2012 Scion iQ

Up front disclaimer: We haven’t driven a Smart Fortwo.  The local dealer can barely keep them on the lot and since we never want to take cars away from customers, we have to wait our turn.  Our iQ test drive was the 1^st for that particular Scion associate in an iQ, so we discovered the car together.

                                                  

Base Price: $15,265

As Driven: $16,205, the destination fee is added here.  There are no factory options.

Engine: 1.3L 4-cylinder, 94 hp

Transmission: Continuously Variable-speed

Curb Weight: 2,127 lbs.

Wheelbase: 78.7 in.

MPG Rating: 36city/37 highway

The first time we saw the Scion iQ was on Top Gear UK and it was a Toyota.  The iQ was released in Europe in 2009 after its debut at the Geneva Auto Show in 2008.  There are few cars that immediately fit the style and build of a clown car.  The iQ fit that mold immediately, but doesn’t appear to be the SUV-car crusher that the Smart Fortwo looks to be… 

Interior:

The interior is surprisingly roomy…  The driver’s seat is able to slide forward and back, but can’t be raised or lowered.  At 6’4”, Chris fit in the driver’s position, but could sense the roof looming just above him.  He has a lot of hair right now and could feel his hair tickling the roof, think Van de Graaff machine. 

                The legroom for the front passenger seat is impressive.  The Scion representative commented on the fact that he could recline the seat and really experience all of the room.  Chris couldn’t do that since the steering wheel, while it tilted, didn’t telescope.  If the steering wheel had telescoped, then he could have removed the driver’s seat like Hightower in Police Academy (jump 30 seconds in) and driven from the back seat.

                There’s no point in checking your blind spots.  You’re sitting in the blind spots.  Set your wing mirrors wide enough to just barely see the car at the edge and you won’t ever have to worry about a vehicle being in your blind spot. 

                There is a back seat, but if you want a trunk, you must lower the back seat.  This car optimizes space or at least what it little it has.  This car can be used to carry more than two people, but it is not recommended to do so longer than ten minutes, since there will be legs falling asleep.

                With all of the seats in place the iQ offers only 3.5 cubic feet of cargo space.  This means the back seat is up with very little space behind it.  The Fortwo offers 7.8 cubic feet of space with all of the seats in place.  The difference comes when you maximize your space.  The Fortwo still offers the same 7.8 cubic feet of space because there is no rear folding seat.  The iQ offers 16.7 cubic feet of space when the seat is folded, plus the front passenger seat will fold flat.

Exterior:

The iQ is easier on the eyes than the Fortwo.  We are not really fans of either car’s look, but the iQ is easier to stomach, like eating seafood (Chris hates seafood) instead of nails…

Here you can see just how small the iQ really is...

It is shorter, wider, and longer than a Smart Fortwo.  Where the Smart car looks like a strong sneeze could blow it over taller and thinner, the iQ looks short, stout, and stable.  We have heard anecdotes of Fortwos being blown of the road while travelling at highway speeds by winds over 30 mph.  The lines add to the box look, but don’t make it look awkward or top heavy. It does not look as bad as the Cube.

                All four tires are 16 inches and can be rotated.  The Smart car has two different sized tires making them impossible to rotate.  Most car people say that over the life of the tire there isn’t a reason to pay to have your tires rotated.  If it’s free, then it can’t hurt anything. 

Performance:

The iQ is powered by a whopping 1.3L 4 cylinder engine.  We’re going with whopping because it’s .3L larger than the Smart Fortwo’s 1.0L.  The 1.3L produces 94 horsepower at 6,000 rpms.  The problem is that at the moment when you feel the engine start to assertively pull, then the CVT shifts.  Most of the time the car is around 4 thousand rpms, but it sounds like it’s at the top of the tachometer, loud, and underwhelming. 

The turning radius is fantastic, but this is not a vehicle for aggressive driving.  The car will turn just fine, but powering out of the turns is not a reality.  This car politely suggestions that it always be driven calmly and with discretion.  It isn’t fast at all, but with the short wheelbase; quick maneuvers at highway speed could put a number of the “Darwin Award” drivers in the ditch.

