Filed under: LA Auto Show, Nissan
Is this the 2009 Nissan Cube?
Click image to enlarge and compare to the current Cube
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. Thanks for the tip, Uncle Evan!
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vintage 10:39AM (7/31/2008)
Like the earlier one better. This one looks mid 90s.
Reply
Daniel 10:44AM (7/31/2008)
My thoughts exactly! I hope they keep the look of the JDM one.
RG 10:45AM (7/31/2008)
More like that photo is mid-90s.
What did they do, print it on canvas?
kz1000ps 2:52PM (7/31/2008)
Again, my thoughts exactly. It reminds me of the 1994 Plymouth Expresso concept.
tuna 5:03PM (7/31/2008)
@ RG
Printing involves the use of screens. When printed images are scanned, without using speical filters to remove the screen pattern, you'll get that moiré patter that you've mistakenly associated with the mid-90s.
wagonphile 10:41AM (7/31/2008)
I was at first amused with the concept of a Cube coming to the States, but if this is the intended design, I'm no longer interested. The entire front clip is devoid of character and too soft compared to the rest of the car. I'd prefer edgier lines and the round headlights for some character. The original xB was much more appealing.
Reply
icu812ru469 10:53AM (7/31/2008)
Cube? More like a Box. Nissan PB (Postal Box)
Reply
Dude 11:10AM (7/31/2008)
Good God! What is it with this "box on wheels" obsession lately.
It's nothing more than a mini SUV/Minivan. Two vehicle types that get ridiculed by the same age group that seems to be the marketing target for these vehicles.
Reply
BassClef 11:23AM (7/31/2008)
Well maybe I'm the exception, but I'm a 20 year old college student driving a 2006 Scion xB who envies his roommate's minivan and steals his dad's diesel truck as often as possible. I think this Cube will do fine.
Snark 11:29AM (7/31/2008)
It's a small, efficient, yet spacious vehicle that has room for your crap and doesn't feel like you're sitting in a early 80's Rabbit. What is so hard to understand about that? Boxes are space efficient. That's why they make SUVs and vans boxy too.
azzo45 2:12PM (7/31/2008)
No BassClef... you are one of a kind! :) Most 20 somethings want something cool... not a box-on-wheels.
Scion actually hit their original target audience with you being a Xb driver.... most are "empty nesters" (55 & older) driving a bone cheap car.
Funny how all this market research at high schools & frat houses for the Xb, Honda Element, PT Cruiser, etc... ended up attracting buyers in a TOTALLY different segment. Even funnier that segment were 2-3 times OLDER!!! Gotta love market research.
Kotse 11:15AM (7/31/2008)
Ditto, I like the previous gen Cube.
This makes the Soul look good...
Reply
KeatMP 11:52AM (7/31/2008)
Good God....Let's hope this isnt the production version.
Reply
brandon 12:02PM (7/31/2008)
man i really hope it looks nothing like this when it comes to the US. i was planning on buying one, but if it looks like that instead of the previous one then i sure won't. it looks like a cross between the worst parts of the cube and the worst parts of a honda element.
Reply
J3-Colt 12:17PM (7/31/2008)
Looks like an old milk truck....
Reply
Frank 12:45PM (7/31/2008)
I think I'm going to be sick.
Reply
Bungle 1:19PM (7/31/2008)
I took a dump this morning that kind of looked like this (imagine it in brown).
Reply
Chris 3:06PM (7/31/2008)
Dude....your ass must be destroyed!! A square turd??? OUCH!!!!!
Bungle 3:16PM (7/31/2008)
No kidding. It was sized for the American market, too, so it *really* took some work. I'm sure the Japanese version would have passed much more easily.
ugg.tryptophan 1:40PM (7/31/2008)
is it just me, or has it gotten bigger?
Reply