Toyota's iQ
Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press writer, reveals the iQ, a new car from Toyota:
The iQ is Toyota's brand new design to break into the super-compact, affordable, green car segment which is primarily held by Daimler AG's Smart coupe.
At a tiny 9.8 feet long, the iQ is smaller than Toyota's already-cramped Yaris. The toaster-sized iQ was designed to cater to younger, urban drivers that need to get around in heavily congested places. Safety, styling, and smooth handling were top priorities by the design team in Japan. Toyota engineers are quite confident in the new vehicle; they even claim that while driving the iQ, formerly dull tasks such as doing a U-turn become exciting.
At a tiny 9.8 feet long, the iQ is smaller than Toyota's already-cramped Yaris. The toaster-sized iQ was designed to cater to younger, urban drivers that need to get around in heavily congested places. Safety, styling, and smooth handling were top priorities by the design team in Japan. Toyota engineers are quite confident in the new vehicle; they even claim that while driving the iQ, formerly dull tasks such as doing a U-turn become exciting.
In a period of dollar-hoarding and record job losses, Toyota's release of a small, fuel efficient car displays intelligence that seems to escape many execs in Detroit. A claimed 54 mpg should relieve some stress for people nervously stepping into the new car market. And the go-kart-sized coupe achieves this efficiency without the use of diesel or hybrid technology. Executives at Toyota hope that the iQ will help boost sales to help the corporation through the hard times on Wall Street.
The car is already on sale in Europe and Japan for a price of around $14,000. Toyota executives haven't decided whether or not the car will be sold in the states. But if it does, which I hope, it'll no doubt be sporting Scion badges and an attractive sticker price.
Sounds like an intelligent move to me.
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