Toyota takes kids on journey into future

Out of a desire to convey the joy and dreams of motor vehicles to the next generation and to encourage parents and children to become more familiar with cars, Toyota has been exhibiting a series of “Camatte” concept vehicles at the Tokyo Toy Show every year since 2012, and this year was no exception.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) demonstrated its way of introducing the Toyota brand to the drivers of tomorrow, hands on, on the basics of driving inside an exciting toy car called the Camatte Petta, at the just concluded 3-days International Tokyo Toy Show which held from June 7-10, in a way that builds interest and excitement in a generation that, as young adults, may be too busy online to bother about learning to drive.

The Camatte Petta is an open-top, three-seater car, measuring a little more than three metres long and powered by an electric motor, the latest in a series of child-focused show cars that started in 2012.

The Camatte Journey mixes real and virtual; with children sitting in an adapted version of the Camatte Petta miniature car decorated with colourful stickers from worldwide travel destinations and a vintage suitcase on the boot.

They learn about the position of the brake and accelerator pedals using a tablet before moving off in the car down a short course, with changing landscapes projected onto a 220-degree screen, as they take a simulated trip past some of the world’s greatest travel destinations.