Let's assume for a moment that the new Fiat 500L will undercut the Mini Countryman in price, just as the 500 undercuts the Cooper. With that assumption in mind, we'll assume that the stylistically-challenged Fiat 500L might sell at least as often as the Countryman. The 500L is only available with front-wheel-drive. Even the Mini is only available with all-wheel-drive at the top of lineup. Neither car is a faithful design follower of the iconic original; the Fiat less so. Neither car is particularly quick. Both cars feature highly stylized interiors, neither of which is roomy like a proper SUV. By Mini standards, the Countryman isn't pretty. By car standards, the Fiat is ill-proportioned. Regardless of their stark differences and apparent similarities, it's safe to project approximately 20,000 annual U.S. sales for the 500L, based on the Mini Countryman's total. Fiat USA will likely sell around 43,000 500s in 2012. If the 500L can find 20,000 buyers in 2013 while selling another 43,000 500 hatchbacks, where does this position the Fiat brand? Strictly judged by volume, Fiat would only barely be trailing Mini. Fiat would be selling nearly as many cars as Volvo and would be selling twice as many vehicles as Porsche.
Even if the 500L becomes a 20,000-units type of vehicle, Fiat won't sell 20,000 in what will be an abbreviated 2013 launch year. Yet we can still expect to see Fiat's 2013 year-end volume climbing at least 40% even if the 500 posts no year-over-year sales increase. Check out historic monthly and yearly sales figures for the regular Fiat 500, Mini Cooper range, Mini Countryman, and any other vehicle or brand by making your selection at GCBC's Sales Stats home. U.S. brand rankings, where Fiat ranked 29th in October and Mini ranked 24th, can be accessed here.
Don't expect to see the 2013 Volkswagen Up on North American roads in the near future. Do expect to see the Volkswagen Up listed as the up! or even the up but lazily, the Up.
The Good Car Guy can think of multiple reasons Volkswagen should bring the Up to North America. Here's a list of reasons you should consider before scanning the Galleryof official production 2013 Volkswagen Up images below.
The 2013 Volkswagen Up is a very handsome city car; obviously odd and inexpensive looking but quite classy nonetheless. Handsome sells.
The 2013 Volkswagen Up is something of a Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle successor: a car for the people, the masses, the proletarians, the common man. In case you're unfamiliar with that Beetle ancestor, it was a rather successful machine.
Others are doing it. The Chevrolet Spark and Scion iQ haven't yet proven that there's a market for tiny cars in the United States and Canada, but Volkswagen's background seems to suggest that if any automaker could make hay in this segment, it's VW.
MQB, the name of the Up's platform, makes it sound as though the Up will be cheap to build. See, by using a modular platform that will eventually be found underneath cars as large as the next Passat, Volkswagen is sure to save money, thereby lowering the risk quotient of introducing a car to North America that has a decent chance of failing.
Whether it's generated by coal, wind, or water, electricity is anticipated to be the cool new way to power cars in the near future. Volkswagen says the Up will be offered in electric form, and since the car is so cheap to begin with, perhaps the Up-based Nissan Leaf alternative won't cost more than $30K in the USA.
Yeah, it's really cheap. Of course, you don't receive a lot of car in return. The Up is powered by no more than 74 horsepower. (How 'bout a 110-hp Up GTI for fun in an urban environment?) At €9500 the Up sounds expensive on pure currency exchange terms. €9500 equals $13,675 USD today, or $13,537 CDN. But keep in mind that in Germany Volkswagen's Golf starts at the equivalent of $24,436 USD, a fair bit above America's $17,995 point of entry. If, like the Golf's, the Up's price equals a 35.7% premium, we can assume the Up's price would fall from €9500 to something significantly less than $10,000 USD.
Volkswagen is selling more and more cars in North America, but the brand has set goals to go even higher. Wouldn't a showroom full of inexpensive city cars offset the blandness of the likely-successful 2012 Passat? And come on, admit it: the Up would be a nice stepping point up to the gaaahrgeous Bulli van, the concept version of which stoked desire in the hearts of.... everyone.
