GM leapfrogs Toyota

Is General Motors winning the battle, but not the war? GM this week wrestled back its top spot as the world's biggest car maker from Toyota.

The Japanese maker was the global number one in the first quarter of 2007 but GM has hit back in the second quarter from April to June to reclaim its 76-year-old crown. GM has flogged 2.41m cars in the second quarter (against 2.27m in the first three months of the year), just pipping Toyota's 2.37m (2.35m). The reason for GM's bounce-back? It enjoyed strong sales outside of America, with 58 percent of its business overseas. Sales in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East in particular were up by more than a fifth on last year. However, the champagne remains distinctly on ice. The Detroit-based car manufacturer still lags some 5000 cars behind Toyota year-to-date, and few observers expect GM to close the gap in the long run. Toyota has forecast 9.34m vehicles by the end of the year, compared with 9.2m for GM. This will surprise few industry watchers, when you consider the high cost of fuel in the US and around the world; the Americans still specialise in big trucks, SUVs and saloons, whereas the Japanese have proved nimbler on their feet, offering a wider choice of small, functional cars and clever hybrids.

Toyota iQ concept

Toyota iQ: the lowdown

The Japanese scored one of the very few surprises of the Frankfurt show this year, with the titchy iQ concept car that previews Toyota’s new sub-Aygo city car. It’s one of our favourite cars at the show, bristling with intelligent new thinking and design flourishes to make small cars interesting again. And the best news is that Toyota has committed to building a production version, probably due in European showrooms by 2009.

So just how small is the iQ?

The diminutive white car at Frankfurt is a 3+1 seater that’s just 2980mm long – a touch longer than a Smart Fortwo but significantly shorter than a Mini. Check out our comparison with the Yaris (above). It is however, as tall and wide as an Aygo, creating a squat, bold shape. There are three full-time seats, with an occasional jump seat for a small fourth passenger or some luggage. And Toyota claims that the iQ will be as safe as full-sized superminis, despite those small dimensions.

Brilliant styling! It reminds me of something…

Yes, the iQ reminds us of exactly what a small Toyota should be. On the one hand it is redolent of the Yaris and Aygo – successful small cars with a distinctive Japanese flavour – while on the other it takes many of the styling cues from the radical FT-HS hybrid sports car concept from Detroit. In particular, that car’s ‘vibrant clarity’ design language has found a new expression on the tiny iQ city car. Just look at the complex surfacing, seemingly peppered with scoops lifted away from the metal. It creates interesting, contoured surfaces, hinting at mass removed in the name of lightweight. And there are plenty of triangular motifs too.

What’s it like inside?

Pretty radical. Toyota has gone back to the drawing board with this car, engineering in simplicity from the word go. So the dashboard and most of the interior package are formed from simple panels without the need for complicated, and expensive mouldings. Even the sat-nav and display screen is a simple pane standing proud from the dash onto which the info is beamed. Although no-one has sat in the iQ yet, the designers claim it will have generous space for adults. ‘People won’t accept 80 percent less cabin space just because the car is 80 percent smaller,’ said European R&D boss Kazuhiko Miyadera.

What engines will the iQ have?

There’s no word yet on the mechanical package that will underpin the production version of the iQ, but unlike VW's Up! city car concept also shown at Frankfurt, it will be front-engined and front-drive. You can safely assume a choice of small petrol and diesel engines will be offered; no need for complex hybrids here, although an electric version hasn’t been ruled out. What is interesting is the packaging under the skin. Toyota has achieved the impossible – three/four seats in car under 3m long – by rearranging the chassis architecture. Everyday components have been radically redesigned and moved to new housings to free up space for bodies and bags, and there has been a lot of work on miniaturisation, making items like the heating and ventilation system much smaller than usual. Good for packaging, good for saving weight, better for the environment.

Toyota's Tokyo treats

Toyota Hi-CT Concept

It's that time again: the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Show kicks off on 24 October 2007, and we're being treated to a flood of teaser information from the Japanese manufacturers. The Japanese show always attracts some crazy cars, and it's built a reputation as one of the few shows where you see some properly out-there concept cars. Toyota won't disappoint this year... Just to whet your appetite, Toyota's theme this year is: Harmonious Drive – a New Tomorrow for People and the Planet. Hmm. Take the Hi-CT concept (above). It's an edgy urban vehicle, apparently, and is supermini sized at 3330mm long. Too mad for the road? Probably, but don't forget that boxy small cars like the Honda Element and Nissan Cube started life as motor show stoppers. The Hi-CT also packs in Toyota's latest plug-in hybrid know-how. The battery is slung under the floor, leaving the occupants sitting higher up for a better view out. And you get normal power points in the cabin, so your daughters can dry her hair on the way to the shops. Oh, and there's also a removable boot - the whole rear deck unhooks and can be used to store surfboards, bikes and other gear.

Toyota RiN Concept

The RiN is all about healthy living. That's why there's so much greenery and natural leaves in the publicity shot above, right? So there's a big emphasis on comfy seats that correct your posture, and the steering wheel reflects images to match your mood to soothe stressed drivers. Naturally, there's a humidifier and oxygen-level monitor to make sure you're breathing healthy air. Sound far flung? For sure. But don't forget that cabin filters and the pollen-cancelling devices would have sounded far-flung a few years back. Best bit about the RiN? Its styling is based on the tall-growing Yakusugi tree. Very natural. And the interior colour scheme is green and beige - to relax occupants. It even dips the headlights automatically if it detects other road users and pedestrians ahead. The RiN must be the most socially responsible car ever.

Take a deep breath, this is where it gets crazy. Yes - this is a motorised chair. And Toyota reckons it's likely to be built 'in the near future'. Yikes. Following off the back of the PM, the i-unit and i-swing, Toyota is serious about developing such personal mobility systems for lazy pedestrians. It's a three-wheeler (two up front, one at the back) and can adapt its wheelbase to take up less space in crowded shopping malls. When you're scooting along an empty street, it pivots longer to provide greater stability at higher speeds. At low, town speeds, the i-Real positions the rider at eye level of other pedestrians. Which sounds a shame, as you won't be able to hide from any mates you might bump into. Which apparently won't happen: the i-Real can detect any other people in your path and alerts you and them.

Toyota 1/X Concept

Crazy name, serious intent. The 1/X means it weighs a fraction of other vehicles in the class, apparently. Bristling with lightweight know-how, it tips the scales at just 420kg - about a third of the weight of the Prius. How so? Because the body is carbonfibre reinforced plastic. It too is a plug-in hybrid, and the petrol engine is even smaller, at just 500cc and can run on bioethanol or normal unleaded. It's all packaged under the rear seat, and it's rear-wheel drive which suggest that clean could also be fun. You can plug it in at home to charge, letting you travel further on electric-only power. Is the next Prius going to get even more interesting? Sounds like it will...