25 Votes

Is Nissan's Cube Already Missing The Demographic Mark Just Like Scion Did?

Agent009 submitted on 9/24/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:30:27 PM

34 user comments | Category: New Cars | Source: | SOURCE: www.usatoday.com

Gary Musser of Las Vegas traded a Toyota Prius hybrid for his spanking new Cube, and loves to cruise the glittering Vegas Strip in the little boxy car he says is a "babe magnet".

Thing is, Musser's 71 and married. That means, for one thing, any magnetism is arm's-length. It also means car marketers might have shot wide of the mark with the newest small, tall boxes aimed to lure elusive young buyers.

Musser's outside the mainstream, but he's not as far afield as you might guess. Typical buyers of today's tall, boxy cars, not just Cube, are in their 40s, twice what you'd think from the cars' "hey, kids" marketing.

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Is Nissan's Cube Already Missing The Demographic Mark Just Like Scion Did?

About the Author

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
— Agent009 (View Profile)

User Comments

Goes to show that young people these days are with the trends... the people buying these cars just think they are buying into younger trends. And wtf... it's so ugly... and unsymmetric...
— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 1:41:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2

-asymmetric
— lexusrox123 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 6:15:16 PM | | Votes: 1

All of these Cube/Element/Soul/HHR/PTCruiser/ScionXb are supposed to make their owners look kinda cool and youg, while in fact, they make them look old and stupid.
— MSP6 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 1:52:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2

Can you provide a list of age appropriate vehicles. Please list in 5 year increments.

I'm now worried that you might think I look old or stupid based on my choice of vehicles. God knows I can't sleep now till I find what vehicle I should be driving.

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 2:12:50 PM | | Votes: 2

Maybe some people just don't give an F what other people think of them, let alone the cars they drive.
— answer (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 1:56:49 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8

Sorry ?

People who don't give a F about what people think of them are likely to get a CR-V over an Element, a Versa HB over a cube, a Matrix over a Scion XB, or a Caliber over a PT Cruiser. People buying these cars want to get other peoples attention.
— MSP6 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 2:12:28 PM | | Votes: -1

MSP6, I'd love to hear your analysis of people that buy Corvettes, or Ferraris, Odysseys....
— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 2:15:43 PM | | Votes: 4

— MSP6

I think people will BUY what they think they need and/or can afford.

.02
— NSXR (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 9:47:01 AM | | Votes: 2

I'm kinda stuck on the "miss the mark like Scion/Toyota" Let me guess, 009? I wouldn't say that Scion was a huge success, but it certainly isn't a failure; try again. Comparaing that Ice Cube to anything is below the belt...innovative or not.
— Mason3Robert (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 1:59:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

WEll the point I was shooting towards was the both Scion and the Nissan Cube made a big deal about appealing to the hip 20's crowd. Right now the average age for both buyers is double that. So somewhere in the mix they think they have hit a homerun with that demographic but they find out that missed it by a wide margin.
— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 5:06:45 PM | | Votes: -1

As I have asked for before when you make those anecdotal comments.... Please provide proof, demographic stats, that bear out your premise. What is the average age of the cube/scion buyer, compared with other brands?

That would be journalism, 009, not just flame-baiting.
— thetruth01 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 5:44:50 PM | | Votes: 5

maybe older people bought them for their children.
— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 5:45:31 PM | | Votes: 5

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.

Source: Kicking Tires

The average age of the Scion buyer is 36, and 54% of the car's sales are to the under-35 set. That bests the youngest-selling car in America, the Volkswagen GTI, which according to J.D. Power & Associates, is purchased by the youngest buyers, at average age 37. Toyota also has another reason to be pleased: According to a spokeswoman, 59% of Scion buyers are new to the automaker.

Source: Advertising Age

001
— Agent001 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 6:15:04 PM | | Votes: 6

thank you 001. I may hate your politics, but your car sense makes up for it.
— thetruth01 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 10:05:40 PM | | Votes: 1

The Cube is a FAIL. I am not sure if I laugh more at this than I do people in the Smart car.
— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 4:24:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5

Ok lets look ast this way. Some of these vehicals offer good MPG somthing everyone has wanted in the past few years no matter how old also they offer some utility without being called a SUV (somthing that is considerd a dirty word these days) so desipite how the things look there is some value for anybody wanting a descent car.
— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 5:47:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

I'll bet that Cube just like the Scion rides like a log wagon and the seats will break your back after 15 miles.
— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 7:28:11 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5

