What is it?
Toyota UUV
What's special about it?
Think the crossover rage is limited to North America? Not so. For proof, we offer the funky Toyota UUV concept, which, according to the automaker, "challenges current thinking in automotive design." Uh-huh. We've heard that before.
UUV stands for Urban Utility Vehicle. Toyota says it offers "the unique qualities of the current SUV market blended with typically urban features like sophisticated design, clean geometric surfaces and excellent road manners." Further, it blends Japanese culture (technical innovation) with European culture (exterior shape).
Toyota intends the UUV to appeal to progressive, successful, adventurous urban dwellers who already drive large premium family cars. They are in their early 40s, with a family. See how different folks on the continent are? Here in the States, people like this buy Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators.
Most interesting is the full-width dash-mounted screen that displays the entertainment and navigational functions. Called Glass Vision, it's made of a photopolymer, which refracts light in the form of a prism. Clear holographic images are projected onto this screen. The benefit of Glass Vision is that it can operate outside of the constraints of a typical 7-inch LCD.
The interior makes excessive use of green-tinted translucent material and metallic surfaces for a clean but austere ambience. Steering wheel controls for climate, stereo and navigation are arranged in a circle around the center hub, and images displayed in the twin gauge pods appear to hover. The center stack is a model of simplicity, with buttons to activate the various features of the UUV arrayed around a centrally mounted clock. A joystick control similar to BMW's i-Drive resides in the center console to navigate through the various functions displayed on the Glass Vision panel.
Whatever happened to good old slide levers, push buttons and rotary knobs?
Why should you care?
Aside from the interesting Glass Vision dashboard screen for the infotainment systems and the existence of another BMW-style i-Drive control module in the center console, there's little of interest here. The UUV is designed to appeal to Europeans, not Americans. — Christian J. Wardlaw
Toyota UUV
What's special about it?
Think the crossover rage is limited to North America? Not so. For proof, we offer the funky Toyota UUV concept, which, according to the automaker, "challenges current thinking in automotive design." Uh-huh. We've heard that before.
UUV stands for Urban Utility Vehicle. Toyota says it offers "the unique qualities of the current SUV market blended with typically urban features like sophisticated design, clean geometric surfaces and excellent road manners." Further, it blends Japanese culture (technical innovation) with European culture (exterior shape).
Toyota intends the UUV to appeal to progressive, successful, adventurous urban dwellers who already drive large premium family cars. They are in their early 40s, with a family. See how different folks on the continent are? Here in the States, people like this buy Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators.
Most interesting is the full-width dash-mounted screen that displays the entertainment and navigational functions. Called Glass Vision, it's made of a photopolymer, which refracts light in the form of a prism. Clear holographic images are projected onto this screen. The benefit of Glass Vision is that it can operate outside of the constraints of a typical 7-inch LCD.
The interior makes excessive use of green-tinted translucent material and metallic surfaces for a clean but austere ambience. Steering wheel controls for climate, stereo and navigation are arranged in a circle around the center hub, and images displayed in the twin gauge pods appear to hover. The center stack is a model of simplicity, with buttons to activate the various features of the UUV arrayed around a centrally mounted clock. A joystick control similar to BMW's i-Drive resides in the center console to navigate through the various functions displayed on the Glass Vision panel.
Whatever happened to good old slide levers, push buttons and rotary knobs?
Why should you care?
Aside from the interesting Glass Vision dashboard screen for the infotainment systems and the existence of another BMW-style i-Drive control module in the center console, there's little of interest here. The UUV is designed to appeal to Europeans, not Americans. — Christian J. Wardlaw
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