Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Aston Martin's Cygnet: Tiny Beauty, or Just a Toyota iQ with a New Grill?

Aston Martin aims to rebrand smallness and efficiency as luxury. But is its effort in earnest?

Patrick James
By Patrick JamesOct 15, 2010
Patrick James
See Full Bio

Aston Martin built its brand on elegant design and powerful machinery. But that its Cygnet city car concept resembles a Toyota's iQ (or a Smart Car) would seem to be a departure from the brand's history. But according to the following video, Cygnet aims to replicate the luxury experience of Aston Martin's other models, and in so doing, elevate small, efficient city cars to an aspirational status.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgTMxEujwU0&feature=player_embedded

Awesome, right? Except what if it isn't?

Over at Core77, commenters are going back and forth between whether the Cygnet is an innovative take on Small Is Beautiful or merely a half-assed effort to meet EU fleet emission standards but dressing up a Toyota IQ in Aston Martin leather and grills.

What do you think, is this an earnest attempt to elevate the position of efficient cars or a cheap trick to improve the average mileage of Aston Martin's fleet?

environmenttransportationefficiencycitiesbrandingtoyotaaston martinbusiness and entrepreneurship

The Latest

woman sleeping on blue throw pillow
Science

Research finds that what we dream about depends on where we live

Archaeologists discover lost cities that mysteriously 'disappeared.' It changes the history of civilization
History

Archaeologists discover lost cities that mysteriously 'disappeared.' It changes the history of civilization

2000-year-old temple featured in 'Indiana Jones' found in the depths of Gulf of Puzzuoli
History

2000-year-old temple featured in 'Indiana Jones' found in the depths of Gulf of Puzzuoli

Groom stops midway through vows to hand bride a scribbled note — it contained a promise
Culture

Groom stops midway through vows to hand bride a scribbled note — it contained a promise

More For You

11 hilarious posts describe the everyday struggles of being a woman

Between the bras, makeup, periods, catcalling, sexism, impossible-to-attain beauty standards, and heels, most men wouldn't survive being a woman for a day without having a complete mental breakdown. So here's a slideshow of some of the funniest Tumblr posts about the everyday struggles that women face that men would never understand.

All photos courtesy of Tumblr.

Keep ReadingShow less

Satanists put up a billboard in Florida promoting state's abortion law loophole

This article originally appeared on 12.30.20.



In some states, women are put through humiliating and dangerous pre-abortion medical consultations and waiting periods before being allowed to undergo the procedure. In four states, women are even forced to bury or cremate the fetal remains after the procedure.

These government-mandated roadblocks and punitive shaming serve no purpose but to make it more difficult, emotionally damaging, and expensive for women to have an abortion.

Keep ReadingShow less

Awesome chart shows you how far you can drive on empty.

There are two types of people in this world – those who panic and fill up their cars with gas when the needle hits 25% or so, and people like me who wait until the gas light comes on, then check the odometer so you can drive the entire 30 miles to absolute empty before coasting into a gas station on fumes.

I mean…it's not empty until it's empty, right?

Keep ReadingShow less

19 countries photoshopped one man to fit their idea of the perfect body

If you ask people what they think the “perfect" body looks like, you're sure to get a range of answers, depending on where the person is from. Last year, Superdrug Online Doctor created a project, “Perceptions of Perfection" that showed what people in 18 countries think the “perfect" woman looks like. The project was a viral hit.

They've recently released the male version.

This time, they asked graphic designers—11 women and eight men—in 19 countries to photoshop the same image to highlight the male beauty standards for their country.

Keep ReadingShow less

Trying To Guess Which Twin Smokes Is The Perfect Way To Help You Quit

It's not revolutionary news that smoking wreaks havoc on your body in different ways. More often than not, however, the focus of anti-smoking campaigns is on your internal health, citing emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer, to name just a few consequences.

While the superficial effects may not be as lethal, appealing to people's sense of vanity can have a powerful effect as this clever gallery below shows. Twins, only one of whom smokes, sit side by side, showing the profound damage smoking can cause to your face, hair, and teeth.

Keep ReadingShow less

A viral Twitter thread about body autonomy is a reminder of the ‘fear’ and ‘shame’ women still are forced to confront.

Body autonomy means a person has the right to whatever they want with their own body.

We live in a world where people are constantly telling women what they can or can't do with their bodies. Women get it form all sides — Washington, their churches, family members, and even doctors.

Keep ReadingShow less

19 rude and selfish parkers who messed with the wrong parking lots

Vandalizing someone's car is wrong and illegal, so don't do it.

But what you can do is check out what happened to these incredibly rude parkers who ticked off the wrong people.

Keep ReadingShow less

A teacher's viral extra credit questions lure students into a phenomenal prank

A mystery teacher has become an internet scholar after imgur user SharkyTheSharkDog shared photos of the extra credit questions on their exams.

While the first six are really fun—you should see if you can get them all correct—the last one is pure torture in the form of public humiliation.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025