Styling is not the leading factor in the purchase of a minivan. That's not to say a vehicle's exterior design means nothing to a minivan buyer, but the design of a minivan's interior means more to the average consumer.
Downright odd from some angles, the Cruze-based 2012 Chevrolet Orlando is sometimes handsome, sometimes classy, always boxy enough to be truly spacious. General Motors will not be sending the Orlando into U.S. showrooms, but Canada, a market which is still offered the Kia Rondo, will see the Orlando presented. The innovative 2012 Ford C-Max will soon be making its way from Ford Of Europe to North America. Meanwhile, the mini-minivan field's most known face is the Mazda 5, a vehicle which has recently undergone a major facelift while skipping the 2011 model year. The 2012 Mazda 5, a vehicle that's been a member of The Good 12 in the past, suddenly faces challengers where it once had none.
Since styling is clearly not the major component of of a minivan purchase decision, GoodCarBadCar.net has gathered some numbers for your perusual. Primary dimensions of the Chevrolet Orlando, Ford C-Max, Mazda 5, and Kia Rondo are in the table below.
These four vans (the Orlando doesn't have sliding doors and thus can't be considered by some to be a van in any sense) aren't segment busters: remember the Mitsubishi Colt and Honda Civic? There's a whole continent full of currently produced mini-minivans like the Renault Grand Scenic, Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, and Toyota Verso - Europe is not Honda Odyssey friendly.
What you have, then, are good products with good intentions and even some pedigree, competing in a market where, up to this point, previous editions haven't been overwhelmingly successful. Kia gave up on the Rondo in the United States. Mazda owned just 8% market share in minivan-hungry Canada last year, although that total wasn't far off the Toyota Sienna's or Honda Odyssey's. Throwing mainstream badges like the Blue Oval and Bow Tie into the mix will be a boon for sales.
MINI MPV
LENGTH
WIDTH
HEIGHT
WHEELBASE
CARGO
Chevrolet Orlando
183.1
72.3
64.3°
108.7
16^
Ford C-Max
178
72
66.3
109.7
26.66^^
Kia Rondo
178.9
71.7
65
106.3
31.7*
Mazda 5
180.5
68.9
63.6
108.3
44.4**
° including roof rails. ^ Up to windowline, third row folded. ^^ 5-seat mode, laden to roof, with tire repair kit. * Behind second row. ** Third-row down. Length/Width/Height/Wheelbase measurements are in inches, cargo volume is cubic feet.
Sharing a 101.2-inch wheelbase and an engine lineup, the design paths of the 2012 Hyundai Accent and 2012 Kia Rio diverged in a wood, and Kia chose the more stylish route. That's not to say the 2012 Hyundai Accent isn't a handsome hatchback, GoodCarBadCar.net sees huge sales in its future, even more so after driving a 2012 GL Sedan. But from the rear, the 2012 Kia Rio is undoubtedly (beauty-in-beholder's-eye factor notwithstanding) a more cohesive package. Moreover, Hyundai's images of the new Accent make the hatchback's wheels appear terribly tiny when viewed from the rear three-quarter. The Rio, on the other hand, has strong five-spokers which could fool you into thinking this is the sporty high-output Rio derivative.
This is by no means the first time The Good Car Guy has thrown two Hyundai/Kia platform-mates into an image comparison. Some of the more popular posts on GoodCarBadCar.net include the Kia Sportage vs. Hyundai Tucson photo comparo as well as the Kia Optima vs. Hyundai Sonata contrast from this past November. Of course, the new Kia Rio and the new Accent must face off against other rivals, too. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is a capable, high-tech, fuel-efficient hatch with the now desirable Blue Oval badge. The Honda Fit is a tremendously roomy hatchback, one that's surprisingly fun to drive. And Ford's disconnected sibling, the Mazda 2, is attractive and more fun overall than the Fiesta.
