Video: Bloomberg’s Adam Haynes on the Aston Martin Cygnet

You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived stocking stuffer iPhone accessory subcompact has prompted a neat little op-ed piece by Bloombergcorrespondent (an ex-pat Aussie) Adam Haynes that includes some fascinating dialogue from Aston Martin insiders.
Most of our readers will know by now that the
Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.

Company Design Director Marek Reichman justifies the Cygnet thusly:
“In cities, there’s less and less space on the road; less and less space to park. And the world is a changing world and I think as a brand if you don’t start to change and move with the times then there’s a fear that you get left behind and you become static.”
A statement that jokingly makes me worry that Aston Martin’s next move will be to start rebadging the Toyota Avensis as a Lagonda… Cygnet Brand Manager Andy Haslam is a little less pessimistic:
“We can continue to build sports cars and we continue to improve them. What Cygnet allows us to do is not have to compromise how we want to build our sports cars.”
The £30,995 1.3 L hatch, which sells for more than twice the price of a range-topping Toyota iQ, will be limited to 1,500 units a year. Some 400 advanced orders have been placed at the time of writing. Unconfirmed rumors (mainly spread by yours truly) of a Ferrari-badged Fiat 500 or Maybach-badged Smart ForTwo continue unabated.
You can check out Bloomberg’s video below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

By Tristan Hankins

_______________________

PHOTO GALLERY

Video: Bloomberg’s Adam Haynes on the Aston Martin Cygnet

You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived stocking stuffer iPhone accessory subcompact has prompted a neat little op-ed piece by Bloombergcorrespondent (an ex-pat Aussie) Adam Haynes that includes some fascinating dialogue from Aston Martin insiders.
Most of our readers will know by now that the
Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.

Company Design Director Marek Reichman justifies the Cygnet thusly:
“In cities, there’s less and less space on the road; less and less space to park. And the world is a changing world and I think as a brand if you don’t start to change and move with the times then there’s a fear that you get left behind and you become static.”
A statement that jokingly makes me worry that Aston Martin’s next move will be to start rebadging the Toyota Avensis as a Lagonda… Cygnet Brand Manager Andy Haslam is a little less pessimistic:
“We can continue to build sports cars and we continue to improve them. What Cygnet allows us to do is not have to compromise how we want to build our sports cars.”
The £30,995 1.3 L hatch, which sells for more than twice the price of a range-topping Toyota iQ, will be limited to 1,500 units a year. Some 400 advanced orders have been placed at the time of writing. Unconfirmed rumors (mainly spread by yours truly) of a Ferrari-badged Fiat 500 or Maybach-badged Smart ForTwo continue unabated.
You can check out Bloomberg’s video below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

By Tristan Hankins

_______________________

PHOTO GALLERY

Toyota Sales Plunge More than 33% in May, Chrysler Group up by 10%

The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result,Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148
units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.
General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Chrysler Group reported U.S. sales of 115,363 units, a 10 percent increase over the same month a year ago and the best May sales since 2008.
Hyundai continued its ascent announcing an all-time record May sales of 59,214 units, up 21 percent compared with the same period last year, while sister company Kia posted its best-ever monthly sales of 48,212 units, a 53.4-percent increase from May 2010.
Porsche reported sales of 2,817 units (+50%), Volkswagen 30,100 vehicles (+27.9%), Audi 10,457 units (+13.6%), Mercedes-Benz 20,708 vehicles (+4.7%), Mitsubishi 7,568 units (+59.8%), Subaru 20,036 (+7.6%) and BMW 26,452 vehicles (+19.7%).

Toyota Sales Plunge More than 33% in May, Chrysler Group up by 10%

The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result,Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148
units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.
General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Chrysler Group reported U.S. sales of 115,363 units, a 10 percent increase over the same month a year ago and the best May sales since 2008.
Hyundai continued its ascent announcing an all-time record May sales of 59,214 units, up 21 percent compared with the same period last year, while sister company Kia posted its best-ever monthly sales of 48,212 units, a 53.4-percent increase from May 2010.
Porsche reported sales of 2,817 units (+50%), Volkswagen 30,100 vehicles (+27.9%), Audi 10,457 units (+13.6%), Mercedes-Benz 20,708 vehicles (+4.7%), Mitsubishi 7,568 units (+59.8%), Subaru 20,036 (+7.6%) and BMW 26,452 vehicles (+19.7%).

Toyota Recalling 106,000 Prius Hybrids Globally Over Steering Wheel Issue

The newest Toyota recall affects approximately 106,000 Prius hybrids globally built from 2001 to 2003 for a fault with the electric power steering system. The Japanese automaker said the voluntary action affects around 52,000 Prius models sold in the United States.“If the steering wheel is repeatedly and strongly turned to the full-lock position, there is a possibility the
nuts securing the pinion shaft in the steering gear box assembly may become loose,” Toyota said in a statement. The company added that if the owner leaves the condition uncorrected, over time they will gradually notice significant increased steering effort when making a left turn.
Toyota said its dealers will install “improved nuts” that secure the pinion shaft at no charge, with the repair expected to take approximately 4 hours. Owners of the affected models in the U.S. will be notified by first class mail in early July, 2011.
In a separate action, Toyota’s US division also announced a recall for 34 Venza AWD and 16Sienna AWD vehicles from the 2011MY to replace an insufficiently heat treated front right-hand driveshaft.
“Due to insufficient heat treatment, there is a possibility that the front right-hand driveshaft may break,” said Toyota adding that if this happens, engine power will not be transferred to the wheels and the vehicle will roll to a stop. This recall is expected to begin in June.

PHOTO GALLERY

Toyota Recalling 106,000 Prius Hybrids Globally Over Steering Wheel Issue

The newest Toyota recall affects approximately 106,000 Prius hybrids globally built from 2001 to 2003 for a fault with the electric power steering system. The Japanese automaker said the voluntary action affects around 52,000 Prius models sold in the United States.“If the steering wheel is repeatedly and strongly turned to the full-lock position, there is a possibility the
nuts securing the pinion shaft in the steering gear box assembly may become loose,” Toyota said in a statement. The company added that if the owner leaves the condition uncorrected, over time they will gradually notice significant increased steering effort when making a left turn.
Toyota said its dealers will install “improved nuts” that secure the pinion shaft at no charge, with the repair expected to take approximately 4 hours. Owners of the affected models in the U.S. will be notified by first class mail in early July, 2011.
In a separate action, Toyota’s US division also announced a recall for 34 Venza AWD and 16Sienna AWD vehicles from the 2011MY to replace an insufficiently heat treated front right-hand driveshaft.
“Due to insufficient heat treatment, there is a possibility that the front right-hand driveshaft may break,” said Toyota adding that if this happens, engine power will not be transferred to the wheels and the vehicle will roll to a stop. This recall is expected to begin in June.

PHOTO GALLERY