The 0 to 60 time is…  Has anyone taken the time to find out?  It’s less than a minute, but longer than 10 seconds.  Scion says that iQ will run 0 to 60 in 11.8 seconds.  The numbers that really matter for this car are the mpgs.  In the city you are averaging 36 mpg and 37 mpg on the highway.  The Smart Fortwo is listed at 34 city and 38 highway.  The nail in the Smart coffin for us is that premium fuel is recommended.  That’s like $400,000 more a year $3 dollars more per fill up for very similar economy.

The rear seat folds down to create a trunk.

Tech:

                All of the tech is lined up in the center of the vehicle.  The climate control switches are all stacked underneath the stereo housing in the exact center of the car.  All controls are equidistant for the front passenger and the driver. 

There is an instrument console in front of the driver that offers trip computers and mpg readings.  The clock was the easiest piece to reset on the fly and the clock is never easy to reset, so that’s a positive. 

The tachometer spend a lot of time around 4,000 rpms.

                There are audio controls on the steering wheel.  It comes with Bluetooth and has auxiliary inputs for your mp3 playing devices and also a USB port.  The stereo is powered by Pioneer which is a name we know.  The only problem is that we know it because that’s a type of aftermarket stereo that high school kids purchase for their ’88 Honda Accord LX’s…  That analogy might have gotten a little too personal. 

                The iQ’s audio system also comes standard with four speakers, while Smart has two…  The Smart car comes standard with two and there is no option for more.  The iQ also has the ability to play CD’s, while the Smart does not.  Who still plays CD’s?  We bet they’re over 40.

                The iQ comes standard with 11 airbags, which reminds us of the police car from Demolition Man.  If all 11 airbags activate in a collision, the car is so small why wouldn’t all of them activate, then you’re basically being wrapped in a pillow.

                Along with the airbags the iQ comes with Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brake-Force Distribution, Brake Assist, and Smart Stop Technology.  We only really know or care what a couple of those things mean.  The ABS, Traction Control, and Stability Control are all really good.

The look really has grown on us.

Wrap:

                We don’t want the iQ.  We understand why it was created, and we see a lot of its benefits.  It just isn’t a car for us. We’re too big and have too much stuff. If you do buy an iQ, then right now they’re throwing in a PlayStation Vita.  There are no factory options for the iQ.  All of them come to the dealers the same, but the Scion brand has bazillions of plastic/metal covers to make your Scion look like a teenager with bad taste unique.  If we needed a city vehicle for around $16,000, then we’d probably look at the Fiat 500.  Then again, we would be spending more and getting an Abarth.  There are those that still don’t trust the “Fix It Again, Tony’s” and for them we’d steer them to the Scion iQ.  It’s small, fuel efficient, has Toyota reliability, not horrible to look at, can fit a large dog can take one passenger with Chinese carry out, bump your beats from four speakers, and comes with a back seat/trunk. 

There’s also an Aston Martin version of this car called the Cygnet.  Cygnet means young swan.  The iQ as an Aston is more of an ugly duckling…

Here’s to a Turbo version.  Wait, what?

A special THANK YOU to my friends at Kenny Thomas Olathe Toyota who let me test drive the iQ.  If you are interested in one, they have a vast selection.

Rebuild Project

This is not a real post.

That feeling of having created something is one of the best in the world.  I don't claim to really create something on this site, but I get that feeling whenever I post something that I worked hard to produce.  Hell, even this post will build some of that feeling for me.  That "create something" feeling has lead me to the realization that...


I want to build or rebuild something.


I'm not sure what I want to rebuild yet.

The worst is that it has to be on a budget, a low budget, an extremely low budget.

Somethig like this

I used to have a 2004 Jeep Wrangler TJ that I loved working on.  I rarely worked under the hood, but did attach skid plates, a CB antenna, and the CB radio unit.  Nothing was the most strenuous of installs, but it was still fulfilling.  The fuel tank skid plate was the worst.  I used the hydralic jack to hold up the plate, while I screwed it in. 

It was awesome to drive my mostly stock Wrangler up places where guys with lockers, bigger tires, and more precieved talent couldn't get.

Taking pride and ownership of a project is a great feeling and one I can't wait to feel after this build.

I wish I knew what it would be...

