Our time with the Scion xB was a bit of an emotional roller coaster.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)With funky styling and a reputation built around heavy involvement from the tuner crowd and the sound-off set, we expected our Stingray Metallic 2010 Scion xB to be a technological powerhouse. Perusing the spec sheet before embarking on the first of many test drives, we were excited to see features such as Bluetooth hands-free calling, standard iPod connectivity, premium audio with navigation, and rear-seat entertainment. Yes, we were all grins.
However, by the end of that first test drive, we were ready to drive the xB off of a bridge. Nearly every bit of cabin tech was a source of disappointment, from the tacked-on and overly simplistic Bluetooth system to the crappy sounding "premium" audio system with its maddeningly slow iPod search. We're glad to see Scion even offering these options, but infotainment should have been the xB's strongest asset. Instead, it turned out to be the weakest point.
So, should you avoid the xB? Of course not. It's still a very cool little ride. It's a small car with a lot of interior volume for your friends and your things. While the xB is nobody's sports car, it handles quite nimbly at city speeds; and its Camry-sourced 2.4-liter engine should provide thousands of miles of peppy acceleration. Oh, we like the xB; we just hate the tech.
But the xB isn't a tech car. It's a low-cost blank canvas on wheels. Skip the crappy, overpriced dealer-installed tech and pick up a nice aftermarket all-in-one receiver (like our Editors' Choice-winning Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT or the Eclipse AVN726E) and at least a powered sub and the xB begins to make more sense.
Check out the full review of the 2010 Scion xB for more details and driving impressions.
The Toyota FT-EVII is a new electric concept car based on the iQ platform.
(Credit: Automotive News)Although a leader in hybrid cars, generally conservative Toyota has seemed uninterested in developing electric cars--until now. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota unveiled the FT-EVII, an electric car concept.
Toyota does away with a traditional steering wheel in favor of modern art.
(Credit: Automotive News)In putting together the FT-EVII, Toyota used its own off-the-shelf technologies, such as the iQ platform and components from its Synergy hybrid system. Although not on sale in the U.S., gasoline- and diesel-powered Toyota iQs are sold in Japan and the U.K. For the power train, Toyota went to lithium ion batteries for the FT-EVII, as opposed to the nickel-metal-hydride power pack from its current hybrid vehicles.
Where many electric cars in development, such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiev, are specified to get about 100 miles range, Toyota only proposes 56 miles for the FT-EVII, and a top speed of 62 mph. These figures limit its use to sprawling metropolises, such as Tokyo, London, and New York.
Toyota also wanted to break away from traditional notions of automotive performance, so did away with a conventional steering wheel or foot pedals. Instead, the FT-EVII gets a weird-looking yoke, a piece of sculpture that supports an instrument cluster, navigation device, and a cup holder.
Toyota modified its hybrid badge, replacing the blue inset with a yellow one.
(Credit: Automotive News)The FT appellation, which we previously saw when Toyota announced the FT-86 concept, also on display at the Tokyo Motor Show, stands for Future Technology. We expect to see many more FT concept cars from Toyota in the coming years.
The Toyota Prius isn't the kind of car you'd expect Top Gear's Stig to drive.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The Prius takes to the air.
(Credit: Top Gear)In an amusing little photo gallery over at the Top Gear site, the Stig, the famed tame racing driver, gets the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius off the ground. The feature promises a lot at the beginning (just like we are doing here), but proceeds with a fairly standard test between the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, mostly comparing them on fuel economy and drivability through London and at the Millbrook test track.
But they eventually come to the good stuff, describing what happens when Stiggy starts doing laps in the Prius and the Insight. Top Gear even reaches a verdict about which is the best car, although it's based entirely on fuel economy, unlike our more encompassing Prizefight between these two hybrids. Which explains why we reached a different conclusion.
But enough spoilers, check out Stigs might fly.
Five cars enter, one car leaves. Well, actually all five cars get to leave, but only one with the title.
