Toyota

[frankv74]

Their version of the smart but with a tiny back seat....IQ

Frank

[richter111]

I like it

I am Ric and I approve of this message.

(Getting into the I am tired of the election commercials nonstop please vote for me and it won't go away until November.)

[Steve N]

I work at a TV station and have to dub at least a half-dozen of those commercials into our system every day...believe me, we're sick of them too. Fortunately, those candidates pay through the nose for the advertising time, so it helps ensure my employment. From what I've been told the station makes more during the few months of an election season than the rest of the time put together. When I was being trained, the supervisor joked that if the building caught fire during election season, I should make sure the political ads air before calling the fire department!

A few years ago Mandie and I were in Canada, and there was an election coming up. They had plenty of campaign ads on TV, but I was amazed at how civilized they were compared to the ones here in the States. It was mostly "I'm candidate So-And-So, and here's what my position is." Not like here, where it's "Candidate Such-and-Such molests goats and eats babies, and will lead us into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, while Candidate So-and-So is the Messiah who will establish a new golden age of prosperity and enlightenment." Personally, I'd like to see a ban on ads attacking the other candidate..tell me who YOU and, and what YOU believe, and what YOU plan to do.

Oh..the car is kinda cool looking. Probably a too small for my 6'2" 240 lb frame, though.

SN

[The_Animal]

Hate to say this, but after the brake/accelerator fiasco. I'm not trusting Toyota's vehicles or anything else they make EVER. If I buy a Japanese car, it's a Honda or a Subaru.

Edited September 21, 2010 by The_Animal

[CorsairMan]

Another desperate move by a company not used to being in this position. They won't go away but its nice to see them cut down a notch.

[Tilt]

Get over it. Toyota always has, and will continue to make some of the best vehicles on the road. The IQ looks pretty cool. A bit too small for my liking, but very cool.

[Jcarr162000]

And then Aston Martin got hold of it...

Quite appropriate they called it the 'Cygnet', the ugly duckling! Yours for £20,000 or US $31,250.

Edited September 21, 2010 by Jcarr162000

[tornado64]

And then Aston Martin got hold of it...

Quite appropriate they called it the 'Cygnet', the ugly duckling! Yours for £20,000 or US $31,250.

i forget the reasoning but aston had to do it !!

had a look and found it !!

here in europe car companies products are going to have to fall within a range of co2 emmisions throughout the model ranges

not too bad for companies who make a spectrum of vehicles but a nightmare for those who don't

a snippet from a motoring journalist that hit on it !! it was also swiftly mentioned on top gear so quick most missed it !!

Theory two: Maybe this is a clever way to boost Aston’s green government credentials, a big issue when your corporate CO2 average is about the same as Boeing’s? No, that’s not the reason, said the helpful Aston Martin PR: Aston is confident of an exemption from punitive new CO2 rules owing to its teeny size.

[Jennings]

(Getting into the I am tired of the election commercials nonstop please vote for me and it won't go away until November.)

Not watching television has many distinct advantages. I'll soon be ten years without a cable connection, satellite, or even rabbit ears. Loving it! Life is way less stressful. And anything good (which is very, very rare) that I want to watch, I can get from Netflix. "Mad Men" and some BBC/PBS stuff, and the odd movie, is about it.

J

PS: BTW, Toyota (and every other Japanese manufacturer) has had cars like this for decades. They just didn't export them to the US. It's amazing what you see on the road in Japan.

Edited September 21, 2010 by Jennings

[tornado64]

Get over it. Toyota always has, and will continue to make some of the best vehicles on the road. The IQ looks pretty cool. A bit too small for my liking, but very cool.

exceptionaly true !! remember the airbusses computer malfunction at the paris airshow that ditched the aircraft in the woods ???

the company makes superb aircraft

i once worked for toyota , after a fair selection of other brands , toyotas workshops work consisted mainly of servicing and fitting accessories ( whilst i was there ( six months ) there was only one vehicle arrived on a reccovery

this was as opposed to peugot who averaged out at three a day on a reccovery truck ( the peugot manager was even heard to say " can you park round the corner , i'm trying to sell these things !!

toyota is a far superior product to most main stream manufacturers even with recent technical hitches

my sister has a smart car and i refuse to have a lift in it ( even if i had to walk ten miles !! ) i know the space frame is alegedly strong but i refuse to travel in a spam can !!

if the toyota is non space frame i would one hundred percent not get in it !!

