Nissan Cube makes an early appearance

Scion may have had a good thing going with the first-generation xB, which proved to be an ultra-popular model here in the U.S. Nissan hopes to capitalize on some of that model's success with the new Cube. While the official unveiling of the latest box-it-came-in-mobile is set for Wednesday (tune in early!), Nissan's Japanese arm has let loose some early images of the U.S.-spec Cube. What we see is pretty much an exact mirror image of the Japanese model, which makes perfect sense given that we drive on the other side of the car. The home-market Cube gets a 1.5-liter engine mated to a CVT tranny, but that's not what we'll be seeing under the car's short, squat hood in the United States. All the official details will be unleashed at the LA Auto Show in no time flat, but in the meantime, enjoy the three shots in our gallery below.

[Source: Nissan]