Cars
Frankfurt's Auto Show heralded a return to small-car expansion in autodom over the last week or more. GoodCarBadCar covered the introductions of the Ford Verve, Mitsubishi Concept cX, Volkswagen up!, Toyota iQ, and Subaru Justy.
In case you were craving some more small, here's a few more samples. A few weeks ago GCBC went Across the Pond to overview Skoda. If you hadn't met the Fabia before then, you made acquaintance with an orange version after reading about 70% of the article. Skoda manages to impress a fair number of buyers these days, but the Czech automaker (a VW subsidiary) knows just as well as Mercedes, BMW, and Audi that marketing to the little crosssections; the niches, is an easy way to make a bit of extra $.
The Fabia then, stretched in its wagon format to be called the Combi, was introduced as the Skoda Fabia Combi Scout. Skoda's has already slathered the Roomster and Octavia with Scoutness, so why not the Fabia? (I can think of a few reasons, none of which Skoda execs want to he
ar.) Lower-body cladding is a great way for buyers to feel remorse two years on when they realize they paid extra for a trimline that was genuinely just that.... a few lines of trim. Admittedly, the Fabia Combi Scout does have a smidgen of cool.
Daihatsu is a citizen of Toyota's empire, as you can see in the story about the Subaru Justy, oddly enough. The Copen was introduced a number of years ago as a very cheap and economical alternative to the Audi TT, but as an alumimum hard-top convertible. I don't actually know anybody who would consider an Audi TT and switch to the Daihatsu Copen.... but, the Copen was surely TT-inspired. At present, the UK edition of the Copen features an 86-bhp, 1.3L four-cylinder. That enables the Copen to proceed to 60mph in less than ten seconds and achieve 47.1mpg on the combined cycle in Europe.
Frankfurt didn't see the debut of a new Copen. Or did it? Daihatsu's OFC-1 is surely Copen-like, with a small turbocharged engine and a top that drops in 10 seconds. Copen-like it is, but perhaps better-than-Copen styling and a more-modern-than-Copen structure. Daihatsu's other small car concept was the striking Heart and Smile Mover. Uh-huh. Heart and Smile Mover. Oh so Japanese, the HSC has a 660cc engine which provides very little in terms of horsepower but plenty of ssssmiles per gallon. We're not quite sure why Daihatsu thinks that HSC is a proper abbreviation for Heart and Smile Mover, but I am sure that these cars qualify for tax breaks, cheaper insurance, and parking proof exemptions because of their kei car status. Small engine + small car = yellow-plate status.
- Daihatsu Kopen Roadster Concepts One Step Before Production
About two years after Daihatsu gave us a first glimpse of its conceptual proposal for a replacement to the Copen small roadster with the funky D-X studies featuring interchangeable exterior components, the Japanese automaker is returning to the Tokyo...
- Revised Daihatsu Copen Roadster Adds New Ultimate S Variant
Daihatsu has launched the 2011 model year version of its tiny Copen roadster in Japan. In order to keep buyers interested, Toyota's subsidiary enhanced the base trim level with additional standard features and introduced a new Ultimate S Edition...
- Die-hard Daihatsu Fan Buys Entire Line-up In Less Than 3 Years
Quite possibly one of the biggest fans of the Japanese carmaker, John MacKay from Axminster in the UK has managed to buy all four models of Daihatsu’s current line-up in two and-a-half years. It all started when MacKay and his wife came to pick...
- Skoda Fabia Combi Official Teaser Image
“After the conception of the new Fabia hatch in March, Å koda will present the second generation of the Fabia Combi at the IAA Show that runs from September 11 to 23 in Frankfurtâ€. Now that’s what we call a detailed press release…...
- Across The Pond - Daihatsu Materia
Yes, that face does look familiar. You know a miniaturized bread van/hearse/armoured car combo when you see it. But the badge is all wrong. This is the Scion xB, but the ad slogan is different. "You'd be crazy not to!" says Daihatsu UK. Yes; with...