(Credit: CNET)Every year, for the past four years, Green Car Journal picks its Green Car of the Year at the LA Auto Show. Well, the LA Show will be here before you know it, so it's time to start thinking about this year's contestants, which have been narrowed down to five finalists.
The finalists include the Audi A3 TDI, the Honda Insight, the Mercury Milan Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, and the Volkswagen Golf TDI. That's two VW turbodiesels and a trio of hybrids; or four small hatchbacks and a small sedan. No matter how you look at it, there's not too much variation this year. However, three of the vehicles have taken our Editors' Choice award at different times this year and two of them have already done battle in a CNET Prizefight, so it will be interesting to see which is chosen as the overall winner.
A panel of jurors (which includes notables such as Jay Leno, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Carroll Shelby, Matt Petersen of Global Green USA and the Sierra Club's Carl Pope) will have to pick one of these vehicles to be crowned the fifth annual Green Car of the Year--which, by the way, is a very different thing from Greenest Car of the Year. There's apparently a bit more that goes into the choosing than just raw fuel economy and emissions numbers.
Last year, it was the Volkswagen Jetta TDI that walked rolled off with the 2009 crown by winning over the judges with its real-world performance and relatively low price. The year before that, it was the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid which was a really big hybrid that didn't return really big mpgs, but still managed to improve fuel economy by a massive 25-percent over the conventional model. Looking way back to the 2007 and 2006 winners, we can see that the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid have also seen time in the winners' circle.
An exciting concept from the world's most boring automaker.
(Credit: Toyota)
After months of rumors and rumblings, Toyota has released photos of its small sports car collaboration with Subaru, the Toyota FT-86 Concept. What follows is a very exciting concept from the world's most boring car company.
The FT-86 is a compact 2+2 that seeks to recapture the spirit of the 1980s AE86 Corolla GT-S (better known as the Hachiroku) of drifting fame. While most of the details are still mostly shrouded in mystery, we've got a little bit of meaty info. Under the hood, we should find a variant of Subaru's 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder engine--dubbed the C-45 Boxer--sending 200-250 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission (thank you!) and onward to the rear wheels.
(Credit:
Toyota)
(Credit:
Toyota)
The interior of the concept is appropriately, err, conceptual. We don't expect any of the sci-fi gauges or fabric buttons to make it to production. Whether the production concept will wear the Corolla GT-S badge when it hits showroom floors is also up in the air.
If/when the FT-86 reaches the market, it'll find itself facing stiff competition from Nissan's more powerful 370Z and Hyundai's turbocharged Genesis Coupe 2.0T. However, if Toyota can take a page from the Mazda MX-5's book and create a balanced, fun to drive, low-powered (and low-cost) coupe, it may be able to carve a nice niche for itself.
Stay tuned to our continuing coverage of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show for more details as they emerge.
Even the world's sexiest Prius is still just a Prius.
(Credit: Tommi Kaira)Apparently, the 2010 Toyota Prius was feeling a bit frumpy and has decided to shake things up with a new look. So, the humble hybrid has gone under the knife of Japanese vehicle modifiers Tommi Kaira. The result is a new, sexy look and not much else.
Post-op, the Prius' front bumper has been replaced by a more aggressive unit with an integrated lip spoiler and larger intakes. Updated side skirts and rear bumper round out the Prius' new look. Peeking from beneath the bumper is a dual-muffler, quad-tipped exhaust that probably sounds good, but most likely doesn't do any favors for the Prius' horsepower or fuel efficiency. Requisite larger wheels and tires and a lowered suspension round out the tuning package.
I'm sure those quad-exhaust tips are really helping the Prius' 1.8-liter gasoline engine breathe.
(Credit: Tommi Kaira)You'll notice that we haven't mentioned any engine mods. That's because there aren't any. (Can you really call it "tuning" if you don't tune the engine?) The Tommi Kaira Prius makes its stock 134 horsepower and stock 50 mpg fuel economy rating. That is, if the aero upgrades haven't hurt Toyota's wind-tunnel-tested drag coefficient.
