iPhone fizzles at Toronto Autoshow

To Toronto Autoshow where a girl on the smart stand has been hired to take competition entries on an iPhone. After two failed attempts she gives up. We can enter the competition via the web at home, but the system fails to take our entry. We'd like to win the smart car, a prize celebrating the tenth anniversary of the car, but our chances are slim it seems.
The show is generally very quiet on the Thursday, particularly in the Skydome, and experienced stand staff point to reduced attendance and less "buzz" compared to previous years. Every manufacturer is trying to adopt a green pose but with little real justification. For example the Saturn Astra needs a diesel option, like its European counterpart. Hybrids and EVs were everywhere, but you have to wonder about the potential market for these cars. The third-generation Toyota Prius was on show with a Pontiac Aztec like rear-end. I've yet to be convinced that the Prius has ever turned a profit. An example of the electric car trend is the Mitsubishi MiEV shown below.

Words and pics by RLT.

2007 Tokyo Auto Show Preview: Mazda Taiki

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The Mazda Taiki is so, well, Japanese. What other concept vehicle in recent memory has been inspired by koinobori— literally, "climbing carp streamers"? The latest, and perhaps wildest, Mazda concept vehicle yet will be formally unveiled in late October at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show. Ford's Japanese subsidiary says it "reflects one possible direction for a future generation of Mazda sports cars aimed at helping create a sustainable society." The fourth and latest iteration in the company's ongoing Nagare design series, the Taiki borrows its name from the Japanese word for "atmosphere." The design intent was to create the visual impression of air flowing through a tube. The two-seater concept is a stretched coupe on a front-engine/rear-drive chassis configuration, with short overhangs and an all-glass canopy. Power is supplied by a next-generation rotary engine.

What this means to you: As if the "carp streamers" theme weren't enough to pique your Western curiosity, Mazda also claims the Taiki's design was inspired by hagorom — "the flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly in Japanese legend."

View source and more pictures.

SMART MICRO HYBRID

When the next Smart arrives here this fall, it will be offered only with a gasoline engine – not the 800 cc, three-cylinder turbodiesel that propels current models.
The gas version won't be as fuel-efficient as the diesel.
But a variant l set to bow in Europe early next year addresses that issue, while maintaining the new Smart's performance, its maker says.
Called the MHD, for Micro Hybrid Drive, the Euro-buggy will feature a belt-driven starter-generator like that used in GM's Saturn Vue and Aura hybrids.
It will also boast stop-start technology that shuts off the engine when the minicar comes to a halt.
Rated at 71 hp, the MHD is said to improve fuel consumption to 4.3 L/100 km (combined, on the European test cycle), which is marginally better than the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius.
Sounds like something more than a few North Americans would be interested in if the tiny variant ever arrives here.
By Gerry Molloy - Special to the Toronto Star

Hybrids and Small Cars Staging a Comeback

Toyota, Ford, DaimlerChrysler Hyundai Ante Up; Sour Grapes from GM

By Joe Benton ConsumerAffairs.Com April 5, 2007

Hybrids and other small cars are staging a renewed assault on America's shores as consumers come to the realization that high gas prices are here to stay.
New Toyota Priuses are jamming dealer lots as the Japanese automaker's supply catches up with demand but sales are inching up as well, along with the price of gas. Ford, meanwhile, is working on a plug-in hybrid as DaimlerChrysler looks farther down the road with the Smart ForTwo minicar and Hyundai pins its hopes on diesels.
And GM? Out of synch with just about everyone else, it's complaining about proposals to increase fuel mileage.
It's been a long time coming but hybrids and smaller cars are carving out a growing market share.
California and the Washington, D.C. are the two hottest Prius markets in the country and there are ample supplies of the little car available. Hundreds of the cars languish in Washington-area dealerships poised to take advantage of the next sudden rise in gasoline prices.

Read full story here.