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Toyota's one-man i-unit vehicle is ahead of its time
What do you get when you cross the Segway with one of those wheelchair scooters? My guess is you'd end up with something like the i-unit, the latest concept vehicle to emerge from the labs at Toyota.
This one-person "personal mobility" vehicle, as Toyota describes it, can actually make itself smaller when moving slowly to take up less space, and then spread out more to optimize its center of gravity for higher speeds. At an eye-poppingly light 396 pounds, and measuring no more than 6 feet long, the i-unit (enough with the freakin' i-naming already!) boasts a three-foot turning radius, is powered by a lithium-ion battery, and includes onboard systems that store your favorite music and customize the body's color based on driver preferences.
It all sounds incredibly cool, and ultra-environmentally friendly, but you wouldn't catch me in one so long as I had to share the road with 4-ton Hummers. In other words, at this stage, categorize the i-unit as wishful thinking.
Toyota, via Shiny Shiny
By quickjman at 7:41 PM ON 05/28/07
ya that guy might not like it but i want one dos anyone have a price idea
By pepperonislice at 10:11 PM ON 05/28/07
I want one too!
If the price is right.
FYI
There are plenty of 400lb vehicles dealing with hummers already.
Motorcycles.
By TEC at 3:50 AM ON 10/04/08
Yes i agree with pepper. There are plenty of other little vehicles that drive next to hummers and even semi-trucks. Point is you get a little bit more protection i would think in this thing than you would with a motorcycle. I would love to have one of these. And if it was around 15k i would get it in a heartbeat. Probably not gonna be that cheap but one can dream.
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TEC:
Yes i agree with pepper. There are plenty of other little vehicles that drive next to hummers and even semi-trucks....More »