The Nissan Cube
I paid a visit to the San Diego Auto Show in late December, and I impressed with a fair number of cars that I saw. The first two I'll briefly cover are the new Nissan Cube and the updated 2010 Ford Mustang. I expect both of the cars will have an impact on the sales segment in which each car is sold.
The Nissan Cube has been sold in Japan for awhile now, but we finally get an all-new version here in the U.S. I must admit, I'm not fond of its boxy styling--it looks a bit silly. Nevertheless, it does seem to make good use of the space its boxy styling affords. Add an economical four cylinder engine in the mix, and you have a vehicle younger buyers (and even some older consumers, too) will be attracted to.
The 2010 Ford Mustang
Muscle Car fans, rejoice! Ford has updated the Mustang with an upgraded exterior and freshened exterior styling. The 2010 Mustang looks leaner, meaner, and more aggressive than the 2009 model. All exterior panels have been changed--except for the roof. The new rear end is fitted with sequential turn signals--a feature that has not been seen on any Ford in about thirty years.
Inside, better materials have been used on the dashboard, as well as on other parts of the interior. No longer does it look or feel lower-quality. More ambient lighting adorns the interior (available on premium versions of the V6, GT, and also on the GT 500). However, the engine in V6 is unchanged (a smaller, yet more fuel efficient and powerful V6 engine would be welcome) but the GT gets a 15 horsepower increase form 300 up to 315, and the supercharged GT 500 now makes 540 horsepower (up from 500 hp for 2009--and matching the output of the '09 GT 500KR).
If the economy improves, and consumers are able to once again get credit to buy new cars, Nissan just may have a hit with the Cube, and muscle car fans will enjoy a renewed rivalry between the new Mustang, the all-new Chevrolet Camaro, and the Dodge Challenger. Bring it on, now--Bring it on!!
