iQ Review

[grwhitaker]

We have seen what the last 16 years of deregulation have gotten us in this country...and it ain't pretty.

I'm definitely on the other side on this. CAFE has been ineffective because it did not include light trucks, per the automaking lobby bribes [contributions LOL]; hands off on CARB-the change it has brought to SoCal since I was a child are major; the EPA-do we really want to return to half mile deep strip mines, Lake Erie catching fire regularly and leaded gasoline?

The idea that industries will police themselves is crap!
The idea that parents will avoid lead tainted toys is crap-how will they know, and will they care if they are cheaper. Obviously not, since people continue to shop at the international sweatshop known as Wal Mart.

Also-Whole Foods/Wild Oats etc. organic foods are certified by numerous agencies [including the FTC].

Strongly suggest you'll who think that regulation is out of control go back and read quite a bit more history-the good ol' days aren't as good as you have been lead to believe.

And before anyone else whines about it, remember, change will occur whether you want it or not. The choice is on how that change will be managed. There aren't 50 million people in this country-there are 300 million plus and we all need to get back to the concept of common good.

[bucketboss]

My turn.......

What really gets me is that although a car is certified by TUV for the German roads it cannot be sold here. The Germans certify their cars to a standard that is surely safe enough to handle Autobahn demands. But here at 65-70 mph we would have to re-certify it at large cost and time. Of course it sometimes doesn't have the things we are used to here. Like a shifter that has to return to Park or OBDII protocol. Think 2001-2007 MCC Smart. I can jump on my Ducati without a helmet legally and tear down the road but to be legal I need to wear a seatbelt?

Of course it takes a large amount of $$ and training to get a license in Germany. You don't take a couple hours of driving with a private instructor, take a written test, and drive off.

Then there is the EPA. Bin 2 tier 5 Blah blah.
I can walk into a Ford dealer and purchase a brand new 2009 F350 6.0 liter Diesel and drive it off the lot but I can't import a 2009 Smart CDI because it doesn't meet the pollution stds. Now, really, which one do you suppose pollutes more per mile? Could we just agree on a world (developed) standard? I'm effectively breathing the same air they do.

The Big Three have viable european models that could be fast tracked to help with the need for small fuel efficient cars but that can't happen. The DOT wouldn't agree to that. We have our rules.

We get so ingrained in the rule of law which needs to be inflexabe so we cannot leave anything to interpretation. By doing so we are leaving common sense on the table.

Do you suppose those people driving around in a euro spec IQ are any less safe than the Smart or Yaris owner here?

Stepping off now......

[imcquade]

Originally Posted by Dave777

YouTube - TOYOTA iQ :: ??? iQ - Amazing Digest - egg

Way back in this thread someone said that at 6ft 2" they can EASILY fit in the back seat.

My wife is 6'2" and having seen the video - there is NO WAY she would fit in the back of that car with any degree of comfort - I dare say she'd not even make it 1/2 a mile down the road before demanding she be let free.

I would gather the person posting must have meant that should the front seat be jammed up against the dash board he might wedge himself in the back - or - he means he would sit sideways - which would still suck.

The car is clearly almost the same length as the smart since it fit side ways in a parking spot with the front and rear bumpers on the lines.

Based on the shortness of the car I would think dropping the back of the rear seat flat would be impossible without shunting the front seats all the way forward - so you definitely for-go the storage area - which in my opinion the smart has plenty of in the back

I actually like the look of the car but not nearly as much as the smart. I also think the video is cool - best guess - the US version will have every safety gadget available so without pulling a fuse or such it'll probably not do what you see in the video.

In a nut shell - this is NOT a car you buy for the back seat.... if you have kids - it won't take long before they hate it in the back - and I wouldn't want to ponce around with a car seat in the back of it....

Some one stated it'll kill the smart - erm, ok, so if the IQ kills of the smart what do I care - its not going to change my life

Cheers All

[forestacademy]

Something to remember about kids in back seats.