2012 Kia Rio
Nevertheless, these eight images are meant to showcase the differences between two Korean hatchbacks, vehicles which will invariably feature low MSRPs and heady levels of equipment. We already know the Accent will be fitted with 6-speed transmissions and a full slate of safety gear - one would assume the Rio won't go without such niceties. Kia's press release for the 2012 Rio says some markets will also receive a 3-door hatchback and 4-door sedan. So there will be differences (the Accent is a 4-door sedan or 5-door hatch only) in the cabin and perhaps even the driving experience, but the most unique aspects of these two cars is surely the exterior design. Until more pictures become available, satisfy yourself with the two 2012 Kia Rio Galleries and The Good Car Guy's brief analysis after the jump.
2012 Hyundai Accent
Not too many years ago, we would've paused a moment and contemplated the largesse of the Rio's headlamps. Now, the over-the-top front end seems simply to be a uniquely Kia take on the typical OTT front fascia. The gaping air intakes remind me of the 2011 Volvo S60 (its photo gallery can be seen here) while the narrowly connected grille is the main connector to the 2011 Kia Optima. Merely noticeable from the front, the scalloped sides of the 2012 Rio are downright eye-catching when you stare straight at the Rio's taillamps from the corner of the car. Arching straight through the door handles, the two character lines which cause the concave surface help the small hatchback escape without appearing hefty while at the same time provoking visual interest. Details like the Kia badge sitting atop the trunk release are the sort of thing you wouldn't have expected to see so nicely turned out on a Kia of yore.
The 2012 Kia Rio's rear has something of an old Seat Leon look to it, but it's also a little Ford Of Europeish. These aren't bad things, and no copycat criticism should be laid on a company for its latest hatchback. It's a two-box car - there are only so many places you can take a product with an engine room, a cabin, and four wheels.
On to the Accent, the overall look is a little bit safer; a little bit more mature; a little bit more of what you'd expect. Let's not get ahead of ourselves: both cars are pleasantly-styled; neither car is ahead of the game or one bit avant-garde. Even so, where the Rio is more stylish in the moment, the Accent is clean and purposeful and features less you could dislike. Parked side by side the Accent might seem a little boring, but we should give credit for a few strong features.
First, the hood's shutline is enormously apparent but the eye remains drawn to a dose of character as things go concave where normally you'd see power bulges. In the same spot on the rear of the car is a lip just below the rear window that contributes to a very BMW 1-Seriesesque presentation. It's also obvious from the rear that this car, like the Rio, seems to offer a narrow slit for a backlight. That's a sacrifice for style. In these initial pictures the Accent looks to be the longer, lower car, truly a trick of designers and/or photographers. Besides that strange concave shape on the hood, there are a few other regions of the car that make the Accent look like the serious big brother of the two.
There's droopiness over the license plate surround at the back. There's extra glass behind the rear door windows that the sportier Kia doesn't have. And that lip below the hatch's window must be there for a reason, and the reason can't be straight up style.
All in all, judging only on appearances, the Accent will look more current in ten years; the Rio is cooler now. And why do the exterior designs of two subcompacts matter so much to The Good Car Guy? Aren't these econoboxes acquired based on the best deal available? Consider this: in a thousand ways, the 2012 Kia Rio and 2012 Hyundai Accent are the same car. Driving them won't feel all that different. Paying for one won't be dramatically more expensive than paying for the other. Fuel economy will be the same. What's that leave? Style, my friends, style. Look as good as you can.
By late 2010, Volkswagen had proven that North Americans will quickly snap up VeeDub products in large volumes... if the price is right. The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta has been a smash hit for Volkswagen Of America and Volkswagen Canada, as U.S. sales jumped 27% in December and the Jetta became one of America's best-selling cars.
Volkswagen has huge global aspirations, but to conquer the global auto market, Volkswagen must first perform well in the United States, something the company hasn't been able to do in the recent past. Volkswagen can blame high prices on semi-premium products and reliability that called German engineering into question. Morever, the last Jetta and the outgoing Passat (excluding the more successful Passat CC) weren't exactly drop-dead gorgeous.
