The Electric Scion iQ Lives! (in an electric car-sharing program)

The electric Scion iQ is – finally! – roaming the streets of Pleasanton, California. After a long wait and several false starts, 30 of the tiny electric Scions assigned to the Dash program will be positioned at 15 sites, with two vehicles available for pick-up/drop-off at each location.

Believe me on this one, I’m more excited than you are. See, back when I first encountered Scion’s iQ in the flesh at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, I was instantly smitten. The car was small, cleverly packaged, inexpensive, well-built, got great mileage, had room for four, and had some seriously high-spec (for the price) suspension and chassis bits. The car promised frugal fun in a cube-shaped face that seemed, to my eyes, much less goofy than the Smart and much more sincere than the Mini. When Toyota announced an electric iQ, I decided I had to have one. When they cut the roof off of another and fitted it with a multi-thousand-watt sound system I sang David Gray songs to it.

I like the little Scion iQ, is what I’m saying – and, when Toyota announced that they’d never sell the electric iQ that I’d had my heart set on … well, I bought a bike.

You can read more about the electric Scion iQ car-sharing scheme in the article, below, originally posted to Cleantechnica. Enjoy!

30 Scion iQ Electric Vehicle Fleet For Car-sharing Program (via Clean Technica)

Electric vehicle and Scion enthusiasts in the Pleasanton, CA area may rejoice. Thirty electric Scion iQs have been provided by Toyota to City Car Share for the Dash program in Pleasanton. They will be positioned at 15 sites, with two vehicles at each…

Sources | Photos: Cleantechnica.Scion iQ Electric

The electric Scion iQ is – finally! – roaming the streets of Pleasanton, California. After a long wait and several false starts, 30 of the tiny electric Scions assigned to the Dash program will be positioned at 15 sites, with two vehicles available for pick-up/drop-off at each location.

Believe me on this one, I’m more excited than you are. See, back when I first encountered Scion’s iQ in the flesh at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, I was instantly smitten. The car was small, cleverly packaged, inexpensive, well-built, got great mileage, had room for four, and had some seriously high-spec (for the price) suspension and chassis bits. The car promised frugal fun in a cube-shaped face that seemed, to my eyes, much less goofy than the Smart and much more sincere than the Mini. When Toyota announced an electric iQ, I decided I had to have one. When they cut the roof off of another and fitted it with a multi-thousand-watt sound system I sang David Gray songs to it.

I like the little Scion iQ, is what I’m saying – and, when Toyota announced that they’d never sell the electric iQ that I’d had my heart set on … well, I bought a bike.

You can read more about the electric Scion iQ car-sharing scheme in the article, below, originally posted to Cleantechnica. Enjoy!

30 Scion iQ Electric Vehicle Fleet For Car-sharing Program (via Clean Technica)

Electric vehicle and Scion enthusiasts in the Pleasanton, CA area may rejoice. Thirty electric Scion iQs have been provided by Toyota to City Car Share for the Dash program in Pleasanton. They will be positioned at 15 sites, with two vehicles at each…

Sources | Photos: Cleantechnica.

Chevrolet Spark EV EPA-rated at 119 MPGe and 82-mile range

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV (earlier post) now carries a combined city/highway EPA-estimated range of 82 miles when fully charged and an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 119 MPGe fuel economy equivalent (28 kWh/100 miles), making it one of the most fuel-efficient EVs assessed by the EPA.

By comparison, the 2013 Scion iQ EV is EPA-rated at 121 MPGe; the Honda Fit EV at 118 MPGe; the Fiat 500e at 116 MPGe; the i-MiEV at 112 MPGe; the Ford Focus Electric at 105 MPGe; and the smart fortwo electric at 107 MPGe. Other EVs on the market have combined fuel economy ratings below 100 MPGe.

The Spark EV’s 21 kWh lithium-ion battery pack carries a limited warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Spark EV will be the first vehicle on the market to offer as an available option the recently approved SAE combo charger for DC Fast Charging. The capability, available shortly after launch, will enable the Spark EV to recharge up to 80% of its capacity in approximately 20 minutes. The battery system is capable of handling multiple DC Fast Charges daily. Charging can also be completed in less than seven hours using a dedicated 240V charge. A 120V charge cord set comes standard. Charging can be managed and monitored remotely using the Spark EV’s smart phone application, provided by OnStar, which is standard for three years.

The GM designed oil-cooled, permanent magnet motor is the heart of the Spark EV’s propulsion system. Putting more than half a million road miles on development versions of the Spark EV enabled engineers to make the performance of the electric motor the best it could be by using a bar wound copper stator and unique rotor configuration.

Source: Green Car Congress

Now We Know: U.S. Buyers Don't Much Want Tiny Two-Seat Cars

It was always a big question whether Americans would buy very, very small cars.

When the Smart ForTwo launched in 2008, right into the teeth of gas prices that soared to $4 a gallon, it looked as if the answer might be yes.

But now it seems the longer-term answer is, "No, not really."

Sales of the Smart ForTwo minicar have remained at low levels--10,009 in 2012, after totals of 5,348 in 2011, 5,927 in 2010, and 14,600 in 2009.

In fact, they never again reached the lofty heights of 2008, the ForTwo's first year on sale, when it sold 24,622 units--far higher than the annual goal of 16,000.

And now the results are in for the almost-as-smallScion iQ, which has just completed its first full year on the market.

