Comments for Toyota's iQ - Smarter than smart? at http://ecogeek.org , comment 1 to 19 out of 19 comments http://ecogeek.org Thu, 23 May 2013 20:25:34 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-47312 This seems like a very smart and eco friendly vehicle. My husband owns a bmw greensboro dealership, and he really wants BMW to come out with a car like this. I think people would love the idea of eco friendly BMW's. Thank you for sharing! - Lyla Burns Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:47:00 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-25924 Hi all, Been looking at the IQ as my girlfriend is after a new car and we have been very impressed by it. Intersting that you guys are being offered the diesel.In the UK we get a 1 litre petrol that delivers 65mpg combined. We have to pay "Road Tax" here which is based on the pollution level of the car, with the largest vehicles costing around $500 a year to tax. The IQ is the first car not to have to pay any tax. As for safety, we use the NCAP rating, exactly the same as the US. I cant beleive people still do the whole "if you get hit by a truck" thing. It wont matter what your driving if you get hit by a truck, your gonna stop going in the direction you were travelling and start going in the direction the truck is travelling. What matters is how quickly the deceleration occurs and how much intrussion there is into the shell. Thats what NCAP measaures and the IQ has five star rating. Cant get much better than that! - Dave Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:41:09 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-25869 59 mpg is not very impressive for diesel. My 1994 Geo Metro gets 40+ mpg from a regular, 15-year-old gasoline engine. The thing weighs 1300-1400 lbs, whole this iQ is still a monster weighing in at 1900-2000 lbs. Too heavy, Toyota, keep working on it! - Ryan Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:38:16 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-25244 I'm not impressed at all with 59mpg! In the 80's I owned a dieseled engine Ford Escort that got 50+mpg on a trip from NY State to Georgia. That was when diesel was cheaper that gas. Green is bullshit. what ever happened to the VW that got 100mpg on deisel. - ROGER Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:14:36 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-20014 maybe domestic trucks should get off the damn road then. - Jake Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:34:57 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19985 As a smart owner, in Paris, i can tell you guys that the security is really not an issue. The car is build around the tridion, a safety cell in steel. It's so rigid that they had to put specific plastic part around call body panel to absorb the shock wave. I had a lot of friend driving smart car in Paris, some had some crash and they were amazingly surprised. In this case you just need to change the body panel broken. Takes 10 minutes. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/smart-car1.htm you can have a look to the crash test : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU&feature=related - eric Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:46:05 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19979 This looks identical to the Aygo, but the article says it just hit Europe when I thought the Aygo was already there? - HankM Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:11:53 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19974 The iQ won't come to the US for a while because - We don't have a track record for buying small cars - US Safety standards are tougher (not impossible to meet, but still a barrier to entry) - Emissions requirements are tougher (for good reason). Again, not impossible to meet, but still a barrier to entry - VW, Mercedes, Audi are all bringing diesels back. - Americans have embraced hybrids more than diesels. Sure diesels, get similar highway MPG as hybrids, but in the city hybrids are WAY better. - Diesel costs more than gasoline in the US (as it should, since it contains more energy per gallon, and also makes more CO2 per gallon). The main reason diesels were so popular in Europe are because they TAX gasoline way more than diesel. But those artificial subsidies are ending, in part because they realize it's CO2 that matters, not MPG (which is arbitrary). - Karkus Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:16:30 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19973 ummmm. Problem A isn't so easily solved by growing more corn. Currently those corn farmers present in North America (not counting South Am.) do not grow enough corn to supply both the fuel and food industry. Also, the Canadian Prairies, the main wheat/corn/farming area of Canada is slowly turning into a dust bowl. This is resulting in less farmable soil which results in less crops. And then there's the whole Monsanto seed/GMO issue around corn/soy and their control over almost all soy and corn seeds. Of course this leads into the amount of pesticides and roundup that's sprayed on the corn fields every year. mmmm pesticides. If you'd like more info on Monsanto- check out "The World According to Monsanto" it's also on Youtube in 10 installments :) so i think your "solution" has been considered by many, and deemed sadly too simplistic. This car is fabulous- more options is always better. - Lisa Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:13:03 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19972 There's a bunch of problems with the above comment: 1) Corn is typically used to make ethanol, not biodisel (soybeans are more common for biodiesel) 2) Even if we planted the whole US in corn (or soybean), we couldn't even come close to making enough to supply our road transportation needs. 3) Corn is an environmental DISASTER! Water and fertilizer requirements are through the roof, and the polluted runoff is causing dead zones in the gulf, killing the fishing industry. 4) Automakers typically only approve low percentages of biodiesel. There's cold weather issues and problems with the fuel not being standardized. 5) Since there isn't and never can be enough biodiesel to supply the whole US, it's better for emissions if everyone uses low % bio (like B5) than for a few people to use B100 and everybody else regular diesel. - Jarko Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:07:30 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19968 hmm...can't diesel engines easily be turned into biodiesal engines? Only, in the US we currently use corn, which A)We might have a shortage of for fuel and B)The process of turning it into biodiesal is not very environmentally friendly(though more so than gas). Problem B can be solved by researching new ways to create biofuels, with corn or other renewable resources. A can be solved by GROWING MORE CORN, which many people don't realize is the solution, claiming using corn for biofuels would create a "corn shortage" and basically destroy the economy (*sarcasm* oil is so much better for the economy, don't you think? Considering there is a limited supply and it can't be grown) - Francis Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:11:32 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19957 I want one! Why is Europe always ahead of us in line for cool stuff like this? I'm all for hybrids (especially plug-in hybrids) but if you can get great milage without having the environmental impact of all those batteries, then it seems like a good alternative. Of course, the best thing for the environment will probably be to just keep driving my '95 Camry. Right? - John Giezentanner Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:35:29 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19951 as a school student its good to see that people are doing this to make a good future for us :D - Teleah davis Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:55:13 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19944 First off, I ride a motorcycle to work everyday, so I'm certainly not worried about trucks (although maybe I should be ;) ). Does anyone know if Toyota is going to endorse using biodiesel up to B99 in this car? - shek Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:45:18 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19940 Great find. My 2002 Prius is holding up well but won't last forever. I'm glad to see there will be even better options in the near future. - Aoi Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:48:30 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19939 It's interesting that so many European companies are releasing diesel vehicles. I wonder when the U.S. will realize how far diesel technology has come in the last 10 years or so. It won't be long, I'm sure. As far as gas mileage is concerned, diesels, as far as I've seen, tend to surpass hybrids. Is this true in your experience? - Kelly Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:47:27 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19930 your dead if you get by a truck. period.. would you pay to stay alive? i would. you can be 'green' and be 'unsafe' at the same time, folks. - Kyle Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:00:19 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19928 It's great to discover new eco-friendly products. Given the state of our environment, I think it is important for us, as consumers, to support 'green business.' For example, I came across a website, http://www.simplestop.net that stops your postal junk mail and benefits the environment. - Clark Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:44:04 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/2214#comment-19919 [quote]Besides the engine size, the iQ has a few additional fuel-saving features. Its Multidrive transmission continuously monitors and selects the best gear ratio and shifting speeds, which can maximize engine torque[/quote] I thought that was called an 'automatic transmission'? That said, given that it is a diesel, they are going to have a problem getting it past the environmental regulations on diesel exhaust in the US. - EV Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:16:43 +0100