Toyota’s “Car-Shaped Music Player” on Sale in Japan
27 December 2005
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| The new bB |
Toyota has put its completely redesigned bB on sale in Japan. The car, cousin of the Scion xB and shown as a concept at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, is, according to Toyota, a “Car-shaped Music Player.”
This boom box on wheels, which incorporates an advanced audio system, interior lighting that flashes in rhythm to the music, and newly-developed super-reclining front seats (to “create a sense of privacy”), uses either a 1.5-liter or a 1.3-liter VVT-i engine and delivers between 36 to 39 mpg US in a combined Japanese cycle, depending upon the configuration.
The 1.5-liter and 1.3-liter VVT-i engines are also applied in the new Vitz/Yaris (earlier post), although the bB does not offer the continuously variable transmissions, instead using a four-speed automatic.
| Toyota bB | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3-liter | 1.5-liter | ||
| 2WD | 4WD | 2WD | |
| Displacement | 1,279 cc | 1,495 cc | |
| Power | 68 kW (92 hp) | 80 kW (107 hp) | |
| Torque | 123 Nm | 141 Nm | |
| Fuel consumption | 6.1 l/100km | 6.58 l/100km | 6.25 l/100km |
| Fuel economy | 38.6 mpg US | 35.8 mpg US | 37.6 mpg US |
| CO2 | 141.6 g/km | 152.7 g/km | 145.1 g/km |
The 2006 Scion xB, fitted with a 1.5-liter engine, is rated by the EPA at 31 mpg US combined (with approximately 207 g/km CO2 equivalent emissions.)
All new bB vehicles achieve emission levels 75% lower than the 2005 standards under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Approval System for Low-emission Vehicles, with 0.013 g/km of NOx and NMHC, and 1.15 g/km of CO. Front-wheel-drive vehicles also meet the Japanese 2010 fuel efficiency standards, qualifying for incentives under the Japanese government's Green Taxation System.
At last a car designed in a laboratory to vibrate to the sound of a base-box... No more cheap and tacky speaker add ons...
The i-pod generation never had it so good...
Posted by: NismoTuned | 30 December 2005 at 01:17 PM