With the 2011 Jetta, Volkswagen attacked the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla with a similarly-priced larger alternative while, at the same time, sending a message to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord that a roomy value-priced European option was now available for midsize buyers. The Good Car Guy offered up faint praise and some harsh criticism at the time, but it's been no surprise to see crazy sales success for the Jetta.
Now it's time for the Chattanooga, Tennessee-built 2012 Volkswagen Passat, a car which should come to market later this year with a U.S. price around $20,000 and a Canadian base price no higher than $23,500. If you haven't spent much time on Volkswagen's website lately, that's equal to about $7000-$8000 in incentives on the current 2010 Volkswagen Passat.
Gone is the 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder. In comes the Jetta's simple 2.5L inline-five. A 2.0L TDI diesel will be available, as will a strong 3.6L 280-hp V6. With lesser engines, Volkswagen will apply a 5-speed manual transmission as standard equipment, strange given that this is 2011 and 6-speed manuals are the norm during new car introductions. 6-speed automatics and 6-speed direct-shift gearboxes will be available. The 2012 Passat is four inches longer than the 2010 model on a wheelbase that's nearly four inches longer, so we can expect NBA-calibre legroom.
Though the Passat's press release offered up a style analysis of Volkswagen's own - "The Passat’s balanced proportions give it a unique, timeless and dominant styling..." - The Good Car Guy believes an outsider is a safer source on which to rely when it comes to style. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yada yada yada. That should go without saying. Nevertheless, it's time for a good ol' fashioned GoodCarBadCar.net style analysis, just like the one provided for the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, the 2012 Ford Focus, the 2011 Hyundai Elantra, the 2011 Volvo S60 and Volvo V60. So read on after the jump for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat's Style Analsysis.
Imagine walking in to a Volkswagen showroom full of eager sales consultants in early 2012. The new Passat has been around for a little while; the sales team knows it well and have sold quite a few. One salesman catches your eye, notices you're kicking the tires, and decides to introduce himself and begin his pitch. Unfortunately, he begins his pitch with a yawn. He seems easily distracted and says very little about the car itself, speaking mainly about the wonderful fuel efficiency of Volkswagen's clean diesel technology. You ask about the jaw-dropping size of the new Passat, but he deflects and asks what you're driving today. He seems strangely attracted to your 2009 Mazda 6, and not in a that'll-be-a-nice-trade kind of way. The new Passat, he says, is way, way, way cheaper than the old one, but there's still German prestige wrapped up in here. He coughs. Clears his throat. Then chokes a little bit on his words as he tries to imply that this new Passat takes the style of the very successful Jetta and applies it on a larger package.
You find this all a l'il curious, then buy the new 2012 Volkswagen Passat because, hey, you've always wanted a Passat but could never afford one before. Not until you get home do you realize the new Passat's styling is so forgettable it disappears in your driveway.
Indeed, the 2012 Volkswagen Passat is bland to the point of being dangerous. This is the kind of bland that grows invisible in traffic and gets smashed by the guy in an Isuzu VehiCross because, well, "I just never saw you there." So forgettable is the 2012 Volkswagen Passat that.... uh, what car was I talking about? This 2012 Passat is channeling the 1980s, The Good Car Girl said. That's the sort of thing which tends to add dimension in all the wrong places, the kind of history which should only repeat itself in leggings and denim, not cars.
Strange though it may sound, there is no obscenely bad viewing angle for this car. The headlights are shaped appropriately. The taillights are angular and properly spaced out beneath the trunklid. Dual exhausts never hurt the rear-end styling of a car. And the roofline, though not at first glance, is actually rather Volkswagen/Audiesque in its arc.
