Car Throttle

Make a tiny two-door city car, and name it the iQ.  That is pretty clearly a shot at the Smart car, right off the bat - it would be like Chevy releasing a special edition Camaro called the "it's faster than Shelby."  So how smart is Toyota's Smart?  What's its iQ, to stretch the pun?

Are you looking at my butt?

The iQ has the odd distinction of being the smallest four-seater in America.  And small it is: it's 119.9" long overall, which is one-tenth of an inch shorter than the wheelbase of the Chrysler 300 I just recently reviewed.  It's 13" longer than a Smart ForTwo, but it does have back seats- and only 5" additional wheelbase.  It's 20" shorter than a

It's a day I never thought would come.  After numerous teaser concept cars, the production version of the Toyota FT-86 is here.  First of all, it's going to be called the GT-86 in Europe, and just "86" in Japan.  The US version is still likely to be marketed as a Scion (probably called the FR-S), and there will be a Subaru version (for now being called the BR-Z, although we'll find out soon enough.)  Regardless of what it's called or where it's sold, the Toyobaru/Subieyota is finally coming into focus as a production car, and we have some of the greasy details and real pictures to share with you. A lot of these details are probably things you've already heard, but here are the basics. 

Here's Part II of the SEMA Preview coverage.  Alternative title: Turbos, widebodies, big brakes and roll bars, oh my!  In the previous post I covered GM, Mopar, Mazda, and Hyundai.  Now we're moving on to Toyota.

Toyota, Lexus, and Scion have always had a strong presence at SEMA. This year will be no different, with all three divisions bringing concept cars in a futile attempt to convince us the brand is still interesting. Toyota's "big announcement" was the introduction of the F-Sport package for the new-generation Lexus GS350 sedan, which makes the car better looking (negotiable) but not any faster. The exterior gets 19" alloy wheels with 235/40/19 tires (RWD F-sports get 265/35/19 rears, AWD's are square), a more aggressive front

A frequent complaint about Toyota has been the company's focus on uninspiring, bland designs that forsake any kind of excitement. For those looking for performance models and an engaging driving experience, there are no offerings. That is a dangerous position to be for a mainstream manufacturer that needs to engage enthusiasts and the youth market. The super expensive LFA isn't going to cut it in this regard. The joint Toyota/Subaru sportscar, previewed by the original FT-86 Concept and followed by the Scion FR-S Concept, is Toyota's answer to this problem. A new report on fan forum Club4AG says that the car is being developed with no expenses spared, and sheds light on some interesting details about the cars program. This information was gleaned from a meeting

Auto Shows these days are a mix of really exciting debuts, and a lot of updates. Some of these updated models are interesting, but not really worth an entire article to themselves.  I've saved you the time of clicking a thousand links to consolidate the rest of the significant debuts at the NYIAS (New York International Auto Show) this year. Revised Jaguar XK and XF Models There's nothing really wrong with the XK and XF models, which are some of Jag's most competitive models to date.  But the breakneck pace of the market dictates that if it's been out three years, it's already looking old.  Enter the new XF (left) and the new XK (right.)  The revised styling on the XF is intended to mimic Jag's

Toyota, at one time seemingly viewed by consumers and the media as "invincible", had seen a lot of issues plague it over the past few years. Aside from the unintended acceleration fiasco, Toyota has also seen itself trending upward in buyer age. To us, there is an easy explanation - product. President Akio Toyoda has supposedly set out to fix that, and one of the signs of that realization was the FT-86 Concept at last year's Tokyo Auto Show. The FT-86 Concept is a vehicle that looks very close to production, and offers a compelling specifications list. A price tag in the $20K range, two-doors and a rear-wheel drive layout is something that appeals to enthusiasts. At the time, production was pegged as a certainty. Not a whole

The new 2011 tC was introduced at the New York International Auto Show this year, and it will be hitting showrooms October 1st. The brand is excited about the new tC, as the 2011 model is the first redesign of the tC since it hit the market in 2004. In case you haven't noticed, there is also a full-scale marketing campaign going on currently to introduce the new coupe. To promote the tC, Scion has created a new game dubbed "Take on the Machine." But it isn't just any game, it is an augmented reality game - and it is quite entertaining. Using simply your web browser and web cam (keyboard operation is available as well), you can steer your Scion TC through a variety of urban obstacles. All you

Scion had two introductions at the New York International Auto Show - the updated tC and the all-new iQ minicar. There was rumors about the iQ coming to the United States as a Scion to help reinvigorate the brand's youthful images. In other markets, it is known as a Toyota - or, an Aston Martin. We've been hearing a whole lot about the iQ lately, but in its Aston Martin form. And no that isn't an April fools joke - we promise. Although a few years ago it definitely would have qualified as one. Lets take a look at the iQ. In transitioning to our market, the iQ doesn't get a whole lot of changes - and that isn't a bad thing. The minicar is only 120.1-inches

Scion has organized a campaign for a while to let us know that the brand had big plans for the New York International Auto Show. And that they did - but sometimes big plans come in small packages, as in the case of the new tC and Scion iQ minicar. The Scion tC first come out in June 2004 as a 2005 model year vehicle, so it has been due for an update. The new look isn't a big change different, but the front end has been streamlined and made to look more sporty. Scion calls the look "refined aggression." We tend to agree - the new tC is a bit more aggressive, and an improvement over the current model. The look out back is even more of

Not much time has passed since the introductions at the Tokyo Motor Show. Toyota was no doubt the winner of the show, debuting two performance models, the Toyota FT-86 Concept and the Lexus LFA. The former probably of the most interest to performance enthusiasts (unless you have $375,000.....and even then). So we know the FT-86 concept is a lock for production and now speculation is turning to what it will be named. FT-86 is obviously not the final production name, with the moniker chosen to pay homage to the Toyota Corolla AE-86 GT. The names under consideration, as reported by Autocar and The Detroit Bureau are Celica and surprisingly - Scion tC?  In producing the FT-86, Toyota's goal is to make a vehicle