When you stuff a kid into a car seat, suddenly they are kicking the back of the drivers seat. You lose Leg room when you add the depth of a childs booster seat.
Small Back seats are even smaller now

[Smartdavis]

A small back seat would be better than no back seat for me. I don't have far to go, but I often have more than one passenger wanting a ride. That IQ looks awfully tempting, but my guess is that it won't be coming to the US anytime soon thanks to the economy. If Toyota (or anybody else) thought they could make money with a another micro-car it would be on it's way here regardless of some of our rather idiotic rules because money talks.

[jwight]

Here's one example of a car brought from the EU to the USA with minimal changes:

But now comes the 2008 Saturn Astra, an all-new-for the U.S.-car from the youngest division of General Motors. It is virtually identical to the Opel Astra from GM of Europe, which is the second-best selling automobile on the continent, behind the Volkswagen Golf.

Saturn has been striving mightily to develop an all-new lineup of vehicles, and it needed an entry-level economy car to replace the ill-fated Ion. So the powers there decided to take the front-drive Opel Astra as it was and bring it to the U.S. as the newest Saturn.

Even so, it took about 21 months-way short for the development and introduction of a new car-because changes had to be made to meet U.S. government safety and emissions regulations.

The engineers also did some tweaking of the automatic transmission to give it characteristics more familiar to American drivers. They also added a wrinkle to reduce strain, vibration and harshness. At stop signs, with the driver's foot on the brake, the transmission, almost imperceptibly, shifts into neutral. When the driver lifts his foot to move off, it shifts back into first gear.

2008 Saturn Astra Expert Reviews

So, what does this tell us? 21 months is not enough time to develop a new car. The car had to be tweaked to meet USA standards (because it was not designed to meet them in the first place - poor decision by GM, not the fault of our standards.) We're not at a "world" standard yet, but we're getting there. Most manufacturers who want to sell in the US market design their new models to meet our standards from the get go. Others have to play catch up - their decision.

[Smartdavis]

Originally Posted by jwight

Here's one example of a car brought from the EU to the USA with minimal changes:

So, what does this tell us? 21 months is not enough time to develop a new car. The car had to be tweaked to meet USA standards (because it was not designed to meet them in the first place - poor decision by GM, not the fault of our standards.) We're not at a "world" standard yet, but we're getting there. Most manufacturers who want to sell in the US market design their new models to meet our standards from the get go. Others have to play catch up - their decision.

A very good point. However my guess is that since the demand for all new cars has fallen off a cliff the motivation to introduce something new right now must be hard to justify in the corporate boardrooms. I can just imagine the conversation:

Product development: "we've got this great concept for a micro-car that gets terrific gas mileage and can seat 4 people (barely). It's going to be the Smart killer"

Production: "we've got a bajillion cars backed up on our loading docks and our dealers can't get financing to floor the inventory. Where are we going to put it?"

Marketing: "Nobody is buying anything so the "Smart Killer" concept is dead no pun intended. We've got to unload inventory just to make room for our existing cars. If anybody wants a high mileage 4 passenger car how about the Yaris? We've got thousands of them with free financing"

Accounting: "We just had our line of credit go south at Lehman Brothers and we are recalculating the quarter. It looks like the worst loss in our history. I've got a call into Paulsen for some of that TARP money. We've got plants in the US too"

President: "The board wants me to stop using my private jet. Postpone my tee time and cancel my massage. Find me a congressman that needs a donation for their favorite charity"

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Dave777

YouTube - TOYOTA iQ :: ??? iQ - Amazing Digest - egg

Amazing! This looks like so much fun - must have taken a lot of practice.

Watch this parking scene in full screen and notice the drivers...

YouTube - TOYOTA iQ :: トヨタ iQ - easy parking

YouTube - TOYOTA iQ :: トヨタ iQ - easy parking

[PerryA]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

Oh and don't forget the MPG does not directly translate to US . Gallons are diferent over the pond

5 US quarts to the Imperial gallon as I recall. . .surprised it wasn't quoted in liters since the petrol stations dispense in liters.

[grwhitaker]

Make sure you look near the finish of the 2nd iQ parking and notice the red SUV must have been tapped by the back right corner of the iQ since it moves a little bit.