Liux Animal. If we say Animal, your answer is… No not ‘my wife when she’s drunk’, but Sesame Street of course. Without Animal Sesame Street would be like watching Stallone or Schwarzenegger movies without the violence. Something we find hard to imagine. Today there’s a new animal in town, but that town is currently somewhere in Spain. Because yes, there’s another new automotive startup that wants to have a piece of the EV SUV cake. Liux is in its early stage of development – you don’t say – but the team is growing and they have a first concept to share. And we have some hope to be honest, because not only are the renders of this Liux Animal model looking pretty good, they also don’t exaggerate with the power figures. They talk about a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 237 hp through a 170 kW battery that should be good for a range of 600 km on a single charge. And there’s more ‘good news’, because thanks to the current cutting edge technology, Liux will be able to manufacture molds and parts for their chassis by 3D printing, thereby creating a more sustainable and flexible process, cutting manufacturing times and reducing the weight of the bodywork, energy and CO2 emissions by 70%.
Toyota Prius. Meanwhile, there have already been quite a few opinions online regarding the new Toyota Prius, and in the process people are using the term ‘beautiful’ extensively. We were more likely to think not ugly. We could now dig deep and surface countless memes about previous Prius models, but we prefer to stick to memes about the current energy crisis. Just so that we remain relevant within our circle of friends and make our daily contribution to the wailing and whining. It was still in the last century, the wonderful year 1997 to be precise, when Toyota unleashed the first hybrid Prius into the world. As far as we were concerned, it was one of the ugliest things we had ever seen, yet the thing turned out to sell well. Today we are already at the 5th generation, and we still recognise the Prius model in it, but seasoned with some new herbs. The sleek styling and design of the bumpers make it seem that this is an electric model, but it is indeed a hybrid. It is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine supplemented by an electric motor. The petrol engine packs 148 hp, while the electric motor has a small belt bag containing a 13.6 kWh lithium-ion battery. So in total, there are 223 hp on board. In non-combustion mode, you should theoretically be able to cover a distance of some 75 km. Charging is done via solar cells on the roof or via the ” old-school” plug. We predict a not-insignificant future for this newcomer, and that will no doubt apply to its real birthplace, where it once grew up and was embraced. And we are, of course, talking about California. And that is also where senior Aftermarket lurks around the corner, so rest assured that this model will make its appearance there too in the not-so-distant future.
Toyota Prius Modellista. This story is set on the home front in Japan, where Modellista is nothing more or less than Toyota’s home tuner. And so it makes sense that the first Aftermarket goodies would come from that direction, undoubtedly setting the stage for a rich future in the accessories business. Our Japanese is not what it used to be, so we can only include the characters that are in the correct order according to the Western language. And from that, we can tell that you will have the choice between two packages: either go all in on the ‘Neo Advance Style’ or select the ‘Elegant Ice Style’. Or you can also go for the third option, and that is waiting to see which game the real Aftermarket players will play.
Genesis X Convertible Concept. In Los Angeles, they will soon let the cows out to graze again… Sorry, wrong article for wrong magazine. We will write our article for “Farmers From Home” magazine later. In Los Angeles, they will soon be welcoming back the foot traffic for the Los Angeles Auto Show. It is there that visitors and press will be able to meet this juggernaut in the flesh, the Genesis X Convertible Concept. There is no doubt that this model will impress. Especially the never-ending bonnet makes you dream of times when it took an eternity for a pedestrian to reach the windshield after a crash. The Genesis X Convertible concept shares its architecture and electric powertrain with the X Concept in 2021 and X Speedium Coupe concept in 2022. The rear end of the X Convertible concept features a concave elliptical duck tail intersected by horizontal quad rear lights. To Genesis we can only say: enough with the talk, start the walk!