The Smoking Tire Podcast

I spend a lot of time in the car and also work three extra jobs that don’t require my mind to be with me physically.  All of that extra time allows me to listen to podcasts.   One of my favorite podcasts is The Smoking Tire (TST). 

                This is a group podcast, which takes a little time to identify the voices, but the easiest to figure out is Matt Farah, who you should know from The Smoking Tire website and the Drive show, Tuned, on YouTube.  Matt also was one of the only decent parts of the failed The Car Show on Speed.  Joining Matt is all of the guys who help him make kick ass car films. 

Zach Klapman, who does a lot of the writing for The Smoking Tire website and genuinely makes me laugh out loud five times a show, is a regular.  Zach is angry (Angry Man is listed in his job titles on their website.) and also is the one who dissects any complaints or hate mail for spelling and grammatical errors, which is absolutely hilarious.  Zach also references the Nerdist podcast and other nerdy things, which makes me think, we’d get along, if I wasn’t creepily writing about all of these guys on the Internet… *le sigh*

                Thaddeus Brown is a camera operator and “Evil Genius” for TST.  The “Evil Genius” stems from the fact that he’s an “idea man” whose ideas are the sorts that require massive amounts of money, time, planning, & cajones.  Turns out most of Thad’s ideas would be amazing to see on film, but require the budget of a blockbuster summer movie to be able to pull them off…

                Chris Hayes is the audio guy that makes sure that almost everyone is audible.  Chris built the Internet for Al Gore.  Chris also has interesting auto stories and without him we’d never hear any of this, since he might be the only one to check the levels.

                Nino Cutraro is a new addition to the TST crew.  He helps shoot and edit Big Muscle on the Drive network with Mike Musto.  Crazy loud muscle cars!  Nino introduced a dog to podcast, Farrah’s two cats, and house that most of these guys share.  Nino has some good one-liners, but hasn’t been mic’ed for a lot of the episodes.

                Every group has one and Tom Morningstar is the TST’s resident crazy person.  Tom has been known to stand in the back of a GT500 at 150mph while filming the car behind them.  Tom edits all of the TST videos and whole lot of other stuff.  He helped shoot the 911 Hot & Cold weather test videos.  Tom is always 1^st into the back of Farrah’s Ford Raptor for any shoot.  Tom’s also been punched in the eye by a guy, but still doesn’t remember why, which is why he hasn’t been mic’ed for a lot of the episodes as well.

Frequent guests to the podcast include comedian, Micah “Bam-Bamm” White and Jeff Glucker from Hooniverse.

Guest appearances have been made by Alex Roy, who wrote The Driver, hosts Live and Let Drive on Drive, and set the record for NY to LA at 31 hours and 4 minutes; Dan Neil, auto columnist of the Wall Street Journal, who was also one of the only decent parts of The Car Show; Andrew Comrie-Picard, who writes for Top Gear USA and drives for Scion Rally; probably five other guys who I can’t remember and some random girls.

Cadillac CTS-V Wagon at the North American International Auto Show '12

The humor at times is not suitable for the younger ones and the podcast is labeled with an explicit tag, which the guys always earn in the first five to ten seconds.  They are not trying to hide anything and that’s one of the great things about this genuine and authentic podcast about cars.  If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I really need to get my hands on a CTS-V wagon.  Cadillac, I know you’re not listening, but please send me one!  Hell, all eight of you, who read this, please pass it on to the Cadillac representatives when you run into them. 



I would get in so much trouble in this car!  It gets 9 mpg and does 180 mph!



P.S. If all the links get annoying, I'm sorry.  I was just trying to give everyone a little background knowledge, so that way when they ask if you have any evidence, you can say, "I have a lot of evidence!"

Snake in Audi Q7

   You didn't read the title of this post wrong.  Yesterday while helping my 84-year-old grandmother move off her 8 acres to a more manageable place we found a King snake under the hood of the Q7. 

   Being irresponsible, we had allowed the battery on the Honda Pilot to go dead.  We popped the hood of the Q7, our first mistake since the battery is located in the back of this Audi, to attach jumper cables.  The engine was already running on the Q7, so there was some movement in the engine bay, but I noticed that there was a little too much movement.

