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.

Concept Cars Make Big Splash at Shanghai Motor Show

On April 20, the 2013 Shanghai motor show kicked off. As The Detroit Free Press puts it, the event served up a high-decibel dosage of fashion, sports and music (oh, and cars) to some 10,000 journalists. More than 100 automakers vied for attention in the world's largest car market, where 94% of consumers don't own a vehicle — and young people dominate the ranks of those who do.

Automakers introduced plenty of concept cars, including Ford's Escort reboot and two small SUV concepts: Mercedes-Benz's GLA-Class (pictured above) and BMW's X4. Check out some others that caught our eye:

Ford Escort Concept: First Look

• Looks like: A more formal Ford Focus sedan
• Defining characteristics: Multi-element headlights, extended wheelbase
• Ridiculous features: None really, it looks ready to build
• Chance of being mass-produced: A slightly longer Focus aimed at the biggest part of the Chinese market? Chances are good

The compact car segment is the largest global segment, with more compacts sold around the world than any other kind of car — and China is rapidly becoming the biggest market for such cars. In China, however, the compact car segment is further divided into three types: low, mid and high.

Ford has the high-compact segment covered with the fairly expensive Focus, and now it's looking to see how it can get into the even bigger midcompact segment with a new concept car just unveiled at the Shanghai motor show. Behold the Ford Escort Concept, a thoroughly new car with a classic Ford name.

Mercedes-Benz GLA Concept at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show

• Looks like: A swanky compact crossover from Mercedes-Benz
• Defining characteristics: Layered dashboard, aggressive exterior styling
• Ridiculous features: "Laser-beam projector headlights," temperature-dependent color-changing interior air vents
• Chance of being mass-produced: Built on current Mercedes A- and B-Class vehicle platforms, so probably very good

The last big auto show of the global season is upon us, and it is shaping up to be perhaps the biggest of the circuit. Mercedes-Benz has chosen the Shanghai motor show in China to unveil a new concept: the Concept GLA compact crossover.

Built off of the same platform as Mercedes-Benz' A- and B-Class vehicles, which we will see in the U.S. as the 2014 CLA sedan and B-Class Electric Drive, it uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to make 208 horsepower. That energy is channeled through a seven-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels using Mercedes-Benz' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. So mechanically, the Concept GLA is certainly feasible, and given the Chinese market's thirst for small premium compact crossovers, it makes sense.

Subaru WRX Concept Photo Gallery

It looks radical and hints at what the next-generation Subaru WRX could look like. In traditional World Rally Blue paint, the WRX Concept looks to once again bring turbocharged performance paired with all-wheel drive to paved and unpaved roads.

More 2013 New York Auto Show Coverage

The concept here in New York is a bit shorter and wider, and it has a lower roofline than today's WRX sedan. Familiar WRX appearance bits like a big hood scoop and muscular side fenders with front vents make their way onto this new concept. Other unique features include neon-yellow quad exhaust tips located on either side of a raked rear diffuser, a carbon-fiber roof and 20-inch BBS-brand wheels.

Check out photos of what might be the next Subaru WRX below. Cars.com photos by Evan Sears.

Subaru WRX Concept at the 2013 New York Auto Show

• Looks like: The next-generation WRX will look a little more menacing
• Defining characteristics: All-wheel drive, turbocharged engine, carbon-fiber roof
• Ridiculous features: Fluorescent-yellow exhaust tips
• Chance of being mass-produced: Expect the next WRX to look a lot like this

The Subaru WRX has been a symbol of affordable all-wheel-drive performance for more than a decade, and a new version is on the horizon. The WRX Concept at the New York International Auto Show "hints at the design language of the next-generation WRX," the automaker said in a statement.

More 2013 New York Auto Show Coverage

The WRX Concept is slightly shorter than the current WRX sedan, but it's wider and has a lower roofline. It wears a number of aggressive design cues including a large hood scoop, bulging fenders and quad exhaust outlets that frame a rear diffuser. One-piece BBS wheels wear 20-inch tires, and a lightweight carbon-fiber roof is designed to lower the sedan's center of gravity.

Most-Watched Videos of the Week

PickupTrucks.com Editor Mark Williams is no stranger to our most-watched videos list, though this week his presence is downright ubiquitous. Williams appears in four of the top five videos, including this week's No. 1, a newcomer showcasing a trio of Mercedes-Benz heavy-duty vehicles from The Work Truck Show 2013 in Indianapolis. Check out what was popular this week:

1. Mercedes-Benz Platform Works Like a Pickup
2. Road Test Review: 2013 Ram 1500 V-6
3. 2013 Toyota Avalon
4. 2014 Toyota Tundra
5. Ford Atlas Concept

Hyundai Offers Sneak Peek of Luxury Sports Coupe Concept

Hyundai announced this week that its new luxury sports coupe concept, the HND-9, will make its world debut on Thursday at South Korea's 2013 Seoul Motor Show. The Korean automaker released artist renderings of the concept's sleek, futuristic exterior, hinting at its next-generation high-performance offering.

The renderings reveal the HND-9's long hood, which Hyundai says is part of its reinterpretation of the classic premium sports coupe's elegant image. Body-style features include character lines spanning the car from headlights to trunk; a wide, hexagonal grille; butterfly doors; spiral-shaped lines connected to the headlamps; glistening silver coating; dual exhaust; and uniquely designed headlights and taillamps. The rear-wheel-drive coupe is equipped with a turbocharged 3.3-liter engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

"The HND-9 represents an evolution of Hyundai's fluidic sculpture design philosophy," the automaker said in a statement. It "features details in every design element, reinforcing a premium look."

Related
Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis Concept at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show
Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top Concept at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show
Read about More Concept Cars on Cars.com

Volkswagen Could Build Full-Size SUV in Tennessee

Volkswagen could build a new full-size SUV in its 2-year-old Chattanooga, Tenn., plant. The Detroit News reports the automaker is mulling an expansion in Chattanooga, which produced around 180,000 Passat sedans in 2012, to assemble an SUV designed specifically for the U.S. market. That new three-row vehicle would compete with the likes of the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Traverse and Honda Pilot. The automaker's current Tiguan battles their smaller siblings — the Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox and Honda CR-V — while Volkswagen prices the five-seat Touareg against luxury SUVs like the Lexus RX.

The new SUV is a long time coming. Volkswagen Group of America CEO Jonathan Browning told us in 2011 that a full-size crossover would be "a very natural extension to the brand." And at January's North American International Auto Show, VW showed a three-row CrossBlue concept SUV (above) that looks close to production ready.

Most-Watched Videos of the Week

The 2014 Toyota Tundra felt the heat this week as our video of the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE burning up the racetrack broke the pickup's icy grip on the top spot after three weeks. The video features a surprisingly favorable critique of the track-tuned-yet-livable Camaro by Cars.com reviewer (and Ford Mustang Boss 302 admirer) Joe Wiesenfelder, who got behind the wheel of the 1LE at Roebling Road Raceway in Savannah, Ga. Holdovers from the recent Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles auto shows round out the top five. Check out what was popular this week:

1. 2013 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE
2. 2014 Toyota Tundra
3. Ford Atlas Concept
4. 2013 Toyota RAV4
5. 2014 Ram ProMaster