Who would pay almost $500 to add flashing lights to a car? Or over $200 to add the Shag Dash Topper shown in the photo above? That's what I wondered after a week in a 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 S.
I'm all for whimsy, and my kids liked the Cube so much that my 11-year-old daughter announced that it's her new favorite car (after the 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan, mind you). But rather than just marvel at how insanely inane such features are like my colleague James Riswick, I have to wonder who actually pays for such features.
There must be enough people for Nissan and other automakers to justify going to the trouble to make them available. I've also seen a similar ambient lighting feature in a half dozen or so Ford vehicles I've tested, as part of the Comfort Package option that costs $595. And it's available on the Focus as a $295 standalone option.
On the Cube, the interior illumination (as shown in the YouTube video below) is part of a $490 Interior Illumination Package that also includes lighted stainless-steel door sills. And if you spend $230 on the Interior Designer Package you get the Shag Dash Topper and Front Door Bungees, which are also visible in the pic of the dash toupee. And also have no real function as far as I can tell.
Doug Newcomb, Senior Editor, Technology
By brn
on June 15, 2010
10:36 AM
There's no shortage of screwed up priorities.
By blueguydotcom
on June 15, 2010
11:01 AM
At least it's on the inside. The buyer can enjoy his/her mod every time he's in the car. Think of the billions wasted on bumper stickers, spoilers, chrome rims, side sills and "baby on board" (the most egregious) that all face outside the car. Those things are done so other people can look at it. At least the owner with the shag toupee gets to run his fingers through the tangle of synthetic fibers when he's feeling stressed.
Off to find some shag carpet for my wife's Audi...
By firstwagon
on June 15, 2010
05:11 PM
Why do people pay thousands for carbon fibre trim?
Fancy headlights, body kits and wings, giant rims?
Some people have extra money and poor taste.
By ne1butu2
on June 15, 2010
09:17 PM
I'm concerned about your 11 year old daughter. Really. This and the Sienna are her favorite vehicles? Perhaps she is in need of home schooling? You can't trust public education anymore!
By dougnewcomb
on June 16, 2010
01:19 PM
@ne1butu2: Actually, she is homeschooled. But if it makes you feel any better I asked which was her favorite vehicles out of the dozens she's ridden in and she said the Sienna (she liked the split-screen video system), Cube (it's "cute") and the Jaguar XKR (http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2009/02/inside-line-technology-review-2009-jaguar-xkr.html). So there's hope for her yet.
By dougnewcomb
on June 16, 2010
04:22 PM
Forgot that our blog administrator told me you can't put parenthesis around urls or even a period at the end: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2009/02/inside-line-technology-review-2009-jaguar-xkr.html
By jerrymax
on June 20, 2010
02:01 PM
Yes, 'whimsy' is the word to use here but one look at the Nissan Cube and you know what you're dealing with. It looks like a clown car from the circus. But this is all rather harmless and the car itself is at least as practical as a Toyota Scion [which looks equally cube-like] or a VW Beetle [which looks, well, bug-like]. And considering all of the useless and absurd after-market products that people buy to put on other vehicles, is it really that odd to add these whimsical touches to a cube on wheels?