speculawyer
Member
Well . . . I guess it does look like Pac-man.
:lol
That's what the kids are into these days . . . 8-bit videogames.
DETROIT Toyota unveiled a new hybrid concept car that is smaller than the Prius and geared toward younger buyers, part of the company's hybrid and alternative-fuel lineup, which it is expanding over the next several years.
The Japanese automaker showed off the FT-CH compact at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday, and it confirmed it plans to expand the Prius brand from a single vehicle to a family of hybrids.
The FT-CH could be sold under the Prius name, Toyota said.
The plan to broaden the Prius brand is a sign of its success and loyalty among buyers. The Prius, which launched in the U.S. in 2000, has long been the nation's top-selling hybrid and was the best-selling vehicle overall in Japan last year.
"The strategy is still taking shape and obviously it will require additional models to qualify as a family," said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, a division of Toyota Motor Corp.
Hybrids run on batteries and gasoline.
Toyota said the two-door FT-CH, 22 inches shorter than the Prius, is lighter and more fuel efficient and its styling, inspired by 8-bit video games popular during the 1980s, is intended to appeal to younger buyers.
The FT-CH, as a concept vehicle, has no official sales or production schedule.
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/01/11/detroit-2010-toyota-ft-ch-concept-is-the-priuses-younger-cheap/The four-seat concept was designed by Toyota's European Design and Development center in Nice, France with an 8-bit mentality. That's not a put-down. It's actually the style that designers were going for with the FT-CH, and the press conference included references to Contra, Megaman and Super Mario Brothers.
:lol
That's what the kids are into these days . . . 8-bit videogames.