Toyota Unveils 'Smartphone on Four Wheels' and Hybrid Vehicles at Motor Show (VIDEO)
Carmaker Toyota Motor recently unveiled a concept vehicle that resembles a giant smartphone.
The vehicle will become viewable for the public at this weekend's “Tokyo Motor Show 2011.” Toyota's automobile is called the "Fun-Vii," and it stands for "Vehicle Fun Interactive Internet."
Toyota is also set to introduce its electric car, the "FT-EV III," and a tiny version of the hit Prius gas-electric hybrid. This vehicle will be called the "Aqua" in Japan.
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The carmaker is also looking to debut a fuel-cell concept vehicle called the "FCV-R."
Toyota's car president, Akio Toyoda, previewed the vehicle yesterday. He dubbed it "a smartphone on four wheels."
Toyota stated, "A car must appeal to our emotions."
Techie-Buzz.com explored some of the details surrounding Toyota's smartphone car.
"Toyota based its car on a smartphone for this project, which has allowed them to make radical changes on our normal perceptions of a car. So, it still runs on four wheels and all that, but there are these few cosmetic changes that will affect our perceptions. For example, consider the touch-screen door,” said the website.
"With the Vii, you can customize the car’s exterior aka the wallpaper,” the website added.
"The Vii brings the network inside your car. You will be able to communicate with everything from location services for instructions to other smart phones (the ones without four wheels) using the Vii’s inbuilt assistant. For example, you can turn on the air conditioning before you enter the car,” the website continued.
Toyota is successful in the sales of its models thus far. The company has sold more than 3.4 million hybrids worldwide.
Toru Hatano, car analyst for IHS Automotive in Tokyo, believes Toyota has the advantage when it comes to the future sales of fuel-efficient hybrid models.
"The biggest obstacle has to do with costs, and you need to boost vehicle numbers if you hope to bring down costs,” said Hatano. "Toyota has more hybrids on the market than do rivals, and that gives Toyota an advantage."
The video below highlights footage of the Fun-Vii automobile.
