Would you buy the Apple iPod of new cars?

  By John LeBlanc Last week in Paris, Japan’s Toyota revealed its new Me.We Concept. Unlike most show cars these days, the Me.We doesn’t brag about having a gazillion horsepower or is jammed with leather-this or power-that or more infotainment goodies than you’ll find at home. Instead, the Toyota concept is more like what an Apple iPod is compared to your grandparents’ hi-fidelity home stereo system; taking the less is more approach. Interestingly, Toyota farmed-out the Me.We design to French designer Jean-Marie Massed, better known for his furniture design and recent ventures into architecture. By using an aluminum chassis and recyclable polypropylene panels, the Me.We weighs about 200 kilograms less than a similarly sized Toyota Yaris subcompact and sports under-floor batteries powering either two- or four-in-wheel electric motors. Via its removable rear seats and body panels, the Me.We can be a convertible, city car, dune buggy or pick-up truck.   Funnily enough, the Toyota concept instantly brought to mind another concept targeted at younger buyers: the Ford 021C concept (above), first seen at the 1999 Tokyo auto show. Like the Toyota concept, Ford went outside the company for help, commissioning Australian industrial designer Marc Newson. Also like the Me.We, the 021C (named after the Pantone colour code of its originally orange exterior), was designed to be a simple, affordable, stylish and eco-friendly urban vehicle. While not well received at the time, almost fourteen years later, the 021C looks like the Apple iPod of cars. Show cars like the Me.We and 021C get a lot of attention because they simplify the experience of owning and driving a car. Kind of like how the iPod simplified music listening habits. Instead of needing a complex array of receivers and amps and speakers and the required library CDs, the iPod and Apple’s accompanying iTunes online music store exemplified the less is more design ethos. But would that approach work in the auto world? What do you think? Do you feel keep-it-simple cars like the Me.We and 021C would sell in today’s new car market? Or are we all too addicted to horsepower and creature comforts?

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