08 May 08
Is it hip to be square? Huey Lewis thought so, and so do Japanese car makers. Not convinced? Have a quick gander at the Daihatsu Materia. It's just a box. The Scion Haku? Well, that's just cube porn.
It's all strangely fascinating. Japanese 'box' cars aren't quick - they have the aerodynamicism of a breeze block - and they aren't beautiful. Yet somehow, they are weirdly cool, combining the best avant garde Japanese design with the heritage of hot rods.
For those suffering 'box love' it's always been a case of admiration from afar. The king of the automotive squares - the Nissan Cube - has only been available in Japan, but not for much longer. The next-generation Cube goes on sale in the UK in 2009 to meet the needs of those who like a bit of four-corner automotive action.
At a Nissan event in Portugal this month, 4Car drove the current Cube - and its slightly bigger sibling, the Cube Cubic - and grilled Cubemeister Simon Thomas, the company's senior vice-president for sales and marketing in Europe, to find out what's in store for this rather odd-looking car.
