Perhaps the most bizarre car ever, the Toyota Pod had emotions and could wag its tail

There’s weird cars, and then there’s the Toyota Pod.

If you ever wanted a car that tracks your sweat and wags its tail… we don’t know what to tell you.

But the Toyota Pod would have been your dream car and then some.

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Taking a closer look at the Toyota Pod

The Pod was first introduced at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show and was presented as a car that could grow emotionally attached to its owner.

We’re all familiar with people getting a little too emotionally invested in their cars, but the reverse hadn’t been seen before.

Every part of the Pod, a collaboration between Toyota and Sony, was designed to offer some sort of emotional connection.

The interior lives up to the ‘pod’ name, with four seats on swivels designed to spin around, opening up the possibility of face-to-face conversations between car occupants.

Hopefully not whilst the car was being driven.

That being said, there was no need for pedals or a steering wheel in the Pod, as the driver operated the vehicle with a joystick.

Based on observation and inputs, the car would determine several things about the driver, such as their skill level and whether they were in a hurry.

It could also pick up on the driver’s mood based on their pulse and sweat – it’s a good thing this car wasn’t being loaned out for driving tests, right?

Somehow, the Toyota Pod gets weirder

As if the sweat thing wasn’t odd enough, the car’s exterior presents even more quirks.

A series of exterior light strips let the world know how the driver is feeling – turning orange when happy and red when angry.

No longer would drivers need to ponder whether or not they annoyed somebody after cutting them off.

The car even had a dog-like tail at the back, which would wag when the driver was in a good mood.

Even when parked, the car doesn’t stop emoting – it glows blue with LED tears running from its ‘eyes’.

So it’s also the first car to have abandonment issues, apparently.

Sadly, this car never actually made it to production

Of course, the Pod was only ever presented as a concept and never came close to becoming a mass produced reality.

As amusing as it is to ponder what a world with thousands of Pods driving around would look like.

To be fair to the Pod, it could have been innovative if done right.

It certainly holds more promise than a car like the Yugo GV, which was branded America’s ‘most unreliable car’.

It’s bizarre, but with none of the fun LED lights.