x-B Damned! Get It? Its the Nissan Cube!

[Keef]

Woah woah woah wooaaaahhhh...

The rear door opens to the correct side! OMFG! I'm buying one, and that is the one reason why.

 

[Sniffs]

Woah woah woah wooaaaahhhh...

The rear door opens to the correct side! OMFG! I'm buying one, and that is the one reason why.

SEE! i wasn't the only one thinking that. Japan has a bad rep for forgetting to reverse the one sided doors when they swap steering wheel sides. when I first saw a Cube in GT4 with the phantom c pillar, I was thinking man, that has to be great for over the shoulder backing. wen rumors started to float around about the cube I was thinking those morons'll forget the door swap again.... well, looks like I've been corrected.

i will say again though...please get rid of those white interior colors!. white is the fastest color I know of to show the dirt, especially on the inside.

 

[Jim Prower]

I'm certain you'll be able to get it in either black....or body color. which I suppose, if you bought a black car, would be black.

 

[Jondot]

Personally, I love odd, small Japanese cars so I'm more than happy that the rest of the world is slowly getting to sample them. Closest we get in the UK at the moment is the Daihatsu Materia, but I suspect that sells in small numbers more due to the name than people being put off by the styling. If it were Toyota main dealers selling that thing it'd fly out, I reckon:

Spot on. It's not selling because it's being marketed as a micro-mpv through a tiny dealer network with a pensioner-friendly badge on the front. Call it a Toyota (which wouldn't be a lie) and they'd have no problems.

 

[V1P3R]

I'd love to see that here instead of the current xB...

 

[Jondot]

Strangely, you would be seeing it if Toyota hadn't re-engineered the xB 'for the American market'. If they'd continued to simply re-badge the Japan-only bB then that's what you'd get.

 

[V1P3R]

Oh, darn.

 

[EA11R]

Strangely, you would be seeing it if Toyota hadn't re-engineered the xB 'for the American market'. If they'd continued to simply re-badge the Japan-only bB then that's what you'd get.

*inhales* :cutcutcutcutcutcut:

I freaking hate that thing. At one point, I actually got desperate enough to research the interior dimensions and mileage of that thing to convince my parents that the xB is a clinically dreadful car. What's the point of a big, thirsty, ugly, small, slow, poseur?

There's only one place where I've seen an American verison of a car that I like, and that -the new Mazda 6- is something of which I have only seen the American version. They shouldn't be selling the Cube here. It's being designed with Americans in mind, so it's being ruined. I think it's actually styled after the current (trendy?) xB.

At this point, I only trust Ford to bring us a completely undiluted (beyond minimum legal limits) European car, and only because they've had a near-death experience and have officially seen the light; they've sold such bad small cars in America that they realize the only way to do well is to sell good ones.

I'm sorry, I know that's about 80% off-topic, but sometimes the USDM cars just offend me so much, I can't put together a relevant post. That Daihatsu is absolutely gorgeous, while I truly want to fill an xB to the brim with expanding foam.

EDIT: It's only fair that I notify you: the conflicting sizes at the end of the first paragraph aren't accidental. Compared to the -admittedly clever- Honda Fit, there is no "bigger" interior, per se. The Fit is a taller but a bit thinner, and the boots are similarly sized. The xB's "trunk" has under 1 cubic foot more than the Fit with seats up, and the Fit doubles capacity with seats down. Yeah, according to the spec sheets, it seems the xB's seats don't even fold down. It's absolute bleeding rubbish. I'd sooner have a Lincoln Towncar in hot pink, a rainbow spewing out of the fuel filler cap, and a vanity plate which reads "GAY PWR."

 

[Sniffs]

this is the first time I've seen EA11R go on a rant-page!

i'd like to make some points
1. because americans consider small, scroogy, and quick cars DEATHTRAPS...and so do US insurance companies!
2. Cube has had that look since it's redesign. if they made it actually LOOK like a cube, they did it in Japan FIRST.
3. there's no such thing as "undiluted" European vehicles except for Greymarkets...which are considered stolen. Don't forget, the US has an entirely different set of regulations that require gobs more safety equipment (which is why today's Plastic cars weigh as much as all steel muscle and get worse milage).
4. Dihatsu tried over here. they lasted less than one model year, got almost nothing, and Toyota pulled the plug.
5. remember...America associates a cube shape with safety and crashworthiness. there's a country song out there that plainly states that the artist would rather have his family safe in a giant SUV.

 

[V1P3R]

....and so do US insurance companies!

💡 Umm... really? seriously... ?

 

[homeforsummer]

Spot on. It's not selling because it's being marketed as a micro-mpv through a tiny dealer network with a pensioner-friendly badge on the front. Call it a Toyota (which wouldn't be a lie) and they'd have no problems.

It's just a question of image really isn't it. In theory, young people should love Daihatsus. They do in Japan. All the cars have quite "funky" styling, they're fitted with good stereo systems, they're fairly cheap, and the website talks of how the Materia "swallows up luggage, golf bags, picnic baskets and even surf boards with ease". It's blatantly marketed at young people. You can even specify it with 17" alloy wheels, lowering springs and double exhausts.

