No word yet on stop-start in the ST (and no EPA ratings yet) -- although Ford is offering stop-start later this year in 1.6-liter EcoBoost Fusion models.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1074810_2013-ford-fusion-fuel-saving-start-stop-system-priced-at-295

Thanks Mark -- and I've clarified power and torque figures in the story above. In Europe, the ST is rated at 250PS (247 hp), but in the U.S., it's an official SAE-rated 252 hp.

Brian-- yes, good call. It was a comparable strategy in the 3000GT -- Helmholtz resonator -- but passive, not active, and not attached directly to the bottom of the intake as in the ST. And this was in a car that could cost nearly $35k, more than 20 years ago...

Thanks for the tip, Kei. However that does limit the appeal of the bike if you can't comfortably ride above 15 mph...I'd call 18-20 mph a fairly typical road-bike speed for fit riders.

Bernardo, I didn't check the tire pressures on this vehicle, but I didn't encounter any other issues to indicate they might have been far off. Otherwise, we had the iQ during a damp, chilly week and the A/C (defogger) was on for much of it, so perhaps that had an impact. Otherwise this was lower gas mileage than we expected and it's curious that your average was higher than our particularly careful economy loop.

Thanks, Don. Here in the U.S., there's no three-cylinder engine and no manual gearbox offered. Based on what we've seen from other sources (and confirmed by your comments), I believe the I-4/CVT combination is somewhat more gruff, noisy.

Hi David,
In the past several days, I've spoken to several engineers at a couple of different automakers, and the longevity of the motors wasn't indicated by any of them as a major concern. But suspension tuning is apparently the most daunting task of it; a magnetorheological damper system would be one possibility, though it adds weight. Packaging freedom (design/comfort/safety), traction/stability, and potentially efficiency are all advantages of going to in-wheel motors, which is why we keep seeing them in concepts.

Allan, that's correct; the engine in the BRZ is not turbocharged (an earlier version of this story had indicated that it is).

However, Subaru announced at Tokyo that it plans to go with smaller turbocharged, direct-injected engines in future product -- as demonstrated in the Advanced Tourer Concept also shown on the stand. That could have a massive impact on fuel efficiency. And it's worth keeping in mind that officials from Subaru have not ruled out the possibility of turbocharging for a future version of the BRZ.

Paul,
Agreed. Those initial numbers we saw from the trip computer look very promising. But we've found that there's no better test than actually driving a vehicle for a week or more and a few hundred miles, to see what it returns in familiar conditions, compared to others in its class. We hope to bring you that soon.

David,
You're right; the transmission that Mazda offered in 1983 was definitely not a five-speed unit (it had three speeds). But throughout the past couple of decades, many automakers made 4- and 5-speed automatics by adding components but keeping the existing basic design. The point is, there haven't been all that many clean-slate, completely new automatics -- they come along once every few vehicle cycles -- and the Skyactiv six-speed is one of them.