I borrowed this picture.  Please don't sue me, contractcarsuk.wordpress.com!

   I should clarify that I think snakes are the Devil.  Not in that "ha ha" he made a Biblical joke way, but in the "they don't have legs and still move" way.  If you are a snake person, that's awesome.  I'm not.

   The King snake was sitting on the left side of the engine bay and was uncoiling deeper.  I half-shouted the words, "That's a snake" in a strained voice.  My uncle has no fear of snakes, grabbed it by the tail and started pulling it out.  The snake was stubborn and even after we turned off the engine didn't want to come out. After one of the strangest tug-of-wars I've ever seen, the snake came free.

   It was understandable why the snake picked the engine bay.  The engine was warm, the snake was cold blooded, and I hate snakes; The perfect combination for me to not think about taking pictures for the Internet.

   The only thing I wonder about is why the German car.  There was a Nissan Altima, a Toyota Tundra with a supercharger, a GMC Yukon XL Denali, and a Honda Pilot, but it picked the Q7.  Probably for some logical reason like the Q7 was the warmest and snakes sense heat...  

Here's a picture that I borrowed from Wikipedia...

   No snakes were harmed in the making of this post.  I should also say that I didn't check on the snake after it slithered off.  It could have been mauled by a mongoose later that day and was still in its relaxed spa-state from the warm engine bay, so it didn't see the mongoose coming.  Who could blame him?  A mongoose in the Midwest?  That's ludicrous.  Maybe the Bloggess will have a Mongoose I could borrow?  She likes taxidermy.

P.S. Let me know your creepiest snake stories and I'll update them here.  Add a comment or shoot me an email.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. @ the 2012 STP 400

I got to hang out in the Media Center at Kansas Speedway on Friday.  Here's a clip of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s short press conference.  It was nothing like Jimmie Johnson's, Greg Biffle's, or Matt Kenseth's.  More clips will post later tonight and tomorrow.

Happy Race Weekend to all!  Special thank you to Ford Racing for granting me access to Biffle's hauler, the garage, the media center, the 2013 Ford Fusion Prototype Race Car, and the day as a whole. 

2013 Ford Racing Fusion



It’s Race Weekend at Kansas Speedway, which basically means that unless you are attending a race, stay away from KCK and the Legends.  The #1 thing I heard was how much the area around the track has grown. 

There were tires...

The main issue that I ran into today was trying to take pictures of only Ford Sprint Cup cars.  My dad taught me years ago to “dance with the one you brought.”  Or in this case the one who brought me out to the raceway on an unseasonably chilly day.  All of the 2012 Sprint Cup cars look the same.  I had to first find a manufacturer sticker before I could shoot a picture.  I didn’t hesitate to shoot Clint Bowyer’s #15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry (When you’re from Emporia and racing in NASCAR, then you always get a plug from this site).  Luckily Columbia’s own, Carl Edwards, is a Ford driver, but that Aflac duck was sneaky...

Bowyer's #15 5-Hour Energy Ride

Ford invited me out to see in person the 2013 Ford Fusion race car prototype and it did not disappoint.  With angry exhaust as a soundtrack, I snapped numerous pictures of the new car and the old car.  The new cars will have electronic fuel injection and careful steps have been taken to maintain the wonderful symphony that is NASCAR exhaust.

The production car donates styling to the race car, but other than that there isn’t anything in the race car that you can find in the production car.

2013 Fusion next to 2012 Fusion

NASCAR and all the manufacturers got together to put together the measurements and requirements for the new cars.  The measurements of the new race car are different from the old car.  There are several hard points where the manufacturers had to have certain measurements, but after that they were all allowed to make them unique to their brand.  

left: 2013 Fusion curvy nose    right: 2012 Fusion flat front end

The new production Fusion’s lines are distinctive and so are the race car's.  There is no one who will walk over to the car that think it could possibly be a new Chevy or Toyota.  Maybe they might think it's an Aston Martin, but how many NASCAR fans have seen an Aston.  Was that too judgmental? I'm a NASCAR fan and I really think the fan base is changing...  Definitely a topic for another post...  
The nose has contours and curves that make it 2 inches longer than the old car's front end.  Where the old front end was a solid wall hit the air, the new car knifes through with curves and predatory grille.  
The front windscreen is raked farther back helping with aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.  The windscreen new raking also helps the car to not look like something out of the late 60's or early 70's.  The roof and rear windscreen are also lower to reduce drag and allow for better aerodynamics.  