But at the end of the day, most young people don't have a clue what a Daihatsu is, wheras older people have been buying Charades, Moves and Cuores for years and continue buying Daihatsus no matter how youthful the company tries to be.

And Toyota have really missed the boat with selling it, as their range is a little too dull at the moment (where did all the sports models go?) for something like the Materia not to stand out like a sore thumb. The only remotely interesting and "youthful" Toyotas at the moment are the Aygo and the RAV4, and maybe the iQ when it's finally released.

Back vaguely on topic, at least Nissan have a high-ish profile at the moment thanks to the GT-R that the Cube should get more of a look-in if they sell it in the UK. I'm not suggesting the Cube will sell on the halo effect of the GT-R, but their range is more interesting as a whole, and I still see a lot more Micras and Qashqais than I do Yarises and Arses. Sorry, Aurises. (Though to be fair on Toyota, there is a rather large Nissan factory near here which may have something to do with it...).

 

[YSSMAN]

At least in my opinion, Nissan has otherwise been on the decline in the US. It seems like I'm seeing fewer and fewer new models on the streets, but if anything, the Cube would be a good way to bring in more sales. I think the big question is, how much is it going to be? Nissan already sells the cheapest car in the US (The Versa 1.6), I can't imagine the Cube being too far away.

We'll see. I'm not much of a Nissan fan. I don't think this is really turning it around.

 

[Moglet]

I was driving home from work last week and saw a load of these entering the roundabout infront of me! Most were white, some were light blue. I joined the middle of the convoy in my 500, undertook most of them on the next roundabout and got right to the front of them all. The guy at the very front actually pulled over to let me through.

They looked very nice, they were only cruising since people were being driven about in them. What I did notice though was that the people being driven around were looking at my car instead

 

[EA11R]

this is the first time I've seen EA11R go on a rant-page!

i'd like to make some points
1. because americans consider small, scroogy, and quick cars DEATHTRAPS...and so do US insurance companies!
2. Cube has had that look since it's redesign. if they made it actually LOOK like a cube, they did it in Japan FIRST.
3. there's no such thing as "undiluted" European vehicles except for Greymarkets...which are considered stolen. Don't forget, the US has an entirely different set of regulations that require gobs more safety equipment (which is why today's Plastic cars weigh as much as all steel muscle and get worse milage).
4. Dihatsu tried over here. they lasted less than one model year, got almost nothing, and Toyota pulled the plug.
5. remember...America associates a cube shape with safety and crashworthiness. there's a country song out there that plainly states that the artist would rather have his family safe in a giant SUV.

Cool, dialogue.
1. Yup. That's what I find the problem to be. Though, it is fun that, since small cars are so overlooked here, sometimes an atom-bomb of a car can slip through the cracks!
2. Which look? The Gen-2 cuddly box, or the Gen-3 melted box? I know from GT4 that there was an original cube with about as much style and joy as asparagus, and that was definitely a styling fail: blandness.I do like boxes, just not melted or featureless ones.
3. Yeah, that was why I put a "(beyond legal minimums)" in for good measure. I'm totally fine with sacrificing performance for safety (Volvos, for instance, captivate me), but I resent when they make a car more unnecesarily boring for American release.
4. I don't necesarily want the Daihatsu badge so much, I don't care about badges. What I want is that sexilicious car.
5. Yeah. So why do they need to melt the box? The Gen-2 is boxy enough to seem solid, but it doesn't have pointy edges! It's doubleplussafe.

*hugs*

My English teacher last year crashed hers, said it saved her life. I corrected her, "No, it spared you." I love 1-Star crash test rating in big, popular truck! Actually, that truck has become very useful for arguing against my family (they want me to buy truck, and, to quote Jeremy Clarkson, "I'd rather blowtorch my nipples off."). It's the standard truck in America, really, so that's usually the first stop. Of course, then the conversation turns to Toyotas, and I have to whip out the Corolla. This will end in blood, I'm certain.

Actually, though, I think utes are completely sweet! Volkswagen Rabbit Truck, Subaru Baja, etc. It's like a hot hatch for Americans, or a truck for Europeans! Fun fact: The ideal here would be Mini truck. *swoons*

 

[homeforsummer]

Actually, though, I think utes are completely sweet! Volkswagen Rabbit Truck, Subaru Baja, etc. It's like a hot hatch for Americans, or a truck for Europeans! Fun fact: The ideal here would be Mini truck. *swoons*

Something like this?

I'd be more than happy if MINI produced something like that too. And a van. And yes, utes are cool, whether they're big V8 Holdens and Fords or little diesel VW Caddys, Proton Jumbucks and Ford Bantam/Couriers.

Re: The melted Cube look - it's growing on me more every time I look at the pictures, but I'd still prefer it had the previous-gen Cube's face.

 

[a6m5]

Wow, I used to like the Cube a lot, like couple of years ago.

This car is fugly, indeed. Seats are sweet though, and if the car had column shift & good MPG, I'd consider it.

