Okay, so I'm in Egypt for an Arabic study abroad program with my university and I saw the new xB here, oh wait, it wasn't an xB, it was......

http://www.daihatsu.com/catalogue/materia/02.html

And then I thought I saw the next generation xA,

http://www.daihatsu.com/catalogue/sirion/index.html

Is Daihatsu affiliated with Toyota? Anybody else notice this????

 

Hhmm, i thiknkt he materia came out sometime ago and we saw pics of it, but dont daihatsu make lots of small cars anywayz? No surprise that some may look similar.

 

Daihatsu was taken over by toyota in 1999.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu

 

k thanks guys

 

I lived in Okinawa for 3 years, and South Korea for 1 year. All asian car companies make boxy cars. Small drivers, small roads, short distances, and small garages force them to make small and boxy cars.

 

yep toyota owns dihatsu, so not surprising tha they rebabge vehicles and sell them elsewhere

 

They're similar, but I don't think they're the same thing. I'm pretty sure that first one is a bit smaller than the xB2 and probably more based on the current (or upcoming) bB in Japan. The second one doesn't really look like the xD at all, to me - again, I think it's a bit smaller.

 

read my thread of months ago

LOL

 

yea in some countries, cars are manufactured by different companies tan here lol. like the subaru forester is chevy in some other country i dont remember.

 

The xB2 is USA only. Unless something drastic changes, it won't be seen/sold anywhere else. The Daihatsu Materia is the Toyota bB.

The xD from what I understand is also USA only, but from the angle in the photo here (see second generation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Sirion

They sure look alike.

At the bare minimum, the xD is likely an enlarged version of the Sirion, while the xB2 for all intents and purposes looks like a bloated bB.

 

i like that green color...




..NOT :D

 

That's true, but it's a sub class of car called the kei car. They use motorcycle engines instead of regular engines, and they come in N/A and turboed forms. Because there are strict size guidelines to be considered a kei car, the box is the most practical shape.

The bB and the Cube are exceptions to that Kei class rule, from what I can tell.

Here's an example:
http://www.nihoncar.com/en/news-518-...S+Special.html

 

The Toyota bB, and several other quite legit JDM and World Toyota models are made in Daihatsu plants for Toyota. Some of the smaller of those models are also released under the Daihatsu label: For example the Daihatsu Materia is the left-hand-drive Toyota bB.

The xB is a very different animal, and is so far "USA Only." (Though it is similar to some other Toyota models in general lines.)

Take a look here for some discussion on the Daihatsu Materia, and a bit about the Daihatsu made Toyotas.

And just for the heck of it, I can't leave without dropping a pic...



Tom