Nissan Cube Finds Middle-Age Fans

It turns out the Nissan Cube is kind of like the Twitter of cars.

Nissan’s cloying, occasionally cringe-inducing attempts to market its econobox, the Cube, to young buyers have instead landed fans in an older demographic. Maybe middle-age adults were drawn in by the marketing jargon: Don’t call the Cube a car, it’s a “mobile device,” and please don’t ask for accessories, just “set preferences.”

Maybe they just think it looks cool.

Either way, Nissan has found that the average Cube buyer is in his or her 40s; this is the case for all tall, boxy cars. Back in 2003, Honda marketed the Element as a “dorm room on wheels,” but it’s more likely Mom will be dropping you off in it.

Nissan calls this gap “expected,” and maybe it is. The average new car buyer is 56 years old, according to AutoPacific, a research firm for the auto industry. Young people frequently buy used vehicles the first time they make a car purchase. The same phenomenon also hit the Scion xB when it debuted as a youth-targeted wagon.

Nissan, Honda and Scion likely see their boxy cars as not just a young person’s car but as a way to get a foot in the door and establish brand loyalty by starting the car buyer on an affordable yet unique vehicle. The thinking is if they liked the Cube maybe someday they’ll come back for a look at the Altima.

Grown-ups Bask in Cubes’ Youthful Glow (USA Today)

2009|Nissan|Cube