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originally uploaded by thomas.merton

There is undoubtedly a lot of Americans who have still not hear of the Nissan Cube, even though it is actually on its third generation of design now. The Japanese have been keeping this cute little boxy vehicle all to their own… until now! The American market has taken a bit of a turn to the unexpected, as gimmicky eco-wagons cars such as the Scion XB and Honda Element, are actually becoming popular.

Wanting to get in on some of the action, Nissan has brought its Cube to the states. If ever there was a car that is 90 percent gimmick and 10 percent automobile, it would have to be this car. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not knocking it until I’ve tried it, but even Nissan’s Design Direct himself admits to some of the Cube’s gimmicky nature. “It is more product design than automobile design,” says Shiro Nakamura. Yes, I can see tha!

originally uploaded by thomas.merton

To begin with, Nissan has thrown asymmetry out the window for a rather unique rear end. “It says its name,” says Nakamura, in reference to the “C” shaped roof pillar. The rear hatch is also a bit of an oddity opening like a side load refrigerator, rather than a trunk-shaped ice box. Now that is certainly original. We haven’t seen the likes of hinges like these since the hippy vans of the 70’s.

The U.S. bound Cube is rounded off at the corners compared to the first two generations, and will feature a much bolder bumper design due to American crash standards. There will be four models to choose from, each housing the same slow, yet economical (28/30 mpg) 122 horsepower 1.8 liter 4-banger.

originally uploaded by thomas.merton

4 Sides of a Cube
The 1.8 ($14,000) will be the base model and it will feature an engine, a couple of seats (60/40 split bench), standard air bags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, tire inflation monitoring system, and a sweet interior headliner featuring concentric circles simulating ripples from a water drop.

The 1.8 S ($14,700) will feature color coded side mirrors, cruise control, premium cloth seats, vanity mirrors, map lights, 2 tweeters (speakers), and seat pockets. The 1.8 SL ($16,800) will get the addition of a CVT transmission, alloy wheels, climate control, iPod compatibility, and automatic headlights.

originally uploaded by cienporcienmotor

The ultimate Cube will be the Krom ($19,400), featuring a host of interesting, yet unnecessary upgrades such as sport fascia (grill, body side moldings, spoiler), interior accent lighting, aluminum pedals, Rockford subwoofer and amplifier, more speakers, more tweeters, Bluetooth compatibility, leather wrapped steering wheel, and an outside temperature display/gauge.

originally uploaded by cienporcienmotor

If you are looking for something even more outlandish that a tricked out Scion XB, I think you may have found your match made in heaven. While the Cube in undoubtedly a unique and interesting concept, it may not be quite as popular as The Beetles were… but only time will tell!

Tesla Roadster, originally uploaded by erdero

Appropriately, the words “slapped” is used in this title, as right now the electric car industry is very much under a microscope by the public’s eye. There are many non-believers that think an electric car has just as much possibility to make it over the long haul as a dog hanging out in the alleyway of a Chinese “all you can eat” buffet.

What is exactly is the recall for? Well, just a simple bolt on the steering seems to be the trouble for about 345 Tesla Roadster’s that have actually made it out of the factory so far. What did Tesla do to cover their rear end as any other corporation would have done? Why they blamed it on somebody else of course.

One of Tesla’s first public statements after the recall notice was that Lotus was at fault for improperly assembled steering mechanism. Lotus has gone public with their own recall for a number of Elise’s and Exige’s for a similar problem, so they certainly weren’t afraid to own up to a few improperly executed turns of the wrench.

There has been no word as to the actual danger level of the current steering situation, but Tesla has announced that they will personally be traveling to each and every one of the owners driveways to do the repair. I guess that’s the kind of service you should expect with a $100,000-plus vehicle.

One owner, whose name shall remain anonymous, was the originator of this recall after calling Tesla and complaining about their vehicles poor steering response during certain maneuvers. To rectify the situation, each of these owners who received a Tesla between the months of March 2008 and April 2009, can expect the repair, a complimentary inspection, and an upgrade to the Roadster’s software, all free of charge (well, of course).

Considering the few clientèle who have actually received one of these anomalies, folks such as George Clooney and Matt Damon. The technicians bestowed this honor could practically find themselves on a tour of the stars homes/garages or on an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

So is this going to hurt the little-electric-car-company-that-could at all? Heck no. These things happen, everybody knows that. What the future buyers of these vehicles are really waiting to see, is the longevity and cost of the battery systems over time. This is most likely the monkey on the electric car’s back that will either make or break it in the marketplace!

Source: Left Lane News

Balloons Sell Cars, originally uploaded by manotron

Dealerships have to work hard to bring new buyers onto their lot. They give away key chains, food, gas, free test drives in fancy cars, and anything else they think will bring in a crowd. Since the recession started back in December of 2007, they have become even more desperate. They would practically do anything to get you in the door, and that is exactly what one dealership in Greeley, Colorado did.

The Weld County Garage is your typical GMC, Pontiac, and Buick dealer. They came up with a rather creative gimmick designed to help them sell a few extra cars through the month of may. What they did was tell each customer that for every vehicle sold through the month of May, if it rained one inch through the hours of 7AM through 7PM on Memorial Day, those vehicles would be free.

Now we all know how hard it can be to get a free vehicle. You could go through the rigmarole of the television game show The Price is Right, you could lose your shorts in Las Vegas, or play every sweepstakes known to man… But you will still probably never in your life experience the triumph of receiving a free vehicle.

Well, the gimmick worked, the dealership sold over $700,000 worth of vehicles. As Memorial Day came the forecast called for lots and lots of rain. The day started off with heavy rain. Then it rained, and rained, and then rained some more. By the time the late afternoon hit, the owner of the dealership must have been sweating bullets. I’d say Mustang Bullitt’s, but that’d be a whole other dealership.

The day produced well over one inch of rain, but there was one bit of saving grace. They had mentioned that the rain would have to come from the airport. While the dealership itself received bucketfuls of rain, the airport was just shy of an inch total rainfall. Thankfully, the dealership had taken out an insurance policy prior to making the deal, so they were covered even if they did have to shell out the $700,00 in new vehicles.

A Moral to this Story?
Moral 1- Insurance is your friend!
This includes car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, and health insurance. You can never have too much insurance.

Moral 2- Murphy’s Law (Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) is not your friend!
If there is anything in life you can always count on, it is not to count on anything!