There’s no reason not to have both an accurate gauge and a warning light. Or at least a ‘check gauges’ light. When you dumb things down excessively, you just breed dumber people. And people are plenty dumb already…
The Cube is trying too hard to be cute. It was a hit in Japan where first introduced (they like cute), but haven’t done that we’ll here. I suspect they’ve only kept selling it here as an alternative to the Versa, the current version of which is fairly awful, especially the interior. The Cube exterior is silly, but if you want to look like you’re driving a laundry appliance, it’s just the thing. I actually liked the first generation xB, though it never felt very safe. ZipCar used to have some and they were good for errands around the city, with an astonishing amount of room inside for a car that looked tiny.
The Juke doesn’t work for me, either, but it’s only the front end that is especially bad. The lack of rear legroom would keep me from ever buying one, but I’m tallish. I could never abide a Mini, either, yet plenty of people love them. I think the current Cherokee front end is another ugly mess. No idea what they were thinking when the rest of the styling is so conventional and inoffensive.
I think the Cube and the Soul are cute concepts, but it’s hard to rationalize buying something that has the aerodynamics of a house brick unless it has utility like a van or truck. (though I’m sure they still get better mileage than I do)
Quoting ok4450
“The Juke has to be the ugliest abomination ever placed on a dealer lot”.
Not to mention having the all time stupidest name.
Quoting MarkM
“The Juke doesn’t work for me, either, but it’s only the front end that is especially bad.”
Apparently you’ve never been behind one. They’re ugly back there too.
…let’s not forget about the favorite nickname for the Nissan Juke.
Somehow, “Joke” just seems to fit…
I prefer ‘Puke’…
But styling is subjective, if the car sells I can’t call it a ‘mishap’.
the cab supports on 75 ford pick ups could have been better…
Wes if we want to go back more than 15 years, how about the Taurus transmissions that had shorter than normal lives?
How about a design where the assembly robots brought a heater core to the front of the line and proceeded to build a Taurus around it?
The front of the current cherokee looks like a smiling shark
don t tell my better half DB, she loves sharks…
Quoting db4690,
“The front of the current cherokee looks like a smiling shark”
I have to agree. At least it’s smiling.
As different as the new Cherokee looks, it’s a hit, major reason that Jeep sales are way up. It no longer looks bad to me, and I guess it was time to move on from the styling first seen on the '80s Cherokee…
Now wait. The Juke has very good handling, a nice turbo charged motor, AWD and decent room for a sporty car. Just because it looks like a drowned rat doesn’t mean it isn’t t a good car. Remember, if you are on the fence about buying one, once inside, you no longer have to look at it.
Agreed; the driver of a Juke can’t see the exterior from their sitting position but the stigma lingers…
Pull up next to an Aztek at the traffic light and while the Juke owner is thinking “what a pile” as they eyeball the Aztek, the Pontiac owner’s mood is elevated as the “well, it could be worse…” factor comes into play while they stare back at the Juke… 
Those Two “Cars” Always Have Little Round “Hail Damage” Type Dents All Over From Being Poked With A Ten-Foot Pole.
CSA
It seems to me that Chevrolet offered a hybrid pickup truck that despite the cost only gave about 1,mpg more than the same truck without the hybrid equipment. Also, Chevrolet offeed a truck that steered the rear wheels and the front wheels. It didn’t stay on the market for long.
Quoting @CSA
“Those Two “Cars” Always Have Little Round “Hail Damage” Type Dents All Over From Being Poked With A Ten-Foot Pole.”
Good one CSA. That explains all those little dents on the sides, but what about the hood and top?
the crows dropped walnuts on it…
The hybrid GM trucks weren’t the biggest bang for the buck but from what I understand you could use one to power equipment on the jobsite. The 4whl steering known as Quadrasteer was about a $4,000 upgrade as part as a package so it really was a hard sell. It did reduce the turning circle of those big trucks but it would have sold even better if offered for the 1/2 ton Suburban and otherwise available on more than the one cab/bed combination.
As for those hybrid trucks, the fuel economy gain was a little more than 1mpg
We have a few of those in our fleet, and they can be a PITA to diagnose, when the problem is the 42V hybrid system.
I had to replace the batteries on one a few months back. What’s interesting is that it’s just 3 12V AGM batteries, in series. Of course, there’s control modules involved, also.
They needed replacement, because they were about 9 years old and wouldn’t reliably hold a charge. Since they were a non-standard size, the dealer was just about the only place to get them. In the end, 3 batteries cost less than $500. Not cheap, but not the end of the world, either.
Installing them was easy enough, once the cover to the battery box was removed, and the kill switch was turned off. But then you needed to “tell” the control module that it had new batteries. The procedure involved a scan tool, and it was kind of weird. To top it off, the factory service information concerning the procedure was very poorly worded
When you drive with the scanner hooked up, you’ll notice that the battery pack voltage fluctuates.
After more reading, it was evident that it’s designed to be that way. What’s more, the individual batteries are NOT supposed to be maintained at a full charge. Maybe because the hybrid system is merely assisting the ICE . . . ?
There also . . . quite recently . . . was a national parts restriction on those special 12V batteries I mentioned. Probably because the trucks are all of the age that they’re failing now. And they don’t have enough supply . . .
I might be wrong, but I believe a very significant percentage of those GM hybrid trucks were destined for fleet use