Comments on: Toyota's Camette concept car

By: Catbeller

Catbeller — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:41:00 +0000

The Prius was a crash bag for the Explorer tank. The Explorer is built to not-deform. So the energy of the crash had to be absorbed by something else: the Prius. Drivers of SUVs are using all the cars around them, and the people in those cars, as convenient steel air bags to save themselves. The solution is to remove the Explorers and such like them from the road. They are slaughtering us. The only purpose of a tank among cars is to win and make everyone else lose. SUVs are useless in a crash against a wall or another SUV. They must hit another car for their “strength” to protect their drivers.

By: Dorkomatic

Dorkomatic — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:12:00 +0000

I love the styling. I’d buy one.

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Thus the eerie resemblance to the Cozy Coupe.

By: ablestmage

ablestmage — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:12:00 +0000

Why should they meet US crash test standards? It’s more or less a single-person vehicle, like a motorcycle.

By: Red Pill Junkie

Red Pill Junkie — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Glad you came out OK :)

By: Red Pill Junkie

Red Pill Junkie — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:46:00 +0000

So SUVs are like nuclear bombs then. Bummer :-/

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:49:00 +0000

I used to have a VW Fox wagon made in Brazil and when I replaced the shocks I had huge ground clearance. I used to take it up icy jeep trails and hop over curbs to escape parking lots. Front wheel drive + high ground clearance + cargo area.

If the old Datsun mini pickup truck were redone in front wheel drive, that staggered 1+2 seating arrangement, and maybe a 4 ft bed, it would be huge.

By: jimh

jimh — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:59:00 +0000

I am very sorry this happened. And I understand, driving is dangerous, and freak accidents are possible for anyone. My take on ultra-light or ultra-compact cars, including smart cars and the like, is that your chances of surviving a collision against an SUV or other large vehicle are extremely diminished. Just saying.

By: Red Pill Junkie

Red Pill Junkie — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:05:00 +0000

Does Toyota want those whippersnappers to launch a North African campaign?

http://retrothing.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/14/intermeccanica.jpg

By: Ryan Lenethen

Ryan Lenethen — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:33:00 +0000

I actually like the brown one. If they made it AWD or 4X4 it looks to be a fun car. However what are the green dials for? Tool free panel removal? That seems a bit much.

The only problem I have with these sorts of cars in Canada, is the trunk/boot. Car makers that wish to sell in Canada have to ask themselves one question: “Can I fit a bag of hockey gear in there?” If the answer is no, then go back to the drawing board til it does. If there is no place for hockey sticks and gear, it just isn’t going to work.

Though I see an impossible looking back seat in that thing. My suggestion would be to ditch the back seat which is really going to be useless anyway, and expand the trunk. I mean those back seats look to be about a foot or so wide, who is actually going to sit back there? If it is just styling, then get rid of them and provide more practical trunk room at least. Do that and make it AWD, keep the decent ground clearance and you have a car that would be great in the snow.

That’s the problem with any of those little commuter cars, ever try them in the snow, or during a winter storm? Why do you think Suberu is so successful? The only problem with them however for younger drivers, not everyone really wants to drive an large SUV or wagon.

Anyway if you look at the small inexpensive AWD market, there is really very little competition (basically 3 cars, only 1 if you insist on standard transmission which of course is the Subaru Impreza).

By: Ms. Anne Thrope

Ms. Anne Thrope — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:14:00 +0000

http://missannethropesblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/mini-car-museum.htmlJust saw a whole museum of these tiny cars this weekend. Bubble cars, macro cars, mini trucks and a few classic Vespas to boot. Great designs but as for functionality, well, they were a product of their time post WW2 with limited factories, supplies, etc. The car from Brazil, did the door open up?

By: Palomino

Palomino — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:28:00 +0000

People who drive big cars think everything else is big, like the breaks and the stopping power. Operators of large vehicles sometimes have a false sense of security, but they are the ones that roll over and die instead. I took a class B driving course, to drive an articulated bus. I ride a motorcycle now, and the training I received in being an “aggressive defensive driver”, has kept me safe as a rider since 1999. I’m constantly reading the road. Oh, and if you see an accident about to happen to you, when you’re driving and someone is pulling out in front of you, aim for WHERE THEY ARE, by the time you get to that spot, they won’t be there, works every time.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:19:00 +0000

My Grandfather joined a “camping club”, but was the only one for awhile without a camper. He converted one half of his 1952 V.W. Beetle into a camper, he had more than enough room & storage. He got the idea I guess when he was in the war. In Germany, he saw many Beetles converted to suit almost any need. Your post reminded me of this.

