| MetroMPG |
01-30-2008 10:27 AM |
Dan Neil for president! (LA Times Nissan Cube review)
1 Attachment(s)
The LA Time's esteemed auto writer, Dan Neil, reviews the Nissan Cube: Nissan Cube: The right angles
Never before have I read a car review in the mainstream press that nails the issues as well as this one, which focuses on the Scion Xb-like vehicle that Nissan has announced it will be bringing to the US market for 2009.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1201706039
The image shown, and the car Neil drove isn't the one the US will get - it's slated for a redesign for 09. Nevertheless, I love the premise of the review:
Quote:
So why am I driving it? Because I wanted you, Mr. and Ms. America -- if you'll put down the xylophone of barbecued ribs for a moment -- to look at the car of your future: smaller, lighter (2,530 pounds), slower, less powerful.
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He goes on to hit every nail on the head - many of the key problems, compromises & challenges that the US faces in a future with 35 mpg CAFE rules. Some of his observations:
(FYI, these bullet points are quotes pulled from the article...) - It will be utterly impossible to achieve energy security or to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions unless we are able to lower the average vehicle weight.
- [the current JDM Cube's] top speed on the highway is about 85 mph, when the Cube's quarry-block styling generates truly epic aerodynamic drag.
- My time in the Cube reminds me that so much of the American car market -- from price to performance to fuel economy -- is over-amplified silliness, a wretched gas-wasting orgy sold to us in various shades of envy. In other words, 90 hp is plenty.
- If the Cube is any indication of what the rolling world is like a decade from now, take heart. Cars will be smaller but still plenty big, slower but still plenty fast. The wisdom of the Cube is the wisdom of all cubes: Efficiency is a beautiful thing.
I love how he addresses the porking up of Scion's redesigned box on wheels: - Speaking of the xB: When I favorably reviewed the xB, the box-lovers howled. The car's weight went up 600 pounds, the horsepower went up 55, and fuel economy dropped like a stone. How is that progress? they asked. The Nissan Cube promises to be everything these kids could want, and less.
This article is definitely worth a read. I've only pulled a few of the gems from his text, but there's a lot more where they came from: Nissan Cube: The right angles
Move over Barack. Step aside McCain... Dan Neil for president! |