But the more you stare at pictures of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, the more I wish I was staring at something else. Onlookers start to fall asleep and, like the salesman we spoke of earlier, yearn for prettier things. This is the debut example of the new Passat, but the profile of those tires appears tall enough to work on a Jeep Wrangler. Sportiness is not thereby conveyed. The grille protrudes ahead of the headlights in an annoying fashion. The five-spoke design of these specific wheels appears weak and spindly. Big cars need strong spokes. Fussiness is found where the slab-sided body's character line snuggles the hood's shutline and the hood's shutline nuzzles the hood's character line. Volkswagen spoke fondly of predominant horizontal effects, yet after analysizing the car for a while, the seven lines you can easily count on the side of the car become dizzyingly long. Good styling masks unfortunate largesse and plays up incidental puniness. Volkswagen's new Passat just looks enormous. Where is the masking, the playing up? There's also a sense of an overloaded trunk. Is there a body in there, a crime we should report? The front end rides a speck too high, the rear a speck too low.
Still, this car will sell in numbers far exceeding Volkswagen's paltry 12,497 Passat total from 2010, more even than the Passat CC's 27,987 2010 total. Truthfully, Volkswagen wants to sell about 140,000 Passats annually in the United States. The VW badge has a certain allure. A roomy, inexpensive, inoffensive Passat will bottle that allure and sell it by the caseload. There is nothing about this car that stands out, a feat not unlike what Toyota routinely pulls off with the Camry. As you know, this hasn't hurt the Camry, America's best-selling car in 2010.
Besides, the interior of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat hasn't even been mentioned yet. Far more pleasant than the exterior, the very Germanic architecture, the level centre console, the tri-coloured dashboard, and the classy gauges all convey the sense that you're in a $28,000 Passat, not one that actually costs less than the neighbour's Camry.
Check out all the pictures in the Gallery below and stay up to date on GoodCarBadCar.net's Midsize Car Sales Graph to track the monthly successes or failures of the new Volkswagen Passat.
Oft-discussed but never touched, official fuel economy figures for the 2011 Scion iQ are now available (and now, official U.S. numbers too.) Canada's Office Of Energy Efficiency has ratings for numerous new models available in their searchable database, one of which is the anxiously awaited Scion iQ. Expected to be Canada's sixth most economical car, the iQ's figures are jaw-droppingly good.
2011 Scion iQ city fuel economy: 5.5 litres/100 km 2011 Scion iQ highway fuel economy: 4.6 litres/100km
These numbers translate to 43 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway.
It should be noted that the OEE/Natural Resources Canada figures aren't as close to reality as their U.S. counterparts from Fueleconomy.gov. GoodCarBadCar.net's 2009 smart fortwo, like the 2011 smart fortwo, is rated at 33/41 miles per gallon by the EPA - quite attainable numbers - but 5.7/4.8 L/100km by the OEE - quite challenging to attain. Expect the EPA's numbers eventually manifested on Fueleconomy.gov to be more in line with reachable figures. Nevertheless, The Good Car Guy is prepared to up GoodCarBadCar.net's April prediction from 35/42 mpg to 37/45 mpg.
Some would say - perhaps even I have said - that the term, "SUV" doesn't make any sense in the context of BMW's Mini brand. Mini, as in "miniature", is renowned for its ability to build fun-to-drive small cars; small cars which are, in modern times at least, a cut above similarly-sized vehicles. Though Mini might stand for many things, from retro British style to performance to premium positioning, the brand stands for small above all else. Thus, a sport-utility vehicle, or Sports Activity Vehicle as BMW calls them, shouldn't fit.
But what if the Mini Countryman is the Mini of SUVs? Among regular vehicles, few cars are shorter or narrower or lighter than the Mini Cooper, particularly in the North American market. Couldn't Mini fulfill an identical mission in the SUV sector? Or does this theory lead down a dangerous path, the end of which is marked by a itty-bitty Ford F-150 competitor with round headlights and a Union Jack on the roof?
Arguments were also made against BMW's first SAV, the X5. Mercedes-Benz aficionados weren't quite as frightened by the first M-Class, even if it did look like a minivan. Of course, Porsche was castigated for introducing the Cayenne. Yet by the time Audi delivered the Q7, the reaction wasn't negative, it was more, "Hurry it up, will'ya." Very, very, very few automotive brands are without some sort of SUV/SAV/CUV/crossover in their showrooms in 2010: Chrysler, Jaguar, Lotus, and smart being the only non-exoticar manufacturers found lacking. Mini debuting the Countryman is as obvious a next step as Jeep revamping the Grand Cherokee.