Regardless of confident predictions in 2010 by Scion executive Jack Hollis that it would sell "1,700 to 2,000" iQs each month, the 2012 sales total is just 8,879.

(Scion also sold a handful of the little iQ in 2011, precisely 248 of them.)

For comparison purposes, Toyota sold more Priuses in December--20,040--than the combined sales of Scion iQs and Smart ForTwos throughout all of 2012.

Technically, of course, the Scion iQ isn't a two-seater like the Smart ForTwo.

It's a "three plus one" seater, with a rear row that can fit a smallish adult in the third seat plus a child in the fourth.

But, frankly, we doubt any of the 9,000 or so Scion iQ owners ever use those third and fourth seats for people.

The Scion iQ is not particularly cheap--the Smart starts at $13,240, but the Scion is almost $3,000 more, at $16,140--and neither car is at the top of the fuel-efficiency sweepstakes.

So it seems the only reason to buy one is the ability to park it in really, really tiny spaces.

That's a useful qualification, but only for a very small number of buyers.

For most of the rest, it appears a four-seat subcompact or a hybrid does the job just fine.

Source: Green Car Reports

Could Toyota's Scion iQ Join the Hybrid Ranks?

In U.S. trim, the 2012 Scion iQ is capable of delivering fuel economy as high as 36 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. Those numbers are based on the iQ’s 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, which is the only option for U.S. buyers.

European buyers can opt for a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder version, rated at the equivalent of 54.7 mpg in Euro-cycle testing (which tends to be up to 20-percent optimistic compared to EPA test numbers).

There’s even a 1.4-liter diesel version available in Europe, and this model returns a truly impressive 58.8 mpg in Euro-cycle testing.

While it’s not likely that either variant will make its way to this side of the pond, word is that Toyota is working on a hybrid version  of the iQ minicar that could potentially see global sales.

2012 Scion iQ, Bear Mountain, NY, May 2012

Details are sparse, but Britain's Autocar is confirming that Toyota has built a two-cylinder gasoline engine, mated to a hybrid drive system, that could see production before 2020.

Toyota Great Britain’s managing director, Jon Williams, confirms the powertrain had been developed for “an existing or future car.” Better yet, it “wasn’t just developed for a concept,” in Williams’ own words. That's backed up by our own Antony Ingram, who confirmed that a similar statement was made at the recent Yaris Hybrid launch.

Still, it’s premature to head to your Scion dealer with cash in hand, as Williams admits that no concrete plans are in place for the hybrid powertrain, at least for now.



Source: Green Car Reports

Stuff I Want: Scion Pit Boss Cartel iQ

As you may recall from my thrilling and engrossing commentary a year ago, the then-new Scion iQ was my favorite car of the 2011 Chicago Auto Show. After spending several hours listening to GM flaks, checking out new Hyundais and Dodge Darts, and driving around in a Fiat 500, however, it looked like the year-old Scion iQ was going to be my favorite car at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, as well …

… but then I saw this: the Scion Pit Boss Cartel iQ.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am in love. Not some crude, lusty sort of pseudo-love like the kind I wanted to slather onto the flanks of the new NSX (Oh no, Sir!). This was the kind of love that blindsides you while you’re holding a weeks-old puppy at the pound and it falls asleep in your arms.

If you don’t take that puppy home, then you’re a jackwad.

Sadly, I was NOT allowed to drive the angry little blue Pit Boss home. I named him “Bossy”.

Despite being pale and fat, I managed to successfully flirt my way into the spartan cockpit long enough to both make “Vroom!” noises while yanking the wheel back and forth like a mental patient and play some Michael Jackson and Bone Thugs n’ Harmony on Bossy’s brilliant (Brilliant!) Alpine audio system.

Aside: I’m old and I like that stuff. GET OFF MY LAWN!

The rest of the car was a cornucopia of trick racer kit, with on-board air tools to quickly swap out Bossy’s street-biased front tires with track-ready Toyo rubber mounted to lightweight performance rims (visible in the back of the car). A rollaway jack stows neatly in Bossy’s rear bumper, as well, making trackside service for the ACT clutch and uprated brake system a breeze.

With its combination of relatively low cost, high mileage, great, party-making audio gear and serious trackday fun just waiting to happen, I submit (for your consideration) that this little Bossy concept Scion represents the most (legal) fun you can have in a car, whether or not you’ve got your pants on.

Now, if only they’d build me one …

Source: 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Source: Gas2.0

Only 600 electric Scion iQ to be produced in 2012; 100 coming to U.S.

Back in July, Toyota officially confirmed that the electric Scion iQ will hit U.S. dealerships in 2012. A few weeks later, the Japanese automaker revealed that the electrified Scion iQ will be a fleet-only vehicle.

Now, there's word that Toyota will only ship 100 electric iQs from Japan to the U.S. in 2012. According to Integrity Exports, 2012 production for the electric iQ is going to be a mere 600 units, with 400 of the battery-powered minicars staying in Japan, leaving just 200 for the rest of the world.

Why only 100 for the U.S.? Well, Toyota's electrified minicar, with its estimated range of 50 miles, will face fierce competition from vehicles like the 73-mile rated Nissan Leaf and the 62-mile rated Mitsubishi i. Of course, the battery-powered Scion iQ's MSRP has not been announced, but we'd assume the vehicle's price and its limited range played some sort of role in Toyota's decision to severely limit U.S. deliveries.



Source: Autoblog Green