| Toyota F3R Concept Vehicle Puts Style, Performance and Three Rows of Comfort Into a Box
The essential Toyota values of roominess, style and environmentally advanced performance come together in a dynamic new way in the F3R, the latest concept vehicle from Toyota.
The surprising Toyota F3R, which makes its debut at the North American International Automobile Show in Detroit January 9, is an exercise in providing maximum space, efficiency and athletic style from the combined concepts of "box"and "wedge."It is a creative, sporty extension of a concept all but forgotten in today's automotive world - that of the minivan.
The project was a joint undertaking of Calty Design Research Inc., Toyota's California design studio, and the company's California-based Advanced Product Strategy group. It was commissioned because of changes in the minivan market.
"While the loyalty of minivan buyers is very high, the inflow of new buyers to the segment is low,"said John Simmons, national manager, Advanced Product Strategy, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "It continues to fall from a high of about 900,000 new buyers to the segment in 1994 to about 500,000 in 2005. Additionally, the median age of the minivan buyer, currently 51, is increasing more rapidly than in other segments of the industry. "Yet we know that in spite of their stigma, minivans are great vehicles. The fundamentals make total sense. There is no more efficient vehicle," said Simmons.
"The F3R is about taking a mainstream product with a specific identity and trying to go way beyond that image," said Kevin Hunter, vice president, Calty Design Research Inc. "With its expressive design and excitement, we think it's something you'd want to drive because you desire it, not just because you need it for its function. We think that it expands the boundaries of the genre."
Starting with a simple, blue-sky request for a three-row concept vehicle, Ian Cartabiano, the Project Chief Designer for the vehicle's exterior, and Alan Schneider, Project Chief Designer for Toyota F3R's interior, began readying sketches depicting an adaptable performance vehicle oriented toward a young family.
The decision to explore the possibilities of three-row seating made sense. "It's the most practical package there is. It's useful and versatile. But it's most often associated with minivans, and there's a stigma associated with minivans,"said Cartabiano. "I think that today's young drivers see the minivan as the vehicle they were carted around in when they were kids. It's their parents' car. They don't want anything to do with one."
Cartabiano and Schneider began the project by listing positive attributes of the minivan. These included its space efficiency, versatility, roominess, handling, fuel efficiency and ride quality.
"We wanted to keep those, but we wanted to add styling and image. We needed performance and aggressive, upscale styling to attract male buyers, young professional women and families," said Cartabiano.
"So the challenge was to revitalize what a three-row vehicle could be. We needed to appeal to more people, with more functions for the lifestyles of buyers who are outside the definition of the usual minivan buyer. This vehicle needed to show the advantages of what three rows can do as a way of serving a market that's mostly being ignored," said Schneider. Hunter explained, "We know how vans are used and how they're configured. We wanted to look at the social aspect, and at how we could use an interior to bring families closer together to enhance their experience. So we created this relaxed lounge environment."
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