By: J

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:17:00 +0000

It is for kids. The parent sits in the back with a remote that gives them control. Seems no one wants to read original articles anymore.

By: chaopoiesis

chaopoiesis — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 07:31:00 +0000

Isn’t it a design flaw to make a car that looks amphibious, but isn’t?

By: Christine Fisher

Christine Fisher — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 05:33:00 +0000

The front end of the Fit is short. So the car is a loss if you have a front-end collision at freeway speeds. That said, in the accident I was involved in, the front end was completely gone, and cab inside remained untouched. The car is simply designed very, very well for safety.

By: Christine Fisher

Christine Fisher — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 05:30:00 +0000

I drive a Honda Fit, and have been in a five car pile up in one. The entire cab was a safe zone. It’s the only car that I could find with:
1. Cargo space enough to carry small furniture or road trip.
2. A back bed that folds fully flat so you really can sleep back there.
3. The ability to fit into a Long Beach one-car garage.

and

4. A roof line that’s actually as much as 4″ higher than a lot of sedans, so it can be clearly seen by any SUV’s you’re behind. When I first bought, I went with a friend who had a tall one to see if he could see the car in the rear view. (It has the added bonus of comfortably seating people who are over 6′.)

I wouldn’t recommend anything smaller on an L.A. freeway.

By: redesigned

redesigned — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 05:18:00 +0000

i love how they look, unlike the smart cars that are horrid looking. i’d get one of these in a second if it rocked on gas mileage.

By: GeorgeMokray

GeorgeMokray — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 05:14:00 +0000

Reminds me of the Nash Metropolitan. My grandparents had one of those.
http://www.allpar.com/cars/adopted/nash-metropolitan.html

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:31:00 +0000

Well, more along the lines of a Smart-car….oh wait…

But kidding aside, they are kinda between golf-carts and Smart-cars in specs and from what I reckon, uses. As for price, price is kinda midway between a nice golf-cart and a Smart-car too.

I’m not an expert – I’ve never seen one of these French mini-cars in person, but I have read various websites and etcetera.

By: hobomike

hobomike — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:15:00 +0000

The look like they were built on the old VW Beetle platform which leads me to…they should be offered as kits and then we’d actually be able to drive these concepts. Otherwise, we can basically fergit it.

By: p96

p96 — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:21:00 +0000

They look like amphibious cars. Please tell me they’re that ugly because they float.

By: Jeff Sepeta

Jeff Sepeta — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:16:00 +0000

My mother was driving in a 4×4 in Texas on a highway where there was no light. Someone had abandoned their vehicle in the lane — didn’t even have it towed off the road. airbags did not deploy, and her sister’s father-in-law had to be airlifted while my mom and her sister were taken to hospital in an ambulance. so even the bigger vehicles on the road are in danger from freak accidents.

By: Jeff Sepeta

Jeff Sepeta — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:14:00 +0000

these cars don’t have enough body to serve as a crush zone. the entire car would get crushed, or torn asunder. see photo.

By: Jeff Sepeta

Jeff Sepeta — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:13:00 +0000

My car was hit in a freak accident last month. It stalled out on the highway and then a semi hit me. I’m very VERY lucky to have walked away. Had the semi hit one of these cars, there’s no way the driver or passengers would live.

By: penguinchris

penguinchris — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Whether this one is a toy or not, with some refinement in the design (concept is great but lacking in some implementation details IMO) I would love something like this.

Kind of a cross between a Fiat 500 and a Smart, but with good looks, would be my ideal. I do like the looks of the Fiat 500 quite a lot but wouldn’t buy one myself without some revision. I prefer the whimsical design of small European cars from the 50′s and 60′s, including the original small Fiats.

I do think that with the success of the Fiat 500 we might finally be entering a new age of cars that actually look good. Almost nothing from the past two decades – including modern supercars etc. – looks as cool to me as cars from the 70′s and earlier. The Fiat 500 isn’t perfect, but it’s a great start.

By: Ellen Hamburg

Ellen Hamburg — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:27:00 +0000

Actually, I think you’re right. According to other articles about this thing, it’s not even street legal. It was reveled at the Tokyo Toy Show.
http://www.zercustoms.com/news/Toyota-Camette-Concept.html

By: petite poubelle

petite poubelle — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:18:00 +0000

I should have scrolled down….I thought “Lego Kublewagen.”

+1 for George Best

By: petite poubelle

petite poubelle — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:16:00 +0000

A futuristic two-door Lego Kublewagen.

By: Steve Blair

Steve Blair — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Apparently this car is a toy. No really, it’s being shown at the Tokyo Toy Show – it’s literally for children.
I’m kinda disappointed – I got excited by the replaceable panels to customize the look of it