Edited September 21, 2010 by tornado64

[SBARC]

And then Aston Martin got hold of it...

Quite appropriate they called it the 'Cygnet', the ugly duckling! Yours for £20,000 or US $31,250.

I recall years ago....1982(?) when I attended the Geneva auto show that the Aston Martin display had an Austin Mini done up with the full Aston Martin treatment. It was a beautiful little mini.....and rather costly as well.....but much cheaper than the rest of their line-up.

This was also the year that Porsche debut the 944 with a cut away version of the car.....it was quite the sight to see a new 944 in full cut away configuration.....engine......transmission....tires...wheels etc all cut away to expose the inner workings.

[Isaac]

Hate to say this, but after the brake/accelerator fiasco. I'm not trusting Toyota's vehicles or anything else they make EVER. If I buy a Japanese car, it's a Honda or a Subaru.

+ 1 for the Subaru. I have two of them.

[camaroz06]

Pretty cool looking IMHO. I like the sub compact cars for some reason their shape appeals to me.

Hopefully someone will release it as a kit.

Honestly I would still buy a Toyota/Lexus without hesitation.

[SBARC]

Pretty cool looking IMHO. I like the sub compact cars for some reason their shape appeals to me.

Hopefully someone will release it as a kit.

Honestly I would still buy a Toyota/Lexus without hesitation.

My wife and I both drive 92 Toyotas and we've driven Toyotas since the mid 80's and will continue to do so for a long time to come. Admittedly we drive older Toyotas so any issues with newer cars aren't an issue with us. I switched to a Toyota after owning a 1970 MG midget.....never got through a tankful of gas in the MG without something breaking down and it leaving me stranded. I became quite the mechanic after my first year of MG ownership.

My current daily driver is a 92 Previa van...AWD....300,000km on it and running just fine. I know it will be fine up to 600,000 km......which won't be for another 30 years.....I'll probably sell it due to boredom before then.

[Jay Chladek]

Personally, I think it would be cool if we saw Daniel Craig drive one of the new IQ based Astons in the next Bond film, tricked out with gadgets and stuff (well, I figure Sony would have to cut the production budget somewhere if they get the finances to do another Bond film).

Actually, in accidents the Smart based cars are pretty safe. They usually bounce off in a collision, so they don't crush like a typical car. However, get one in a collision with a couple trucks catching it in a squeeze play, and it can be a bit nasty as the car has no where to go. A friend of mine saw the results of that type of wreck recently.

[The_Animal]

Get over it. Toyota always has, and will continue to make some of the best vehicles on the road.

Don't particularly care. Tilt. You can buy Toyota if you want to. Nothing from that company will sit in my driveway.

[GreyGhost]

The Fiat 500 is coming soon too ...

Gregg

[tornado64]

Personally, I think it would be cool if we saw Daniel Craig drive one of the new IQ based Astons in the next Bond film,

hate to burst ya bubble but filming on the next bond film was canned half way through due to lack of money !!

even the baby aston couldn't help there !!

LONDON - The new James Bond movie has been shelved amid financial crisis.

The production company EON confirmed in a statement: “We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage.â€

“American Beauty†director Sam Mendes was lined up to direct the 23rd flick in the franchise, which started with “Dr No†in 1962, reports mirror.co.uk.

Movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is drowning under a reported $3.64 billion debt as it desperately searches for a buyer. A string of box office flops have meant big losses.

It is unsure when James Bond will make a comeback on the big screen.

“Members of the production crew have been told the Bond film has been canned,†mirror.co.uk quoted an insider as saying. “There is a lot of bad feeling as a lot of time, money and hard work has already gone into this.â€

[CorsairMan]

My wife and I both drive 92 Toyotas and we've driven Toyotas since the mid 80's and will continue to do so for a long time to come. Admittedly we drive older Toyotas so any issues with newer cars aren't an issue with us. I switched to a Toyota after owning a 1970 MG midget.....never got through a tankful of gas in the MG without something breaking down and it leaving me stranded. I became quite the mechanic after my first year of MG ownership.

