Toyoda Gosei Concept Has Soft Rubber Exterior, Pedestrians Rejoice

Toyoda Gosei, a firm that specializes in supplying rubber and plastic parts to the auto industry, arrives at the Tokyo Motor Show with the weird Flesby II concept. The bulbous vehicle has a soft exterior for protecting pedestrians.

The company imagines the Flesby II as an ultra-compact vehicle from 2030. Toyoda Gosei also imagines the body would be able to change its shape through the use of e-rubber, which is a next-gen material that can alter the exterior design via electric controls. The green globes on the outside are soft for absorbing impacts. They're also translucent and LEDS underneath can display messages for other drivers or pedestrians.

Toyoda Gosei has a separate concept for imagining the Flesby II's interior, and it sounds rather gross. Soft-textured material would envelop occupants. This stuff would also have LEDs embedded inside of it for communicating information to the people inside.

The firm has two other concepts for parts of future vehicles. A cutting-edge interior for a semi-autonomous vehicle would have a steering wheel capable of sensing the driver's condition. In addition, Toyoda Gosei has a plastic front end for a car that packs what the company calls "exterior communication lamps" for indicating information about the status of the driverless system to pedestrians and other drivers.

Japanese automakers have a lot in store for this year's Tokyo Motor Show. From cute, retro-inspired throwbacks like the Daihatsu DN Compagno and Suzuki Xbee to performance cars like an updated Mazda RX Vision and Toyota Supra concept, there's something there for any auto fan. We can't wait to see these interesting automotive shapes in the metal.