We test drove a Cube since my wife (definitely older than target age demographic)thinks it adorable. The Cube has decent acceleration, awful seats, decent brakes and steering isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, but going around curves at anything over very modest speed sucks. It leans badly and gives you the feeling it will tip over at any moment. The Cube a car for people who hate cars, IMO. BTW, we met a Cube owner who loved her car - she was in her 20's and weighed slightly less than the Cube. Old chicks and fFat chicks love the Cube.
— pcar4evr (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 6:11:54 AM | | Votes: 0

I like your profile picture but not your anti japanese comments.
— lexusrox123 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 5:11:23 PM | | Votes: 2

Cougar bait.
— sdcarguy (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 8:05:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2

009, you could've at least got a pic of the Z12, not the old model.
As for the age demographic thing, perhaps they were all aiming for this (or a broad) market all along. Remember, you don't sell a product, you sell the idea of a product......
— Styles79 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 9:27:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2

From a marketing stanpoint, I'm surprised - look at the choice of music in the commercials (New Young Pony Club) along with the audience.

From an affordability and usability standpoint, it also makes sense (most of the standard/non-custom Scions I see driving are 40+

I think Cadillac's new SRX will probably end up falling in same boat (marketing young - again look at music by alterna-rock group Phoenix) and have older buyers
— DogLb (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2009 9:43:05 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Miss the mark, funny, Scion still outsells all its challengers (Soul, Cube, STUPID) and Scion is the only company that doesn't need to advertise as though young people are buying their cars. I only see geezer driving the Soul and STUPID yet I see a good number of early 20s people whenever I see an xB (haven't seen any xDs yet) or xC.
— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 12:11:28 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3

maybe he is suffering from end-life-crisis?
— rumnyc (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 12:56:05 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

Humm, maybe becuase most 20 year olds deliver pizzas, drive 10 year old Accents, and cant afford to move out of Mom's house; much less buy a new car.

These car companies, like most Baby Boomers have lost touch and are very inappropriately out of step to what's really going on in the World today.
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 1:19:53 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4

I dont know anybody under 25 years old that can afford a full tank of gas, much less a buy any new car without mommy and daddy co-signing on it, or in some cases buying it outright for them.

This aint 1989, this is 2009. World has changed, lots of fat has been trimmed. Most people who can afford new cars on their own these days are older than 25.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 1:25:21 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Most companies wont even give a young adult a real job that doesnt involve burger flipping or wiping asses unless they are 25 these days. Even with a college degree.

That's the real world, and if you dont agree, then you need to get off your ivory tower and smell the coffee.
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 1:29:02 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

Honestly I can barley afford a new car. todays cars are to cmplex which makes them to expensive for most young adults. We need an americanized Nano in the states for around 7k which will make payments on a new car about $140.00 per month on a buy.
— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 2:38:04 AM | | Votes: 4

My sister(in her 40's) bought a Honda Element, and a Scion.

But they were graduation gifts for her sons.
— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 8:40:04 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4

Poor kids
— MSP6 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 8:54:12 AM | | Votes: 0

like a said before, for a kid packing things up and going to college or for the florist down the street theese type of cars get the job done and are practical. might not be for us HP hungry curve deatroying drivers.
— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2009 5:00:24 PM | | Votes: 4

1uaw,
The Americans did, they were called the Cavalier and Sunfire, cheap, decent cars that were easy to fix. Might GM decided it was more profitable to import those S.Korean crap boxes because why should they pay a UAW guy $5000 USD per month when a S.Korean will do it for $800/month or less.

Keep on supporting those good ol' American car companies.

Not sure what the credit ratings for these "kids" are but if they still live at home, they can easily get a car loan even with a part time job (all mom and dad have to do is put up a $1000 for a downpayment, no co-signing necessary).

Scion may not have been the success Toyota hoped but its still the best in its segment. Atleast Toyota doesn't need to lose money on each Scion they sell.
— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/27/2009 5:37:42 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Cavilier and Sunfire, cheap and Easy to Fix??!!! LMAO, huu.

You're a riot man.

If they were so good there wouldnt have been such a thing as a G5, Colbalt, or Cruze.

Come on, huu that's about as bad me wishing for Hyundai to bring the Excel Back, or KIA Bring the Fiestas, and Aspires that they made for Ford back.
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 9/27/2009 11:47:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

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Is Nissan's Cube Already Missing The Demographic Mark Just Like Scion Did?

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