Archive for February, 2009
I have a small iQ – but it makes people smile
Posted by Colin Hensley on February 27, 2009 in Uncategorized
I have been lucky enough to have the chance to drive an iQ for the last couple of days. You may have thought I was already going on too much about the iQ, and now I’ve been driving it, I am even more smitten. It’s fun to drive, it’s comfortable, and it’s great to see people’s faces when you stop at the lights, or they pass by. Their first expression is “hey what’s that?” but it is usually soon followed by a smile. This was even more so last night when four of us got into the car to go home, someone even came over to ask about the car, they were so curious.
We live in the suburbs, but even so, the small size of the car improved the drivability and convenience. My biggest frustration came when I passed a number of spaces thinking I wouldn’t fit in, only to realise, once I got out the car, that I actually would have fitted in most of them! iQ, presents another new paradigm for most drivers, not of the same scale as Prius, with its full hybrid, but still impressive.
Importantly for me, it takes us another little step toward our vison of “Zeronize & Maximize.” Zeronizing negative impacts of vehicles such as environmental impact, traffic congestion and traffic accidents, while maximising positive aspects such as fun, comfort and delight.
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Comments(1)Small but perfectly formed – what’s your iQ?
Posted by Colin Hensley on February 20, 2009 in Design
I used to be responsible for crash testing here in TME. That was a fascinating but very sobering experience, and consequently we have very clear rules on the use of seat belts and booster seats in our family. (Rose & I have two children, Katie [13] and Tim [10]). We used to have a Prius, and the fact that it offered 104g of CO2, as well as 5-star Euro NCAP-rated crash protection was pretty appealing.
We have just launched the iQ, a car which is breaking new ground. It’s less than 3m long but seats three adults plus one child, and offers 99g of CO2! Sounds great, doesn’t it?
“Yes” I hear you say, “but small cars don’t always offer the same safety levels as bigger cars, and you just said safety was so important!”
Sure I did, but this is where the iQ is so, well, awesome. It has just received 5 stars in the new 2009 Euro NCAP safety assessment. The new rating considers adult, child and pedestrian protection, as well as the availability of driver assistance devices (things like stability control to you and me). So it covers more of the aspects that are important to us all: it’s about real world safety.
We know that we have to make compromises in life, and that this can be a real paradox for us. But, after so many years at Toyota, I feel pretty strongly that we have the right kind of attitude and skills to tackle this kind of paradox head-on (pardon the pun…). Small but safe, perfomant but economical, complex but recyclable… it’s exactly the kind of challenge we’re up for.
Okay, it ain’t perfect yet, but we are doing our best.
What do you think?
Acting on principles - nothing to be shy of
Posted by Colin Hensley on February 13, 2009 in 360° approach
Last week, I wrote about a project in Poland that was supported by the Toyota Fund for Europe (TFfE). Before moving on to other topics, I should mention that TFfE was nominated for one of the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards 2009 which were presented this week, here in Brussels. These awards are part of the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week which brought together many stakeholders to address the critical issues surrounding, well, sustainable energy (that was obvious wasn’t it).
The nomination was for the projects Eco-schools and a favourite from this blog, Eco-Driving. We didn’t win the award, it was won by the Belgian non-profit organisation called Mobiel 21 for the Connect Project which promotes things like walking to school, so many congratulations to them for the achievement and the well-deserved recognition. As Toyota, we were very happy just to be nominated, we work with other stakeholders on this kind of project as part of our contribution to the local society, but it’s always nice when it is recognised by independent parties.
At the top of this blog you see reference to our Toyota Principles, if you’re curious as to how this activity fits in to a company you know as a car maker, it’s here:
Toyota’s Guiding Principles #2.
Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and social development through corporate activities in the communities.
If you are interested to read more about this, you can find it here on the Toyota Corporate website.
Clean-up the World – One forest at a time!
Posted by Colin Hensley on February 06, 2009 in 360° approach, Clean Operations
I don’t like litter, it irks me to see it lying around, thrown down or especially if I ever see it being thrown from a car. Littering shows a lack of respect for others and for the environment. So I was pleased when I recently heard from a friend in our CSR Division about an initiative that is being supported by TMIP (Toyota Motor Industries Clean Poland,) and Toyota Fund for Europe called Clean-Up the World.
In the late autumn last year, almost 120 people, including 55 children and 47 volunteers from the plant took part in a clean-up of the forest that borders the TMIP plant in Jelcz-Laskowice. Following a presentation explaining the fragility of such forest ecosystems, the volunteers carefully worked their way through the forest for the next hour. During that time they collected almost 220kg of waste!! They also planted 142 seedlings along the border of the TMIP.
This kind of initiative is great when the children are involved, as they can feel communal ownership of the nature around them, and we hope will then take the initiative in future to do more things like this.
