Photo: Nissan
Just last week, Nissan issued a press release for its 2015 model year that all but certainly spelled the end for the slow-selling Nissan Cube, but now Automotive News reports that not only is the Cube dead after the 2014 model year so is the equally odd Murano Cross Cabriolet. Neither loss should come as a surprise, though.
The writing has been on the wall for both models since not long after they launched. Sales of the Cube topped out at almost 23,000 units in its second year on the market (2010), while its key rival, the Kia Soul, has only gotten stronger since its introduction in 2010. For the Murano convertible, the fact that it was in a class of its own may have been an indicator of how buyers felt about a convertible crossover, but it surely didn’t help that it looked almost as bad as it drove.
Perhaps the nail in the Murano Cross Cab’s coffin is the all-new 2015 Murano that will debut later this year. Although Nissan has yet to confirm anything officially, the report does quote a Nissan spokesperson as saying “there is no plan to create another convertible version” of the Murano. Aside from its odd styling and proportions, the Murano Cross Cab was also expensive coming at a premium of more than $13,000 over the standard version of the crossover.
Nissan doesn’t break out sales figures for the Murano and the Murano Cross Cabriolet, but the convertible likely sold far fewer units than the Nissan Cube, which Automotive News is now saying will officially be dropped following this model year. Through June, Nissan sold just 2,294 Cube hatchbacks (down 30.9 percent compared to 2013), but even worse, this year-to-date total over six months is just a fraction of what the Kia Soul has sold each month in 2014.
Now you have to give Nissan some credit for at least trying to be different in a growing market of mid-size crossovers and compact cars, but few will likely miss the absence of the Murano Cross Cab or the Nissan Cube from Nissan’s lineup next year.
Perhaps the nail in the Murano Cross Cab’s coffin is the all-new 2015 Murano that will debut later this year. Although Nissan has yet to confirm anything officially, the report does quote a Nissan spokesperson as saying “there is no plan to create another convertible version” of the Murano. Aside from its odd styling and proportions, the Murano Cross Cab was also expensive coming at a premium of more than $13,000 over the standard version of the crossover.
Nissan doesn’t break out sales figures for the Murano and the Murano Cross Cabriolet, but the convertible likely sold far fewer units than the Nissan Cube, which Automotive News is now saying will officially be dropped following this model year. Through June, Nissan sold just 2,294 Cube hatchbacks (down 30.9 percent compared to 2013), but even worse, this year-to-date total over six months is just a fraction of what the Kia Soul has sold each month in 2014.
Now you have to give Nissan some credit for at least trying to be different in a growing market of mid-size crossovers and compact cars, but few will likely miss the absence of the Murano Cross Cab or the Nissan Cube from Nissan’s lineup next year.
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