The far-out future is here: Toyota's new concept vehicles out-do science fiction (great pics)

Yahoo News Photos ^

[Wolfstar]

Yahoo News caption: Toyota's new concept vehicle i-unit is driven in during its unveiling in Tokyo, Dec. 3, 2004. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

The i-unit, which resembles a wheelchair, is designed to help people get around. It will be displayed at an exposition in Aichi, central Japan, next year. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

The compact sized vehicle, which runs on lithium-ion batteries, enables the passenger to move among other people in an upright position in low speed mode, while the vehicle reclines in high speed mode to lower the centre of gravity and ensure stable handling, the company said.

[Wolfstar]

The story is touching, at the end, but the lengths the bed goes to in order to accomodate its occupant are kind of funny.

That seems like a lot more fun than the sappy Waltons/Little House versions.

[Wolfstar]

...very important since they seem to be removing the concept of the crumple zone.

Now that's really funny, considering that Toyota worked so hard to get a piece of the NASCAR pie. They now run Toyota pickups in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series.

[COBOL2Java]

Send these guys instead...

[Wolfstar]

Now, do you feel less tired and like you have more time than before those things existed?

Touché!

[daguberment]

and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.

That whole post you've got there is the funniest thing I have seen a long while.

[Wolfstar]

I'd pay to see the jihadists' faces if that started stalking them.

[Constantine XIII]

DUDE, did you just make that up, cause I'm ROFLMBO. :D

[Little Pig]

I found the movie, in case you ever run across it. It is called "Roujin Z". It was directed by the same guy who directed the benchmark "Akira".

[Chemist_Geek]

Please see Post 163 for source information.

I wish I could take credit for it...

[COBOL2Java]

Looks like something Liberace would have loved.

Fey, you say?

[Wolfstar]

I found the movie, in case you ever run across it. It is called "Roujin Z". It was directed by the same guy who directed the benchmark "Akira".

Thanks. If I run across it, I'll definitely make a point of watching it. Pinging you, AmericaninTokyo. Thought you might enjoy, and also thought you might be able to add info about the movie.

[Constantine XIII]

Actually, John Stossel once talked about a study that looked at that particular gripe. The scientists discovered 1) That we do really have more free time

and

2) We're a lot whinier than we were "back in the day" :D

[Wolfstar]

Liberace's outfit in that pic is prettier that most of the stuff todays pop tarts wear.

[FreedomCalls]

This reminds me of Ripley's loader in Aliens2.

Though perhaps a little less threatening.

[Centurion2000]

I'd pay to see the jihadists' faces if that started stalking them.

You and me both. They think Marines and AC-130's are bad enough ... now you cross the two with that.

[Wolfstar]

It's really weird looking -- but then, a concept vehicle wouldn't be outside the box enough if it were not weird looking.

[Little Pig]

Having Googled it, there are numerous elements I missed. Apparently, the bed is supposed to take over ALL care of the elderly person in it, and is equipped with the intelligence to do so, including upgrading itself if needed. The patient in the movie is also the first to be put in one of these beds, and doesn't like being in a rest home, much less a self-contained care device. He just wants to leave, and yes his one wish is to see the ocean one last time. Somewhere along the way, the bed starts thinking it is the old man's dead wife, and is trying to save him from what it thinks is poor treatment at the hospital. On top of all of this, the bed's technology is also a secret military experiment.

[FreedomCalls]

It's Barbarella!

[ArGee]

Actually, John Stossel once talked about a study that looked at that particular gripe. The scientists discovered 1) That we do really have more free time and 2) We're a lot whinier than we were "back in the day" :D

Who are you going to believe. Some metrosexual whimp from the MSM or a fellow FReeper.

I'm tellin' ya, between my therapist appointments, getting my only kid to fourteen different kinds of after school activities, and the yoga sessions I never have a free minute.

;)

However, I'm still going to say that time-saving devices aren't.

Shalom.

[fritzz]

Oh I want one. I can use it as a Christmas decoration, too.