Toyota Lets Gen-Z Students Loose To Design Their Ideal Car - And THIS Is What They Came Up With?

Centennials might be a tough nut to crack, since most individuals of the "Generation Z" don’t have the means to buy a car yet, but Toyota reckons it knows what the next generation of buyers want.

So, the Japanese car manufacturer teamed up with Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), and created an innovative, flexible concept, called uBox, intended to appeal to the aforementioned generation.

The project – called Deep Orange – was designed, engineered and hand-built by graduate students, immersing them into every aspect of automotive development – from market research and design studies to engineering design and manufacturing.

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TheSteve - 4/13/2016 12:37:44 PM

+1 Boost

Looks like an "honorable mention" from the Judge Dread prop lineup.

MDarringer - 4/13/2016 8:04:18 PM

0 Boost

Just because people are in college does not make them smart. They are idiots to think this would be viable with customers.

W208 - 4/13/2016 8:30:20 PM

+2 Boost

I remember when I was a preteen in the early 90s, I saw the episode of The Simpsons where Homer created his own car. It should be a mandatory viewing for anyone creating car concepts....be sensible.

TomM - 4/14/2016 2:29:17 AM

+2 Boost

It is not unusual for studies like these to come up with a new version of a small Mini-van- which is basically what you see- because they have traditionally been the way to transport a number of people in comfort. The SUV is simply not as efficient.They are similar to the raised station wagon that way once the rage. You see small mini-vans all over europe (Opel Zafira etc) - they sell quite well there and virtually all the mainlime manufacturers have one in their lineup. The sports sedan or sports car generally simply do not have enough room inside to do that - and the guidelines of the study likely skewed to having both a driver and a number of passengers.

I would like to see the specifications supplied to the people in the study who designed the vehicle. In addition - I would bet that the participants in the study were Asian as well - since that is the styling of the prototype.

MDarringer - 4/14/2016 8:39:44 AM

+1 Boost

The problem is that they imagine the future being ugly.