> My favorite thing to come out of CAFE regulations was the Aston Martin Cygnet. It was just a re-badged Toyota iQ whose sole purpose was to raise the average fuel economy within their fleet.
replyMaybe that's a good thing. It compelled Aston Martin to provide their customers with a fuel-efficient option.
Nobody looking for a fuel efficient car would look at Aston, and nobody looking at Aston would go for a fuel efficient car.
replyWhich was borne by its sales: sold for nearly 3 times the price you'd have paid Toyota for an iQ, it sold all of 600 units in two years before being cancelled, Aston's second shortest production run. The shortest was the Virage which sold more than 1000 units in a year.
At some point they offered a free Cygnet if you bought one of their other models.
replyRebadging doesn't add any meaningful consumer choice.
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