Still, the voices of naysayers will persist. Their voices likely won't be as loud as the soccer moms who want to cram a 7-year-old in the back of a stylish alternative to their.... ahem.... Honda CR-V. What do potential Mini Countryman owners have to look forward to? Well, get this, they can expect to find a really small trucklet - a Mini SUV, if you will. Shocker. Read on after the jump for an in-depth look at the Mini Countryman's dimensions.
At 161.3 inches long, the 2011 Mini Countryman is 15.7 inches longer than a regular Mini Cooper and 13 inches shorter than a Volkswagen Tiguan.
At 70.4 inches wide, the 2011 Mini Countryman is 4.1 inches wider than a Mini Clubman and 5.7 inches narrower than a BMW X5.
At 61.5 inches tall, the 2011 Mini Countryman is 6.1 inches higher than a Mini Cooper 6.3 inches lower than a Ford Escape
With 5.86 inches of ground clearance, the 2011 Mini Countryman is an inch closer to the dirt than a Volkswagen Tiguan, even 1.4 millimetres closer to the ground than a Honda Fit.
On a wheelbase of 102.2 inches, the 2011 Mini Countryman has 5.1 inches more space between the wheels than a Mini Cooper and 1.8 inches less space between the wheels than a Chevrolet HHR.
With a turning circle of 38 feet, the 2011 Mini Countryman requires almost 2 more feet to do a 360-degree turn than a Mini Clubman but a foot less than a Volvo XC60.
With 41.3 cubic feet of maximum cargo capacity, the 2011 Mini Countryman has 17.3 cubic feet more storage space than a Mini Cooper and 31.6 fewer available cubic feet than a Honda CR-V.
Is the wagon version of the upcoming Volvo S60, the 2011 Volvo V60, the most beautiful new wagon on the planet? Including extinct models would make it more difficult for the new Volvo V60 to hold the title - there've been some hotties in the past. Take the Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon in The Good Car Guy's 100 Favourite Cars, for example. The E34 and E39 versions of the BMW 5-Series Touring had unreal presence. C5 versions of the Audi A6 Avant were amazing.
But the latest Alfa wagon isn't as great, the most recent 5-Series Touring is questionable, and the A6 Avant is more heavy-handed of late. This leaves the door open for the tremendous new Volvo V60 to walk straight through.
Ah, but we must be as objective as possible; it'd only be fair to other handsome wagons currently available. Handsome wagons are certainly still for sale, after all. Take the Ford Mondeo Estate - she's a looker. How 'bout Volvo's own V50, a segment below the V60? Not bad, not bad. Ford's next Focus wagon has been revealed, and all's well. The Seat Ibiza ST is cute. Yet most of these cars either aren't, or won't ever, be available in North America. Wagons are a Volvo speciality; they sell'em everywhere. So the Volvo V60: what's good and what's bad?
Start at the front. Thankfully the large grille helps mask the strange proportions of the headlights. They're droopy, same with the 2011 S60. Apart from that, the V60's front end is full of angles and inlets; pulled back at the jowels to keep the look cleaner than it really is. All in all it works, but it could be better.
Viewed from the rear, particularly the rear 3/4 angle, the Volvo V60 is amazing. Volvo's traditionally high-mounted vertical taillights are more special on the V60, with huge movement beneath the greenhouse. Visibility is a core tenet of safety, and it remains to be seen how Volvo balanced the rising beltline and the need for visibility to remain a selling feature, but the impression of forward motion when seen from the rear is hugely attractive.
In profile, the 2011 (or will it be 2012?) Volvo V60 is slab-sided like many new cars. Wrap-around headlights help with this, as do the strong taillights poking into view from the back. Mirrors are Volvo-size XL. The fuel door, as on so many cars, traverses the main side crease of the car - blacheuy. And the wheelwells of all things appear rather small. This could be good news for Volvo and Volvo buyers, keeping the actual wheel sizes from swelling to unnatural highs, a condition which results in a stiff ride, poorer fuel economy, slower acceleration, and greater expense.
