Jim & Jack's Collision Center - El Segundo

New Toyota uBox Concept Car Designed for Generation Z Drivers

The next generation of drivers will soon be heading out on the road, and they may do it in a Toyota vehicle named the uBox. With its box-like look, hard angles and highly customizable features, the concept car is designed to appeal to Generation Z drivers, those born from 1995 until the present.

“The typical customer for uBox is a young entrepreneur who wants a vehicle that can provide utility and recreation on the weekend, but that can also offer office space or other career-centric or lifestyle uses during the week,” according to a Toyota press release.

There’s currently nothing like uBox on the roads here in El Segundo, CA, but if we ever get one at Jim & Jack's Collision Center - El Segundo, we'll definitely tell you what we think about this innovative vehicle! The five-passenger vehicle is a cross between a minivan, SUV and some even say an armored truck.

How did this vehicle come about?

Generation Z is known to be product oriented and brand conscious, although not necessarily loyal to one brand, according to research conducted during the project. Customizable products are also very important to this generation. Therefore, Toyota Motor North America partnered with graduate students at Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in South Carolina to design, engineer and build the concept car. The result of the two-year project, known as “Deep Orange,” was the uBox – an innovative and flexible vehicle geared to future drivers.

The uBox was unveiled at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress & Exposition in Detroit, Michigan earlier this year in April. We’ll have to wait until 2020 to possibly see it on the road.

Five uBox features: 

1. The exterior was designed to look bold and youthful, and be reminiscent of a powerful stance ready to move forward.

2. The versatile interior has removable seats on a sliding track that have the ability to be rearranged depending on your activity, whether you need room for work space, passengers or cargo. 

3. A curved glass roof allows light inside and is supported by carbon fiber rails bonded with aluminum using what is called a protrusion composite technology.

4. The vents, dashboard display bezels and door trim can all be personalized using 3D printing technology. 

5. The all-electric powertrain has 110-volt sockets throughout the interior and exterior, which enable drivers to power their electronics, power tools or other devices.

If you will soon be considering a vehicle for your teen, rest assured that manufacturers such as Toyota are thinking ahead to best meet the needs of Generation Z. 

Sources: Toyota, MSN and USA Today