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Super-Shrink
By Michelle | March 4, 2008
Toyota goes ultra-compact. In today’s reality of high fuel costs (though I always say, compare your gallon of gas to a gallon of Starbucks coffee), the market for sub-compact cars continues to grow. Already popular in Europe and Japan, they’re even starting to migrate over to the States–aka hummerland.
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Here is Toyota’s concept car, called the iQ, it seems. Said to be inspired from the idea of creating an “ultra compact, highly space efficient, environmentally friendly vehicle that maximizes the urban lifestyle of Europe’s fashionable metropolitan dwellers,” this 3+1 seater is definitely tiny. The image at left shows it against the outline of the Yaris, which is pretty small itself. |
Dubbed at the 2008 Geneva Motor show as a “break-through in compact urban transportation,” it is essentially Toyota’s version of the uber-small Smart Car. Note, however, that unlike in the US where the idea of rewarding people for driving energy-efficient machines is only just beginning to catch on, drivers of light-weight cars and trucks in Japan (軽自動車) receive substantial benefits such as lower taxes, lower insurance, and exemption from the need to prove that you have somewhere to park the vehicle. One of the Kei cars that stands out in my mind is the Honda Acty, which actually comes in minivan and truck varieties. If you’ve ever been to Japan, I;’ sure you’ve seen these cute little trucks on the roads.
Topics: Randomness |