Remember the unrealistic but wild crystal interior Volvo introduced in 2008? The Volvo V60's interior isn't as good. Surprise. Volvo interiors have been great for years, though, and the V60's (especially with burnt orange leather) is a special place.
Volvo V60s will likely be delivered to North America with a 304 horsepower turbocharged inline-six. No, I'm not joking. This is the kind of power we used to see in V70Rs. There's eight speeds in the automatic transmission, a transmission which sends power to all four wheels. There will likely be another engine at some point, maybe even early on. Routinely ranking 9th in overall luxury car sales in America, Volvo shouldn't be averse to selling extra thousands of cars each year on the basis of horsepower.
The man behind the iconic McLaren F1 has created a city car. That you had heard. Now, for the first time, Gordon Murray Design has released a press release with pictures of the T.25 Concept. It's ugly. But it's beautiful.
There's something spectacularly simple about a car designed with so singular a purpose, to ferry three passengers around town with as little fuss as possible. Like the F1 of the early 90s, Gordon Murray has positioned the driver smack-dab in the centre of the car with passengers sat slightly aft and to the sides. Much of the T.25's greatness, says Gordon Murray Design, comes down to the iStream production process. In fact, everything about the T.25 is a simplified version of the automotive system as we know it.
Potential competitors include the Mercedes-Benz's smart fortwo, the Toyota iQ and Scion iQ, and cars as varied as the Toyota Aygo and Mitsubishi i. Of course, the GMD T.25 is supposed to undercut them all in price. evo magazine questioned Gordon Murray Design about the T.25 in issue 145 and found out that, "performance should be much better than you might expect from the looks", the T.25 being about 180 kilograms (about 400 pounds) lighter than the smart fortwo. The T.25 is almost eight inches narrower than the smart fortwo; nearly 12 inches shorter in overall length.
For more on the details, check out the press release after the jump. As for pictures of the beautifully ugly GMD T.25, check out the Gallery below.
Gordon Murray Design's T.25 City Car will make its first public appearance at the Smith School's World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford.
The T.25 represents a major breakthrough in city car design in the areas of weight, footprint, safety, usability and efficiency. Whilst applying a holistic and fit for purpose approach to the design and development of the T.25, Gordon Murray Design have taken the opportunity to incorporate solutions to a multiple of urban mobility problems into the T.25 design.
A world leading 6 metre turning circle will help with urban manoeuvring and parking whilst its 1.3 metre width opens any opportunity for timed lane zones with 2 vehicles travelling and over taking in one lane. Combining this with the car length, could triple lane usage at peak times. The T.25's short length also opens an opportunity to park end on to the curb and the door opening allows 3 cars to be parked in one parallel parking space.
Gordon Murray Design was established in 2007 to develop an innovative and disruptive automotive manufacturing technology trademarked iStream® and the design and prototyping of the T.25 city car was central to both the development and validation of iStream®. This manufacturing process is now industrialised including final factory designs by specialist automotive consultants.
The iStream® assembly process is a complete rethink and redesign of the traditional manufacturing process and could potentially be the biggest revolution in high volume manufacture since the Model T. Development of the process began over 15 years ago and it has already won the prestigious 2008 'Idea of the Year' award from Autocar who were given privileged access in order to make their assessment. The simplified assembly process means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20% of the size of a conventional factory.
This reduces capital investment in the assembly plant by at least 80%. Yet the flexibility of this assembly process means that the same factory could be used to manufacture different variants. The iStream® design process is a complete re-think on high volume materials, as well as the manufacturing process and will lead to a significant reduction in full lifecycle CO2.
Low capital investment / fast return on investment
Lightweight
Low energy manufacturing
Ultra safe structure
Flexible product design
Long life chassis
Low cost variants
Recycled materials
Reduced distribution costs and damage
Low cost accident repair
Flexible body in white tooling
Small footprint production plant
De-centralised manufacturing and assembly opportunities
Quiet and clean plants
No paint plant at BIW assembly plant
Rapid vehicle assembly
Low capital investment in tooling
The T.25 has recently been seen testing on public roads and has featured in many publications but the Smith School World Forum is the first public appearance and Gordon Murray Design are excited to now be able to release the first images of the car's interior and seating position.
