Archive for July, 2009
Out and about in the new Prius – finally!
Posted by Colin Hensley on July 13, 2009 in Green Technologies
HUD & ACC in action on the French Autoroute
Four months ago, I was writing about the new Prius and my desire to get into one for a drive. Thanks to Johan and Dirk, I managed to do so last weekend. I previously had a Prius for a couple of years, so I was looking forward to giving the new model a go.
From the outside you are left no doubt that it’s a Prius, though I think it has really been brought right up to date, with a slightly edgier look. When you get in, the only thing that was really familiar was the voice of ‘Annie’ (this was what our kids christened the voice of the SatNav system.) the new interior was very much to my taste. But enough of me, I decided to ask the kids what they thought of it. Tim said, “it was really comfy and big and not noisy so I could hear the music really well.” Katie’s opinion was “it was cool and quiet and a bit like a spaceship!” (she’s a big fan of Dr Who)
So, there you go, it was fully approved by my toughest car critics. From my perspective, I was really impressed by the car. The driving was really effortless, we went about 800 km during the weekend, and between the lack of noise and the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), it was possible to get out of the car at the end of the journey feeling in pretty good form. Very importantly, the fuel consumption was also great, and I only had to fill up once. Apart from the ACC, my favourite new feature is the head-up display. There floating in front of me was the speed and my directions – no need to take my eyes off the road – neat, and safe rolled into one.
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Comments(1)You can do a lot with the right iQ!
Posted by Colin Hensley on July 07, 2009 in Uncategorized
Remark: This picture is not representative for future models on the market
Working in communications means that you will often be exposed to things sooner than most people. This means we learn early about planned changes in production levels, or about the changes in our top management. It also means we are in the loop on quite exciting little stories.
When I was recently invited to participate in a meeting about a secret project, I really had no idea what it was about. Even when I first saw the A3 (the paper size) it took a second to sink in. Wow!, I thought, it’s an iQ, but it’s been turned into an Aston Martin city car concept, amazing, asto(u)nding!
Well, here we are, a few weeks further on, and a week after the announcement, and that, it turns out, was also the response of many other people. The traffic on the social networks has been extraordinary. I’d set up a search column in Tweetdeck to follow the topic, firstly to watch for any leaks, but later to watch the response. It was really flying, I gave up counting after 500 tweets. (if anyone knows a good way to count tweets with a specific word in them, please let me know.)
If you have read earlier blog entries, you’ll know I’m a little smitten by the iQ, as it really does exactly what it says on the box, and puts a smile on your face. Now it seems it can and will do even more. As well as the collaboration with Aston Martin, in Japan TMC will be launching a limited edition version of the iQ, customised by GAZOO racing – that’s the team that brought the LF-A to Nürburgring. They’ll also work on a range of other customisations which appeal to young people or women drivers.
So, what would you like your iQ to be? Answers below please.