The old car has a steeper front windscreen and taller roof.

 The rear end of the ’13 Fusion race car is up to four inches shorter than the 2012 model.  When the cars were lined up nose to tail, I could notice a difference on the rear deck and rear bumper.  The old car's is squared off and massive.  I've made the joke about enough back end to belong in a Hip Hop music video way too many times, but the old car's butt is huge.  The 2013 is shorter, curvier, and helps to reduce drag while improving fuel efficiency.  An analogy that comes to mind is the Mythbuster's episode of driving with the tailgate of your pickup up or down.  Spoilers: down equals reduced fuel efficiency...

The rear spoiler is also slightly curved on the 2013 car.

The rules surrounding the windows have changed as well.  No longer does every team have to use the exact same windows.  They can now replace some of the glass with sheet metal, allowing the manufacturers to curve and shape the surfaces to look like the “stock” production cars.  As long as the cars are still inside the realm of standards laid out, the cars exteriors can be adjusted to better reflect the production cars and improve the aerodynamics.

                All of the safety features that have been implemented in the 2012 cars have carried over to the new models for next season.  This includes all of the seat improvements, harness devices, padding in the doors, fire extinguishers, etc.  

Did Montoya pull the fire extinguisher handle at Daytona?

Matt Kenseth said after driving the 2013 Fusion race car that it drives exactly like the 2012.  The same performance out of a vehicle that looks so much better is definitely a win-win situation.

The haulers are lined up by points. Stewart is last year's champion, so he's first.

After the 2013 Fusion was examined by a team of top notch Scientists (including myself), we infiltrated the garage area (with the appropriate passes) for a short tour.  Greg Biffle’s #16 3M hauler was left unlocked.  Hijinks were set to ensue, but crew members who valued their jobs talked us out of it.  The hauler contains everything that the team could possibly need on a race weekend, even a Keurig machine, bananas, springs, coils, chemicals, gloves, and brand name carpet.  

Even the carpet smelled like winning

I asked permission to take some pictures because certain items that were laid out had super-secret information written on them and I really didn’t want to get anyone fired just so the eight people who read this blog can feel like they had a behind the scenes look.  Biffle is leading the points right now, so I don’t want to be the one to ruin that either…

Behind the hauler were Biffle’s, Kenseth’s, and Eranhardt Jr.’s cars in the garage.  Everything was up for grabs picture-wise, except for the engine compartment.  It’s like they’re trying to win a race or something…  Up close the 2012 cars are impressive, but the exhaust is incredibly loud.  Without ear protection, hearing loss probably begins immediately.

Is Ford proud of the EcoBoost brand?

All of the crews were extremely polite and no one seemed the least perturbed that some bearded guy was wandering through the garage with a camera.  Thank you, Ford Racing, for an incredible experience.  I never thought I'd ever be this close to vehicles that routinely travel at 200 mph.

I was already looking forward to driving a 2013 Fusion production car, but the look of 2013 Sprint Cup series car has me very excited for next year.  Good Luck to everyone this weekend!

2013 Ford Fusion Racing

Putting the “stock” back in Stock Car Racing.

P.S. I heard that phrase so often today that I had to write it down, but I totally didn’t come up with it.  Please don’t sue me if you did.

2013 Ford Taurus Commercial

During the NCAA Mens Basketball National Championship, Ford aired a number of ads involving NASCAR's Carl Edwards driving Ford engineers around a track in a new Taurus SHO.

Carl is totally just messing around in a sedan with 365 horsepower.  I feel a little sorry for the Ford engineer, but only a little. 

I experienced the same Ecoboost engine in an F-150 last fall.  I absolutely loved the torque and the power.  You can make the tires chirp at any speed because of the plentiful torque.  If you haven't experienced the 3.5L twin-turbo Ecoboost engine, you need to call your local dealer and schedule a test drive today.  If anything, at least you'll get to burn some fuel that isn't your's...

Watch and enjoy.  Here's to Ford sending a SHO my way!