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Toyota Scion Fuse: Toyota takes the battle forward
A splurge of technology and design, it's sad the Toyota Scion Fuse will never go into production.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 22, 2006
Toyota Scion Fuse, the latest concept car in the Toyota Scion series is out. Toyota displayed the Fuse at the New York Auto Show last week. The chunky-blocky concept car Toyota Scion Fuse takes off from where its predecessors left off, and takes the battle forward.
The Scion Fuse, powered by a 1.6 liter engine, is a car to behold. The "chopped-top, short snout" Fuse is built to trigger wows and aahs. On the exterior, it has a barely-visible grill in the front. The Scion badge is bold and clearly visible.
The doors of the Toyota Scion Fuse swing upwards in scissor-style, faithfully following the sci-fi movie tradition. The 20-inch ally wheels come armed with side-indicators. (We wonder how that helps, though!).
The Toyota Scion Fuse has two sunroofs at the top - one for the front and the other for the back. Both can be independently operated. The car has an interesting boot, and its door slides upwards (see picture). Though it may look complicated, it is quite easy to operate. The boot is opened and shut by a wave of the foot over the bumper-mounted infra-red sensor. One wonders how the Toyota Scion Fuse's sensors manages to ignore unintended foot movements by, say, a passing jogger. The lights on the Toyota Scion Fuse are light-sensitive and change colour according to light hues.
Toyota Scion Fuse has a rear spoiler, which hides when the car is driven at normal speeds, and lifts up automatically when the car crosses a certain limit. Nice innovation. Once the speed comes down, the spoiler disappears beneath the rear screen.
The Toyota Scion Fuse's interiors are a riot of LED lights and digital displays. The dash houses two display monitors. The digital steering wheel of the Fuse is an information powerhouse, reminding the blinking lights of Space Shuttle Discovery. All the information that you need - and more - are available on the The Toyota Scion Fuse's steering console. Toyota says its steering console was inspired by the Super GT. The seats have LED light tubed stitched into them, making it look like more a club floor. All in all, the interiors feel more like a dance.
With all the splurge of design and technology, it is sad the car will never go into commercial production.
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