Cars
3 MORE SMALL CARS FROM FRANKFURT
Frankfurt's Auto Show heralded a return to small-car expansion in autodom over the last week or more. GoodCarBadCar covered the introductions of the Ford Verve, Mitsubishi Concept cX, Volkswagen up!, Toyota iQ, and Subaru Justy.In case you were craving some more small, here's a few more samples. A few weeks ago GCBC went Across the Pond to overview Skoda. If you hadn't met the Fabia before then, you made acquaintance with an orange version after reading about 70% of the article. Skoda manages to impress a fair number of buyers these days, but the Czech automaker (a VW subsidiary) knows just as well as Mercedes, BMW, and Audi that marketing to the little crosssections; the niches, is an easy way to make a bit of extra $.
The Fabia then, stretched in its wagon format to be called the Combi, was introduced as the Skoda Fabia Combi Scout. Skoda's has already slathered the Roomster and Octavia with Scoutness, so why not the Fabia? (I can think of a few reasons, none of which Skoda execs want to he
ar.) Lower-body cladding is a great way for buyers to feel remorse two years on when they realize they paid extra for a trimline that was genuinely just that.... a few lines of trim. Admittedly, the Fabia Combi Scout does have a smidgen of cool. Daihatsu is a citizen of Toyota's empire, as you can see in the story about the Subaru Justy, oddly enough. The Copen was introduced a number of years ago as a very cheap and economical alternative to the Audi TT, but as an alumimum hard-top convertible. I don't actually know anybody who would consider an Audi TT and switch to the Daihatsu Copen.... but, the Copen was surely TT-inspired. At present, the UK edition of the Copen features an 86-bhp, 1.3L four-cylinder. That enables the Copen to proceed to 60mph in less than ten seconds and achieve 47.1mpg on the combined cycle in Europe.
Frankfurt didn't see the debut of a new Copen. Or did it? Daihatsu's OFC-1 is surely Copen-like, with a small turbocharged engine and a top that drops in 10 seconds. Copen-like it is, but perhaps better-than-Copen styling and a more-modern-than-Copen structure. Daihatsu's other small car concept was the striking Heart and Smile Mover. Uh-huh. Heart and Smile Mover. Oh so Japanese, the HSC has a 660cc engine which provides very little in terms of horsepower but plenty of ssssmiles per gallon. We're not quite sure why Daihatsu thinks that HSC is a proper abbreviation for Heart and Smile Mover, but I am sure that these cars qualify for tax breaks, cheaper insurance, and parking proof exemptions because of their kei car status. Small engine + small car = yellow-plate status.
- Daihatsu Kopen Roadster Concepts One Step Before Production
About two years after Daihatsu gave us a first glimpse of its conceptual proposal for a replacement to the Copen small roadster with the funky D-X studies featuring interchangeable exterior components, the Japanese automaker is returning to the Tokyo...
- Revised Daihatsu Copen Roadster Adds New Ultimate S Variant
Daihatsu has launched the 2011 model year version of its tiny Copen roadster in Japan. In order to keep buyers interested, Toyota's subsidiary enhanced the base trim level with additional standard features and introduced a new Ultimate S Edition...
- Die-hard Daihatsu Fan Buys Entire Line-up In Less Than 3 Years
Quite possibly one of the biggest fans of the Japanese carmaker, John MacKay from Axminster in the UK has managed to buy all four models of Daihatsu’s current line-up in two and-a-half years. It all started when MacKay and his wife came to pick...
- Skoda Fabia Combi Official Teaser Image
“After the conception of the new Fabia hatch in March, Å koda will present the second generation of the Fabia Combi at the IAA Show that runs from September 11 to 23 in Frankfurtâ€. Now that’s what we call a detailed press release…...
- Across The Pond - Daihatsu Materia
Yes, that face does look familiar. You know a miniaturized bread van/hearse/armoured car combo when you see it. But the badge is all wrong. This is the Scion xB, but the ad slogan is different. "You'd be crazy not to!" says Daihatsu UK. Yes; with...