By Harmon Leon
With bells and whistles, this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan introduced the 2009 Cube. Don’t be deceived by what looks like a refrigerator on wheels, the Cube has the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine found in the Nissan Versa, and is good for 122 HP and 127 lb-ft of torque.
Nissan first introduced the original Cube to Japan back in 1998. Judging how it went over, the ’98 Cube was perhaps a car way ahead of its time. But now with its funky style and affordable cost, the Cube could catch on Stateside with the Magna comic crowd and become a very fashionable vehicle with its Jacuzzi Curve layout and floating meter pod driver’s area. Like Godzilla, the Cube has already taken Tokyo by storm through massive exposure in trendy magazines, videos and smattering across the Web.
As Al Castignetti, vice president, Sales, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, puts it, “Cube is as much of a Mobile Device as it is an automobile, something that enhances life like people’s digital devices do.”
Judging by the buzz at the L.A. Auto Show, the Cube will most likely be looked at in the U.S. at as a bulldog in sunglasses rather than an eye-soar box on wheels.
Links
Official Nissan USA Cube web site: http://www.NissanUSA.com/Cube
Become a Cube fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nissan-Cube/17987996866?ref=ts
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