According to Toyota, the Camettes are just for show. There are two versions, the light-blue Sora (above), and the tan Daichi (see the video below). Both were designed to "introduce children to the fun of driving, customising and owning a car."
Inside, a triangular seating arrangement sees a driver’s seat positioned in the middle with two rear seats, where a parent can "assist" the child driving with braking and steering. Seriously. No mention of how the Camettes move. Rumours they were pedal-powered were inaccurate. But like Lego, both feature removable parts (lights, seats, tires and body panels).
The Camettes are just “toys” for now. But the idea of production cars like the concepts is almost a “must-do”. It solves one of the biggest problems facing Western automakers: Who to sell cars to when the last Baby Boomer dies.
The Germans tried their hand at building vehicles for youngsters at last year’s Frankfurt auto show. But the concepts from Audi, Volkswagen, and Opel were more like four-wheel motorbikes, and definitely lacked the accessible look, charm, and feel of the Toyota concepts.
To some degree, the Camette reminds me of Japan’s retro Kei class cars from the 1990s, like the Nissan Figaro, S-cargo, and Honda Beat. Cars that were cheap to buy and cheap to run, but more importantly, had way more personality than anything on the road at the time.
Now imagine production versions of the Camettes. But powered by from some kind of small gas or diesel engine. And for a price under $8,000. Now tell me the cost and charm combination of the Toyotas wouldn’t sell. Especially to a generation of buyers who can't afford the cars their Boomer parents drive.
What do you think? Do you think the Camettes would fly as a production car? Or do young buyers today simply want more than basic transportation?
By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos
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