As long as changes are being made, I wonder if Tommi Kaira can do something about the Prius' dated DVD-based navigation system.
(Credit:
Panasonic)
Panasonic has created a robotic bed that can transform into a wheelchair, allowing the elderly or people with disabilities to get up without assistance.
Users can remain in the bed while it turns into a wheelchair. Half of the mattress rises and half lowers while a motorized unit beneath it automatically slides out from the bed.
While in chair mode, the robot can detect people and obstacles and help users avoid collisions, according to Panasonic.
A controller allows for driving and returning to the bed.
The mattress can also help people turn over in bed to prevent bedsores.
The bed's robotic canopy automatically rises when the unit transforms. It has a screen that acts as TV, controller for home appliances, and home security camera viewer.
The bed is one of many new mobility solutions to help the aging Japanese population stay mobile.
They include Rodem, an ergonomic electric wheelchair, Toyota's thought-controlled wheelchair, and the Hybrid Assistive Limb, a robotic power suit.
And let's not forget Riba, the giant teddy bear robotic nurse that can lift a person from a bed and deposit him or her into a wheelchair.
I think the next logical step in this Japanese arc of invention is the creation of a giant teddy bear bed that transforms into a thought-controlled wheelchair.
Panasonic will show off its prototype Robotic Bed later this month at the International Home Care & Rehabilitation Exhibition 2009 in Tokyo.
(Via Digital World Tokyo)
(Credit:
Toyota)
In a move sure to make the members of MADD happy (see what I did there?), Toyota has announced that it's testing a mouthpiece-free breathalyzer to keep those with high alcohol levels off the road.
(Credit:
Toyota)
Similar to Volvo's drunk-driving tool, drivers blow into the handheld device, which analyzes their breath without them having to put the product in their mouths.
A mounted digital camera records which face goes with which reading so an inebriated driver can't try to push a false reading from a volunteer's less-boozy breath.
If the level is too high (no word yet on what "too high" means), the ignition is disabled until a lower reading is achieved. That means Amy Winehouse won't be tooling around your neighborhood anytime soon.
While I respect the motivation behind the technology, I'm worried about false positives. I rinse with mouthwash before leaving the house every day, but what if my car won't turn on because of the traces of alcohol on my breath from my Scope? I'd have to wait until I could get a clear reading, and I really don't have time for that. Maybe I could start keeping mouthwash in the glove compartment. Or buy a Honda instead.
And the robot arms race continues.
Toyota has enhanced one of its Partner Robots to make it run at 7 km/hour, slightly faster than Honda's Asimo, which learned to run at 6 km/hour back in 2005.
Partner Robots are usually presented as mechatronic musicians, playing violins or trumpets. It seems the automaker is keen on matching Honda in the development of an all-purpose humanoid.
Japanese are keen to build next-generation service robots for their aging population amid the country's shrinking workforce.
The video shows an "experiment" in which the Toyota bot exhibits very robust balance control--it remains upright even when pushed back forcefully, recovering its balance easily while hopping from foot to foot like a boxer in the ring.
In the running experiment, the machine shows an exaggerated forward lean to compensate for forward motion. Asimo is more erect when running, as seen in this ad.
High-speed footage of the Toyota Partner Robot running shows both its feet off the ground at the same time for less than a second. Honda managed that four years ago, but it was building on 20 years of Asimo development.
Toyota's only been in the game since 2004.
May the best humanoid win.
The hybrid comparison of the year is the all-new Honda Insight versus the updated Toyota Prius. Having reviewed both of these cars at CNET Car Tech, our staff, Antuan Goodwin, Brian Cooley, and Wayne Cunningham, evaluates them against each other. Of course we look at fuel economy and driving performance, but we also put a CNET spin on the comparison, looking at each car's cabin tech and interface, as you will also have to live with the electronics if you purchase one of these cars.
Read the article for a blow-by-blow account of each round, and watch the video for Brian Cooley's presentation of the fight.