Sir David King, Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment said: "Our transport sector is hugely dependent on fossil fuels and we need to de-fossilise our economy as quickly as possible. We know most of the technologies already exist in delivering low carbon transportation and the T.25 and iStream® manufacturing processes are clear examples of how the transition can bring new and exciting developments".
Holger Erker, Managing Director of IPE Engineering said: "After a complete and comprehensive comparison of the process details and seeing the vehicle prototype build, our conclusion is affirmative that the innovative vehicle and process design of this project is outstanding. From our analysis the iStream®process can be positively qualified as the most promising manufacturing process development in the car industry of the next decade"
Professor Gordon Murray, CEO & Technical Director of Gordon Murray Design said: "We are very privileged to have been asked to show T.25 publicly for the first time at the World Forum as the aims of our Company are very much aligned with those of the Smith School and therefore this global event"
T.25 USP's and Key Features
The T.25 represents a major breakthrough in City Car design and is a vehicle that has been optimised through design for strength, performance, weight, cost, safety, usability, tooling, quality, energy efficiency, recyclable and ease of assembly.
The T.25 external dimensions create the opportunity to:
park at 90 degrees to the curb, offering real consumer benefits,
park up to 3 cars in one parallel parking space - giving rise to lower parking charges.
increase traffic flow,
explore the possibility of 2 vehicles travelling and overtaking in one conventional lane. Combining this with the car length has the potential to triple lane usage at peak times.
reduce the environmental impact of vehicle manufacture (ie: lower material content etc) and day-to-day operation.
The central driving position generates:
A unique, 'cool' and fun driving experience,
promotes safety and ease of parking as a result of excellent all-round visibility and road awareness,
the opportunity to offer a single-seater option with retrofit bolt-in rear seats,
class-leading rear passenger leg room (better than most 'B-Segment' cars).
By virtue of the unique door opening system, the T.25 can:
be parked in very close proximity to other objects and still allow occupants to enter and exit the vehicle. This gives rise to,
park 2 in one domestic garage,
allow occupants access from both sides of the vehicle,
allow easy access to the driver's seat and easy access to the rear child seats.
The ultra lightweight by design (approximately 550kg) means that:
component life is increased
reduced energy is required to power vehicle, giving rise to higher fuel efficiency (mpg/electric battery range).
a competitive power to weight ratio is achieved
A world-leading 6 metre turning circle will enhance urban manoeuvring and parking. Body panels in the lower periphery of the car are all mechanically affixed and have split lines which are sympathetic to accident damage replacement, leading to rapid assembly times and low cost accident repair. First car in class to feature lightweight, low cost independent rear suspension. Wing mirrors are within the overall width of the body, thereby minimising accidental damage and subsequent mirror replacement. Design for purpose means that the vehicle has excellent pedestrian impact qualities. The inclusion of Formula 1 derived materials philosophy and technology coupled with chassis frame design ('Direct Load Path') gives an immensely strong structure ('safety cell') both in 'end' and 'side' impact scenarios. This is also designed to meet the cost targets of high volume production. Flat under-floor improves aerodynamic efficiency. Class-leading vehicle dynamics High level turn indicators for good visibility. Positioning of the fuel filler permits refueling from either side of the vehicle. Centralised driving instrumentation and controls are designed to maximize drive control. Six internal layout options with rear seat adjustment (adjustable within 20 seconds) sets new standards in small vehicle packaging - a long way in front of the Smart For 2 and the Toyota iQ. Occupant capacity of between 1 and 3 persons. Luggage capacity of between 160 litres and 720 litres. The T.25 has the potential to be first to market for a new "World Car Class" for efficient vehicles, demonstrating new levels of efficiency and low emissions - creating excellent publicity and marketing opportunities.
