone, and thus, we have what may be the first unofficial official look at the U.S.-market Cube's design. Or it could be something else entirely, but it sure doesn't look that way. Up front, the new headlamps and grille form a thin line above the front bumper, giving the boxy little dude a face we expect to see start talking at any given moment.
It sure looks like it could be. Reader "Uncle Evan" sent us this image, which looks like it's either a scanned PR shot of the next-gen JDM Cube3 or a good photoshop, perhaps from one of the Japanese buff mags. We're inclined to think it's the latter scenario, and that this photo might have even served as its basis (look at the shapes visible through the windshield and passenger window -- they appear to be identical in both images). In any case, the car depicted here has all of the elements first seen in the leaked Nissan photo back in May, giving us a little more to chew on while we wait for the Cube's official debut at the LA Auto Show.
As seen in the original leaked image, the wheel covers have four thin slits. Body-colored a-pillars (they're blacked out on the current car) curve softly into the roof, which has a large glass section up front. The fender bulges are more pronounced on the current Cube, and the fascia now incorporates headlamps that wrap around to the front quarter panels as opposed to being fully contained in the grille insert.
Hopefully, this is a mostly accurate depiction, because it shows an evolved Cube that really keeps the good stuff intact. After driving the Japanese version, we're looking forward to seeing what the USDM version has in store for us.
The new Nissan Cube will be unveiled the morning of November 19 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and the automaker has begun the buildup to its arrival. The Cube now has an official website, where you can count down the days and see more on the Cube art cars that design students prepared for the '08 New York Auto Show, among other things. Nissan's covering all the bases, also getting the Cube set up on Facebook and other social networking sites in the meantime.
We like the Cube a lot, and hope the new version keeps the character of the current Japanese car intact while delivering power and fuel economy geared to appeal to the U.S. buyer. We don't think Nissan's going to botch this, so and shoppers looking to get their geek ought to have a strong candidate from Nissan. Not that it'll be without competition -- the Scion xB, Honda Element, and Kia Soul will all be vying for peoples' attention, too. Let the geekmobile deathmatch begin
You know that you have a disorder when you're as enthused about an econobox as you are to get seat time in something like a Rolls or Bentley. But that's me, and that's how I felt when I got the call at my desk telling me that my new media ride was downstairs waiting for me. I quietly walked out to the stairwell and then, when the door shut behind me, I bounded down them two at a time, like a kid running downstairs on Christmas day. I stepped out into the sunlight, and there it was in all its delightfully quirky, 100% JDM glory: a 2008 Nissan Cube. And for the next four days, it was mine.
We already know that the Nissan Cube is due for a redesign, and that version, due out later this year, is the one we'll be getting here in the States in 2009. While the Denki Cube concept that bowed in New York gave us an indication of what to expect, it's taken another bit of leakage out of Nissan HQ to see the new Cube fully realized. Compared to the current Cube, this revised version is slightly more smoothed out, while still retaining the boxy shape we've come to know and love. If Nissan can avoid pulling an xB (adding more weight, an unresponsive engine and killing the fun factor), the new Cube might fit the bill for those of us looking for a vehicle that strikes a balance between practicality and flickability.
Let's just get this out of the way right now: this blogger is going to buy one of these cars when they come to America. And I'm a die-hard 385-plus-horsepower sports car owner for years now. And I live in LA. But the Cube is just that great. So Nissan, don't pull a bait-and-switch, please...
The Cube is basic, and makes no attempt to dress it up. In fact, not only is the car not gussied up, but the entire interior of the car I drove was beige. And it was still hot. It's basic done completely right, with tons of cubbies and comfort in an enormous (relatively speaking) cabin and a unified design theme inside and outside that ties it all together.
The 1.5-liter, 107-HP engine has got the giddy-up-and-go, and the car is so much fun to drive that you'll cackle like an old hen every time you throw it around a corner. I admit I won't be buying one in sky blue, and it won't have the third row -- that row is more than a bit optimistic -- but I will have no problem showing everyone I know that "cool" is now spelled "cube."
By mid-2009, Nissan plans to cover the entire gamut of the automotive spectrum, ranging from the compact Cube to the supercar-fighting GT-R. That's the word from Nissan this morning as they announced that the new Cube will come to the US market next year to fill the void left behind by the dearly departed first gen Scion xB. For now, Nissan is only showing off the current gen Cube that's available in Japan along with the Denki Cube. The Denki is the lithium ion battery-powered version that Nissan is testing and hopes to bring to market early in the next decade. The batteries are a new laminated lithium type that are stashed under the floor and rear seats. Nissan has a joint venture with NEC to supply batteries for the new energy storage system.
Now it seems that folks in the U.S. who are looking for an economical vehicle that doesn't sacrifice storage space will soon be getting yet another option. Nissan has admitted that the rumors are true, the Cube will finally be offered in the United States market and it won't be the spawn of a new company brand either. The question is why did Nissan take so long to make the move since the Cube was first released in Japan ten years ago? Toyota proved the American consumer's demand for cuboid shaped vehicles with the launch of Scion and the xB back in 2004, yet Nissan continued to hold out. Most likely the push over the edge came from the recently revised CAFE standards as the Cube is powered by a fuel sipping 1.5-liter I-4 engine. It is the perfect compliment to the powerful new GT-R.