My current daily driver is a 92 Previa van...AWD....300,000km on it and running just fine. I know it will be fine up to 600,000 km......which won't be for another 30 years.....I'll probably sell it due to boredom before then.

That's the issue. The toyota cars of today are definitely not the ones that came out in 92 or shortly thereafter. A lot of them aren't even made in Japan. What gets me angry is that they have clung onto the prices as if they were. Your 92s will last a long time without much issue if you take care of them. The ones of today? Not worth the premium.

[Firecaptain]

Give me an old(er) Toyota any day....I've got 5 of 'em...2 -94's 2 - 95's and a 97....NONE fly-by-wire

2 built in Japan.......with 200k, 180k, 165k, 160k, and 112k miles.....they take a lickin and keep on tickin...

The most I've spent on one is for tires ....

[Icehound]

Well dont know about the rest of you but our MADE IN CANADA 2005 Toyota Corolla CE runs very well,much nicer than the last Ford we owned.

[Hal Marshman Sr]

Currently driving an '08 Highlander. Except for one glaring exception, have been buting nothing but Toyotas since '81. When we had to be a 2 car family, both cars were Toyotas. The Highlander by the way, is built in Japan. These Smart car types might be great for around town, but I'd not bet my life on one on the interstate. Too small, poor acceleration, and brakes too small for hi speed driving. Hal Sr

[Tilt]

That's the issue. The toyota cars of today are definitely not the ones that came out in 92 or shortly thereafter. A lot of them aren't even made in Japan. What gets me angry is that they have clung onto the prices as if they were. Your 92s will last a long time without much issue if you take care of them. The ones of today? Not worth the premium.

Still not even close. If you've never owned one......or you decided to jump on the 'media bandwagon' last year....then yeah, you're opinion will be skewed. I owned one. And I plan to own plenty more. My '09 Tacoma was easily the finest engineered vehicle I ever got the privilege to drive. And I've owned/driven a LOT of vehicles. When you say statements like, "The toyota cars of today are definitely not the ones that came out in 92 or shortly thereafter".....you're simply speaking out of your butt. Go take an actual unbiased look at some Toyotas. And no, I don't mean go read reviews or blog on the interwebs......go to the dealership and drive a few of them. Might open your eyes. Or don't...I don't care. But stop slamming vehicles you honestly know nothing about.

Tilt

[CorsairMan]

Parents have an old one and love it. Neighbors have newer ones and complain all the time (mainly complain about how the new toyota is not like their old one).

Never owned one and never will. Main reason being the pricing that does not make sense (highest destination charge for a car that is made 4 hours away?) and because of Toyota's pricing policies (why pay import prices on a domestic car?) and their anti competitive behaviors. Don't take my word for it - look up Toyota and Competition Act or Anti Competitive.

[tornado64]

Still not even close. If you've never owned one......or you decided to jump on the 'media bandwagon' last year....then yeah, you're opinion will be skewed. I owned one. And I plan to own plenty more. My '09 Tacoma was easily the finest engineered vehicle I ever got the privilege to drive. And I've owned/driven a LOT of vehicles. When you say statements like, "The toyota cars of today are definitely not the ones that came out in 92 or shortly thereafter".....you're simply speaking out of your butt. Go take an actual unbiased look at some Toyotas. And no, I don't mean go read reviews or blog on the interwebs......go to the dealership and drive a few of them. Might open your eyes. Or don't...I don't care. But stop slamming vehicles you honestly know nothing about.

Tilt

exactly !! i have worked at ford , rover and toyota rover has gone !! ford but for the name would be filing for bankruptcy !!

but toyota are a whole difrent ball game !! dealerships ethics are second to none !! product engineering is far and above most

toyota are not successfull because they sell sh*te !! they are successfull because they sell well engineered reliable vehicles

if that wasn't the case the uk would still have its own makes and not be home to a toyota plant

the vehicles that roll out of the uk plant are every bit as well made as the japanese equivalent model i worked with them and the only difrence i could notice was plant production labels apart from that exactly the same vehicle !

i am the first to admit i don't like toyota shapes and designs

but if i wanted a well engineered reliable car that will last i wouldn't considder anything else

they are the most popular private hire taxicab here in the uk because of thier well reputed abillity of niel armstrong millage with little trouble

i think a whole countrys taxi drivers are a good judge it is thier livelyhoods at stake if they get a lemon !!