 

[EA11R]

Something like this?

Something like... what?

I'm talking about the British compact which died and has been replaced by ostentatious BMW.

 

[Moglet]

VIDEO

My god, that's terrifying! What year was that produced? I haven't seen crash tests like that over here since the Seicento;



But that was years ago, Fiat have now upped their game.

As for small cars and crash tests;


A person in a truck would kill someone in a Smart in a crash despite the high safety rating. Or any small car for that matter. What it needs is for most of the US to realise they don't need a massive car. I've been called 'gay' and a 'massive faggot' online for driving a Fiat 500. By someone who drives a truck because he said 'it's cool'. People like that need to evolve from apes to humans and start thinking about other people besides themselves.

Otherwise this'll happen (Bear in mind the 500 is a 5 star rated car);


Do these people who drive trucks because 'they're cool' not realise they'll have to put up with having killed someone on their conscience if they hit them?

 

[Jim Prower]

I'll tell you what...I consider myself VERY lucky to have walked away from my accident with an F-150. I was driving a Reliant K wagon at the time (a car not known for being safe, reliable, or well-built, though it was rather large compared to the FIAT or Cube,) and ended up getting the driver's-side bodywork nicely accordioned in the front. the crumple zone did it's job, though the truck was high enough that instead of crumpling, the suspension folded underneath it.

 

[Tornado]

Do these people who drive trucks because 'they're cool' not realise they'll have to put up with having killed someone on their conscience if they hit them?

Actually, that is the reason most people do buy trucks. Maybe they aren't aware of the consequences completely, but the general idea is that the person in the truck would survive in an accident and the hell with the other person.

 

[Sniffs]

EA11R: I'm not seeing any real difference, here, except for a couple softer points *shrugs*

I live in an area where they actually use pickups for their intended purpose. the pimpage is saved for old pontiacs and neons (and the occasional Cavalier).

mini-trucks qualify under the same "catagory" as teeny cars. the only guys that like them are the ones who slam them to the ground with tubbed out beds. you talk about suh-WEET

Moglet: dayam. the poor Sei did THAT bad?! I liked the look of that thing, too.
oh, and when did Britons start picking up the US "bigger is better" ego-boosting attitude? geeze, and I thought the cultural contamination to Australia was bad

oh, add someone to the Nuvo Cincociento DO WANT list! we'll never see em, of course. fiat has a permanent rep, here.

I'm noticing that people don't seem to learn to use their Buttometers and FEEL what the vehicle is doing, where it's going, etc. I've had limited experience with what would be considered a HUGE fullsize by European standards, but a tiny little poser by truck guys. a 98 Sierra K1500 regular cab short bed. I don't think I coulda drove a longbed, as I prefer relatively tight turning. I was impressed by the thing and would seriously consider one as a personal transportation option. (i squeezed high teens out of a full size pickup while hauling at least 1500 lbs on a regular basis!)

 

[homeforsummer]

Something like... what?

I'm talking about the British compact which died and has been replaced by ostentatious BMW.

I think I posted an image along these lines:

But the site must not have liked hotlinking. But since you asked for the older Mini...

Now that is a cool pickup 👍

 

[Moglet]

oh, and when did Britons start picking up the US "bigger is better" ego-boosting attitude? geeze, and I thought the cultural contamination to Australia was bad

I've no idea, but round here there are lots of big brand new SUVs being driven about, mostly stuck in traffic doing the same speed as me in my car. I've also noticed, and I'm NOT stereotyping here because this is true, that most of them are driven by young Asian men who definitely don't need them.

 

[Joey D]

I think I posted an image along these lines:

Isn't that just a Red Bull MINI without the enormous can?

 

[homeforsummer]

Isn't that just a Red Bull MINI without the enormous can?

Nah, I think that image is 'shopped (because I recognise that image as a press photo of an original MINI One), but I'd forgotten that the Red Bull MINIs are essentially MINI pickups.

I've no idea, but round here there are lots of big brand new SUVs being driven about, mostly stuck in traffic doing the same speed as me in my car. I've also noticed, and I'm NOT stereotyping here because this is true, that most of them are driven by young Asian men who definitely don't need them.

The SUVs where I live back home and where I live at uni are driven almost exclusively by school-run mums picking up their spoiled brats from the local private schools. They come to pick up one kid with their massive vehicle, and the daft bints leave the engines running for the 20 minutes they get there before they even need to. I walk past them on my way to catch the train to work each day and I feel like opening the doors of each car and turning off the ignition. And ideally, slinging the keys across the street to make the lazy buggers walk.

As you can tell, I'm not impressed by urban off-roaders.

 

[kevinm]

The rear bench looks great.... -kevin

 

[Moglet]

Back on the topic of the Cube, I really like it. It's odd, it's quirky, it doesn't really make much sense but my god is it good fun to look at, both inside and out. I have a strange desire to have one in a brown/beige colour with that brown interior on some retro alloys....

Also, I just noticed....are those speaker grille areas in the doors the same as in the 500?

Have a look