Sometimes harried automotive writers have to scratch the outer reaches of their creativity to come up with an engaging story angle. As a case in point, consider Matt Posky’s (2018) take on Nissan’s production of the one-millionth Juke. That success was recently achieved even though the car was pulled from the North American market last year.
Posky, a Truth About Cars writer, compared the Juke to an ex who you just heard was getting married:
“You broke up because it wasn’t working and there’s no real animosity between you, but you can’t help but wonder what might have been if you had tried a little harder or if everyone was willing to meet somewhere in the middle. You’re glad they’re doing well, but a part of you wonders what could have been as you look out into the driveway and see a Toyota CH-R or Chevrolet Trax looking back at you.”
Perhaps Posky sincerely wonders whether he should have bought a Juke. That may at least partly explain why he thinks “people will look back at the Juke with a quiet fondness in a few years.”
Posky says the Juke was a refreshing alternative to the competition in the subcompact crossover segment, which he refers to as a “toilet bowl the industry refuses to flush.”
You read that correctly. “There’s some really tepid piss in that category and the Juke doesn’t deserve to be thrown in with the likes of them.” Nor does the Juke’s successor, the Kicks, Posky adds.
The Juke’s competition last year included the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax, Fiat 500L, Fiat 500 X, Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Kia Niro, Kia Soul, Mazda CX-3, Mini Countryman, and Subaru Crosstrek, according to an interesting New York Times website called Wirecutter (2017).
I get why Posky might dismiss the Renegade, Trax and 500s, but what’s so bad about the Crosstrek, CX-3 and HR-V? He doesn’t say, so it’s hard to tell whether the primary purpose of this post was to do Nissan a solid (Stack Exchange, 2018).
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RE:SOURCES
- Gorzelany, Jim and Blake Z. Rong; 2017. “The Best Small Crossovers.” Wirecutter. Posted June 30; accessed July 18, 2018.
- Posky, Matt; 2018. “Your Ex Is Doing Fine: Nissan Just Manufactured Its One Millionth Juke.” The Truth About Cars. Posted July 17; accessed July 18.
- Stack Exchange; 2018. “What is the origin of the phrase ‘do me a solid?'” Accessed July 18.
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