Toyota Reveals 'Anti-Excess' Concept

In honor of Earth Day, we recently told you about automakers that use renewable and recycled materials in their vehicles; Toyota is taking that to a whole new level with the ME.WE concept. The stocky, futuristic-looking compact wears a tubular aluminum frame with lightweight polypropylene plastic composite body panels. The concept weighs just 1,653 pounds and is versatile — Toyota calls it an "anti-excess" vehicle. The panels are 100% recyclable and come off to transform the car from a sedan to a convertible; an extendable rear deck turns it into a pickup truck. The electric concept gets power from four in-wheel motors and a lithium-ion battery pack that is mounted under a bamboo floor. The ME.WE makes extensive use of bamboo; it lines just about all the car's interior surfaces. Toyota teamed with French designer Jean-Marie Massaud to design the concept, which was unveiled at a Paris event this week. Not surprisingly, the automaker has no plans to produce the concept. Check out more photos below. Related How Automakers Recycle (Graphic) More Toyota News More Concept Cars from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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