OK, I have to be honest here and admit that you probably, make that certainly, won't be able to eat Toyota's new 1/X concept plug-in hybrid car that it hopes to build from seaweed.
The kelp car is not as crazy as it sounds, Toyota hopes to have it in showrooms within 15 years. Bioplastics are becoming more and more popular, and Toyota hopes to build the car's body from the earth friendly material.
"We used lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced plastic throughout the body and frame for its superior collision safety," project manager Tetsuya Kaida said of the 1/X, which is pronounced "one-xth." "But that material is made from oil. In the future, I'm sure we will have access to new and better materials, such as those made from plants, something natural, maybe something like paper. In fact, I want to create such a vehicle from seaweed because Japan is surrounded by the sea."
According to wired.com:
"Toyota is laying out its green vision
of the future ahead of the Melbourne Motor Show, where it will
highlight three sweet hybrids — the next-gen Prius, a cool Camry
concept designed in Australia and the 1/X, so named because its carbon
footprint is a fraction of that of other cars.
"The 1/X concept is a vehicle that completely redefines what it means to be environmentally considerate," David Buttner, senior executive director of sales and marketing, said in a statement. "The name says it all: a car that weighs a fraction of the others in its class today and uses a fraction of the fuel."
