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MIAMI – The angular ’09 Nissan Cube is an aptly named vehicle that’s funky and functional, and looks good even with a side mirror torn off from an accident here.
That happens when a taxi driver fails to pull all the way to the curb to drop off young tourists at a South Beach hotel, and one of them unthinkingly swings open the street-side rear door as the aforementioned Cube passes by.
“I told her not to get out on that side,” the cabbie tells a police officer called to the scene.
Meanwhile, some curious motorists slow down and ask about the Cube, parked and temporarily out of commission. Their comments range from, “What is it?” to “Nice.” (Well, you should see the other side.)
The policeman tells the bemused cabbie about a quaint section of the Florida motor vehicle code: “If your passenger does something dumb, you’re still responsible.”
Then he tells a Nissan North America Inc. representative: “So this is a Nissan? I almost put on my report it was a Scion.”
Ouch.
Nissan folks do not want to hear certain things about the Cube during a press preview: 1.) One has been in an accident. 2.) It was mistaken for a Scion xB.
