Toyota and Clemson partner up for a concept aimed at Generation Z
Deep Orange is all about providing young buyers with a car that can be used for both work and play.
Young adults don't often get the chance to build an honest-to-goodness car from the ground up. But a group of students from Clemson University in South Carolina did exactly that, with a little help from Toyota. The result is Deep Orange, a concept car that aims to appeal to the all-important Generation Z because Millennials don't matter anymore.
The students were involved in every step of the process, including market research and manufacturing. The car was built for "a young entrepreneur" who wants something that can dabble in both work and play.
To that end, Deep Orange's interior can be reconfigured to both haul cargo and act as a mobile office, thanks to removable seats on sliding tracks. Bezels, vents and other interior trim pieces can be swapped out with 3D-printed parts, designs for which can be shared over an online community.
The exterior is definitely interesting. Its rugged, blocky look doesn't look like anything that's currently on the market. The students even developed a special process that can support a curved glass roof using aluminum and carbon fiber supports.
Of course, it's an electric car, loaded with 110-volt sockets so that its driver can absolutely murder the range by plugging in all manner of electronic devices. You've got to hand it to these students -- they did a great job putting together a concept that would be at home at any international auto show.
Work no longer starts when you get to the office, slacker.
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