Boxy vehicles are good. And they don’t get a lot boxier than immediately’s Nice Price or No Dice Nissan, which implies it should be good. This one provides some frivolity to its house effectivity, however will its value show simply as fanciful?
According to the Roman thinker Cicero, “Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable, than loyalty.” Per a 2020 J.D. Power research, Subaru has the best proprietor loyalty within the automobile biz, with 60.5 % of present homeowners claiming they might re-up with the model when alternative time rolled round.
The proprietor of the 1979 Subaru 1600 Wagon we checked out yesterday seemingly didn’t learn the identical research outcomes. Or maybe they did and traded the 1600 in for one more Subaru. We gained’t ever know. What we do know is that the little AWD wagon provided a promoting value of $7,499, and that didn’t engender all that a lot of a loyal following amongst our voting. By the top of the day, the end result was a 63 % No Dice loss. I assume which means we should always take a look at one other model.
Nissan execs most likely want their model loved the close to Taylor Swift ranges of loyalty that its competitor Subaru does. Hmmm, I ponder if Tay-Tay drives a Subaru? In truth, apart from the Z Car, Nissan doesn’t present a lot loyalty to its personal mannequin names. How may the corporate count on consumers to do in any other case?
As an instance of this pump-and-dump follow, Nissan solely offered the intelligent Cube automobile right here within the States for a brief 5 years earlier than killing it and its nameplate attributable to poor gross sales. The firm did this with out seemingly addressing the reason for the automobile’s poor recognition.
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It wasn’t being a cookie-cutter design or an over-familiarity with the Cube’s appears that induced it to fail within the U.S. because it stays to this present day one of many funkiest vehicles Nissan ever foisted available on the market, And, whereas there have been prior Cubes in different markets, it was a one-and-done mannequin right here within the States.
The distinctive and iconic design encompasses a signature asymmetrical rear finish with the window glass wrapping round one facet of the automobile and a pillar on the opposite. Nissan went full ship on this design factor, too, providing mirrored variations of the window design and side-opening rear hatch for, respectively, RHD and LHD markets. Other enjoyable design cues embrace beveled exterior window openings, tiny four-spoke alloy wheels, and a water ripple headliner that’s centered on the inside gentle.
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This 2009 Nissan Cube provides to the funky-fresh design combine with some splendidly eclectic blue and teal flames that, just like the physique design, differ from one facet to the opposite. Nice element!
Perhaps extra importantly to our line of considering, it additionally comes with a six-speed handbook gearbox bolted to its 122 horsepower 1.8-liter MR18 engine. Most of those vehicles have been offered with Nissan’s CVT, a far-less participating belt-box that’s the transmission equal of institutional housing. The six-speed ought to liven issues up appreciably.
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Being a boxy automobile, this Cube gives a TARDIS impact of being roomier inside than its outer dimensions suggest. According to Nissan, the inside design was supposed to remind occupants of being in a cosseting sizzling tub, therefore the water ripple impact on the ceiling, I assume.
Dark grey mouse fur upholstery and plastics give no such impression right here, however all look to be in tremendous form. The automobile does include such niceties as energy home windows and locks and dealing A/C and warmth. The vendor claims it’s “good on gas” and notes that it comes with a clear title and presents with 2024 tags. There are presently 120,000 miles underneath this Cube’s moderately small tires.
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That’s all lots for this Nissan to have going for it. What we have to discover out now’s whether or not all of it provides as much as a $5,500 asking. What’s your tackle this tradition Cube and that price ticket? Does that really feel like a deal for thus funky and purposeful a automobile? Or is that an excessive amount of now for a automobile that by no means generated sufficient loyalty when it was new?
You resolve!
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Source: jalopnik.com