Auto Trends

Scion IQ, originally uploaded by Toyota Scion & Prius

The Smart Car has been pretty much cruising along the past few years as really one of the only vehicles in its class in America. If you want a regular, standard issue vehicle, just follow the sale signs and streaming balloons on just about every street corner. If you want a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), your choices are limited to only few glorified golf cart manufactures. But if you want something in between the two, the Smart Car is pretty much it… at least for now.

Toyota knows an ultra-niche when it sees it, and super subcompacts are as much a fashion statement today as they are an economical form of transportation. They stand for intelligence and resourcefulness (hence the name “Smart”). Well, Scion thinks they can throw consumers one better with their own mini-me, dubbed appropriately and predictably, the I.Q. The Scion I.Q. Is meant to be a short-term fashion trend as much as a long-term carbon dioxide reduction strategy. Toyota has already predicted the I.Q as having a shelf-life of approximately 5 years before needing to come up with an entirely different gimmick vehicle.

Besides the unique niche this places Toyota in, it is also an emissions strategy, of which we can expect to see from a number of different manufacturers over the next four to six years. Aston Martin, has already jumped on the bandwagon using the Scion I.Q. base platform from which to bestow their own mini-me version upon. Since the new staunch worldwide emission requirements will be based on averages, manufacturers will be using vehicles like these to lower their overall score, thus reducing the necessity to farming hamsters for base model engines.

The Scion has a unique sport compact look to it, and actually seats more folks than the Smart Fortwo. It is called a 3+1, due to its seat placement, which places one passenger just slightly ahead of the driver and the other a little behind. His accounts for the “3” adults. The “+1″ refers to the slight amount of room behind the driver which may or may not fit a fourth person, depending on how big/tall the driver and +1 passenger actually are.

Toyota has the claimed the I.Q. As having a five star safety rating (NCAP) due to practically surrounding the car in airbags (nine airbags in all). Even the top of the rear window is fitted with an airbag in the case of a rear end collision. There certainly isn’t much substance and distance from which to protect its passengers from impact, so the I.Q. Will be dependent on the force of air to keep the driver and passengers safe.

The Scion I.Q. Will be powered by an 1.0 liter inline-3 (67 horsepower), a 1.4 liter diesel, and for those who may have a little highway time in their future, a 1.3-liter inline-4 (99 horsepower). There is also a plug-in electric version staged to hit showrooms sometime in 2012, featuring a 50-mile radius (range) per 8-hour charge.

 It’s the battle of the mini-me’s… coming to a friendly, environmentally-aware neighborhood near you!

cars in a dumpster, originally uploaded by rx8wej

Well folks, we’ve got some good news and some bad news…

First the good news. The Cash for Clunkers program has been a runaway success. The program shot off with a bang earlier in the month, and the government deserves a little praise for doing such a bang-up job of putting everything together. It has offered some much needed relief to the struggling automotive dealers and manufactures, and brought more than just a few clunker wielding consumers out of the woodwork. But there can be problems when you do a bang-up job of anything…

This is where the good news stops and the bad news starts. Yes, the Cash for Clunkers maybe a success, but it has been a little too much of a success, according to the Automotive News (subscription required to make the jump). The word on the street is that the program may have already run its course. In other words, it may have used up its allocated $1 billion (or coming close to it), and dealers and manufacturers are still pumping out the frothy deals like there was no end to this beer tap.

While some say the program is closer to only having used about $250 million of it funds, NADA is warning dealers that they sure better start to care, because as the funds dwindle, it just maybe them who is left with the check when the last congressman burps and gets up from the table. A survey taken by NADA has hinted to the possibility of a backlog of claims, which already exceeds $1 billion.

Dealerships might think the government is made of money with the way they’ve been pumping dollar bills into Chevrolet and Chrysler, but once the Cash for Clunkers reservoir dries up, there are no guarantees of reimbursement. NADA is recommending that dealers cool down on the hubbub of balloons, clowns, and dumpsters filled with subcompacts sitting outside their lots, and wait to make sure the funds will be reassured.

With that said, government spokesman Robert Gibbs has offered consumer’s the confidence to go ahead and purchase a new vehicle under the plan this weekend. He stressed that there was no need to panic, and consumers should just enjoy the great deals. The dealerships on the other hand…

yeah, you should worry!

hamster wheel, originally uploaded by Jean Arf

2016 CAFE Regulations
To reach 2016 CAFE regulations by 2016, there are going to have to be some changes. Currently, the industrial average for manufacturers is 25.3 mpg. These numbers have so far been pretty simple to maintain with a heap of V-8s and a generous sprinkling of moderately economical V-6s and 4-cylinders here and there.

Come 2016, the new industrial average will become 35.5 mpg, which leaves little room for gas guzzlers of any kind. To meet these new regulations, manufactures will rely on the help of electric motors, turbo-charging, and minimal cubic-inches. The V-8 has been targeted for elimination, and we can expect quite a mass extinction to occur over the next four to six years.

Ford’s Green Strategy
Ford is currently allowing customers to test the new economical standards with their new twin-turbo, 3.5-liter Ecoboost V-6 found in their 2010 Taurus SHO. The SHO featuring 365 horsepower and 350 ft-lbs of torque, which is a good 50 horsepower over the current (315 horsepower) V-8 Mustang GT. The SHO’s fuel economy maybe not so great, 17/25 highway, but at least they are reminding consumers that big things can come in small packages.

Ford also plans on doubling the production of the 4-cylinder in the next few years, offering them in just about every vehicle they sell (including possibly the Mustang and F-150 truck). Does this mean that the V-8 will go completely extinct? Well no, not initially at least, but they will become increasingly rare.

Ford still plans on using V-8’s in their heavy-duty trucks, but in order to meet CAFE standards, they will have to become a lot more stingy on where they ultimately get transplanted. This means that the Mustang may only see a few V-8’s in their specialty vehicles, such as the Shelby GT-500 (they are already working on a new 5.0-liter as I write), but all other Mustangs can expect the smaller Ecoboost engines.

The Exotic V-8
The V-8 is destined to become an exotic treat for those with a few extra pennies in the bank (it already is to some degree). The good news, is with developing technology, the V-6 is gaining respect by leaps and bounds. The 2010 V-6 Camaro with its 300 horsepower, has already gained the respect of many muscle car traditionalists known for saying, “A V-6 Mustang is not a real Mustang.”

The tides are changing and the next generation of automotive enthusiasts are already being groomed for the next line of cool cars. These cars will focus more on economy than exhaust note. The whisper quiet 300 horsepower Tesla Roadster will one day take the place of the classic muscle car image, which is currently held by vehicles such as the rough and rumbling 427 Shelby Cobra.

Goodbye V-8, it’s been nice knowing you; but nothing lasts forever… including that of our oil reserves!