Inman Square, home to an eclectic array of coffee shops and eateries, has never dealt with America's notorious corporate culture.

But as a local car dealership faces extinction, the square is learning to cope with the bureaucracy of a multinational company.

Cambridge Nissan has been surrounded by Inman's various coffee shops and restaurants since it first rolled up its garage doors 26 years ago.

But its longevity did not stop the Nissan Motor Corporation of America from issuing the franchise a termination notice earlier this month.

According to a Nissan spokesperson reached in Los Angeles yesterday, the notice will force the closure of the dealership's sales, parts and service departments, leaving nothing but memories for franchise owner Nai Nan Ko.

Unless the courts side with him, that is.

Ko hopes to take the parent corporation to federal court, claiming that no part of his franchise contract has been violated.

As he relaxed in an office decorated with a few jade dragons, some posters commemorating recent Super Bowls and other hints of a life divided between two cultures, Ko explained how he came to own the Inman Square garage.

The Taiwanese native came to the United States in 1968 with $300 in his pocket. After studying mechanical engineering at Boston University and working for several years in a repair shop, Ko bought Cambridge Nissan in 1984.

Unlike other venerable Cambridge establishments like the Tasty, Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage and Keezer's Classic Clothing, all taking shoppers on a mystical voyage to the 1950s, Ko's dealership does not pretend to sell history.

Like most car dealerships these days, the shop--located at 1280 Cambridge St.--has a showroom full of sparkling '97 models and is covered wall-to-wall with carpeting.

Restricted by its urban location, Ko's business has been unable to expand its sales enough to satisfy its parent corporation.

A Nissan official, who initially confused the Inman Square dealership with a troubled branch in West Virginia, argues that Ko does not reach a specified percentage of the regional market.

Ko recognizes that the corporation is facing a contracting industry and is forced to cut its more inefficient smaller operations.

"Just like gas stations, small guys are getting forced out of business," he says.