Toyota I-Road. I-Want One.
March 20, 2013
Every once in a while you see something that you just kind of feel is going to start a wave. I felt that way the first time I saw an Imac. I’m getting that tingle up my leg again.
New at the Geneva Auto show.
Green Auto Blog:
This video might rank up there with Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking On Sunshine” when it comes to putting the viewer in a good mood. Toyota does the honors by showing off a quartet of its all-electric i-Road concept vehicles literally sashaying through what appears to be a French seaside town in glorious digital effect style.
Narrow roads, stone streets, windy oceanside drives and traffic congestion are no match for these happy little vehicles, which are 850 millimeters wide (that’s 33.4 inches to you and me, about as wide as a baseball bat is long). If you were wondering how the concept sways back and forth, it’s because of what the Japanese automaker calls its “Active Lean” technology. Note how the fenders move up and down through the turns. “iRoll, iRock, i-Road” indeed.
Autoblog:
We’ve seen plenty of three-wheeled creations in our day, but none quite like the Toyota i-Road Concept. The “personal mobility vehicle” offers seating for two with driver and passenger positioned in a tandem position. While that may sound more like a motorcycle than a car, the closed cockpit means riders don’t need a helmet. The design also takes a page from the 2008 Peugeot HyMotion3 Concept with an articulating front suspension that allows the driver to lean through corners thanks to “Active Lean” self-balancing technology. Unlike the funky Pug, however, the i-Road is a fully electric plug-in vehicle.
While there are just five-horsepower on hand from an electric motor, the i-Road should serve up a range of around 30 miles thanks to its lithium-ion battery, and Toyota claims the cells can be topped off in three hours with a “conventional domestic power supply.” Sounds majestic.
Katrina and the Waves below:
Filed in Crock of the Week
5 Responses to “Toyota I-Road. I-Want One.”
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Christopher Arcus Says:
March 21, 2013 at 3:32 amHere are some more examples:
lit motors c-1
piaggio MP3
vectrix three wheelerI like the c-1.
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pendantry Says:
March 21, 2013 at 2:22 pmI felt the same way when I first saw the Aptera. Sadly, the Aptera has died — killed by the competition? That this ‘i-Road’ thingy is made by an established automotive company may suggest that its future is more secure. I live in hope. I-Want one too :)
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pendantry Says:
March 21, 2013 at 8:52 pmI emailed Toyota expressing my want. The response (paraphrased to avoid dumb boilerplate ‘that shalt not disclose’ rider) makes it clear that the ‘Toyota I Road’ is unavailable, nor is it likely to become available for public purchase anytime soon.
(But maybe if Toyota were to get a flood of emails asking for it, they might change their minds? — I think that’s the theory behind this ‘free market’ thingy I’ve heard so much about.)
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rayduray Says:
March 22, 2013 at 11:10 pmA folding urban car? Youbetcha! Coming soon to a congested city center near you!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21882453
[QUOTE:]
Have you ever driven through a city centre and spent ages looking for somewhere to park?
In many urban areas, there simply isn’t enough space for all the cars that people want to use.
And it doesn’t just create parking problems – it also means inevitable traffic jams.
As part of the BBC’s What If? season, Theo Leggett has been looking at high-tech solutions to traffic problems, including a car that folds itself to fit in a smaller space.
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Erik Koerner Says:
April 16, 2013 at 12:34 pmI also want the iRoad..I feel the same way you do..as you say “I felt that way the first time I saw an Imac. I’m getting that tingle up my leg again.”
I have written a mail to Toyota and hope that they will produce the iRoad. Didn´t get an answer so far yet..The only thing I know is that they will do a kind of carsharing with 70 iRoads in Geneva starting next year…mmh…
The problem is that I can´t wait so long for that iRoad…I want one now, or maybe next year..don´t want to wait for that so long…By the way.. I have bought a Vectrix VX-2 electro scooter and this scooter is the only thing that can sweeten the time of waiting..(Love it so much)…But the iRoad could be my next so wanted thing…So maybe if there are more people outside which want the iRoad, we maybe can keep together and do something..!?
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