Toyota considering production version of A-BAT

Is there a Costello model to follow?

Just got that,LOL.

I don't think you can get $h!t from shinola, but Toyota is trying really hard ;-)

Just what the market needs, a truck the doesn't haul, or tow, and looks as if the design inspiration was some sort of rodent.

If it were not for the fact that the A-BAT is Japanese, I would swear that theoptimisticpessimist thinks it's in celebration of the Chinese New year (year of the rat). Actually I like that vehicle and also the FJ Cruiser but it better have AWD and a locking rear differential for better traction in cold Alberta winters.

You mean like the Explorer Sport-Trak ... which i see all over the place!
Its a favourite with old ladies who need to carry a bag of potting soil home occasionally ... that and the Honda Ridgeline.
There seems to be a market for trucks that can't haul or tow...

pretty nice...it'll sell like crazy in Calif., Texas, Florida etc...I know.

Hopefully it will not look like this. Make it closer to a pickup or just shrink the Tacoma. That thing is fugly.

Only the grille needs to be improved.

people LOVE pickups. EXCEPT for the gas mileage they deliver.

if toyota comes thru and BUILDS ANYTHING with a p/u box around the Prius' drivetrain, it will sell like hotcakes. it will help if it also looks good.

and it will; concepts are generally extreme styling studies to snag attention and test the waters.

you can build anything, and put a "toyota" badge on it, and it will sell like hot-cakes. Toyota buyers choose from Consumer Reports ... very few seem to know anything about cars.
The Tacoma is the only pickup where you sit on the floor like the Hilux of 35 years ago, but people still buy it.
I can't figure out why.......

it is actually the people who diss toyota, who DON'T KNOW anything about 'em.

TEN YEAR OLD toyotas remain more reliable and trouble free than domestics one-half to ONE-THIRD as old. and the euro brands are EVEN FURTHER behind.

not only CR, but even JPD, and even many euro magazines report their readers tend to have LEAST problems with toyotas.

the prius, as well as LS600hL, FURTHER ADD the prestige of being the MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED cars built today.

when OTHERS try hi tech, their cars spend a lot of time in the service bays. only toyota manages to COMBINE hi tech with RELIABILITY.

all those who diss these BASIC FACTS are just jealous that their garage queens aren't on the road as much.

DieselRules: "Toyota buyers choose from Consumer Reports ... very few seem to know anything about cars."

i've bought a toyota or 3. and i read CR. i also read Automobile, Road & Track, Autoweek and other enthusiast rags. i even read BOOKS about the industry.

you wanna bit YOUR automotive knowledge against mine?

...pit your automotive knowledge

The front is very ugly, I hope this will NOT be even close to a production look. Why does Toyota need more pickup trucks seriously?

That is not a smart move for Toyota with questionable styling and high gas prices slowing truck sales. They are better off concentrating on the quality of their current models rather than gambling on this.

I think they also need to make the Camry and Corolla better quality to keep customers or they will be losing people in droves.

well just maybe, it is high gas prices that are the REASON for slow truck sales?

so a HIGH mileage TRUCK is an obvious winner!

but of course, you are smarter than toyota, who only happens to make more money than all the other car makers on the planet combined.

(while GM somehow manages to LOSE $39 BILLION in just one year. maybe GM listens to 'advice' from people like you. LOL!)

The title of this article should read "Why has Toyota lost it's focus?"

They are falling into the GM /Ford trap of having too many models on the same platform that offer nothing relevant.

there is NO other model sharing the prius platform.

So is this supposed to be like a mini version of the Ridgeline?

no, it does look like the toy logo. were you looking at this on a different site?

provided it doesn't weigh SUBSTANTIALLY more than the prius, i'd think it should get a minimum of 35 mpg, and up to the mid-40s. (of course, it cannot slice thru the air as cleanly.)

no way it can NOT sell like crazy, if the price is kept reasonable.