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Toyota RND Concept Is Actually Just An Auris With A Red Nose

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Earlier this week, Toyota announced that they would be unveiling a new production-ready model in the UK, and as they boasted that the new car—dubbed the RND Concept—had “the potential to transform the look of every vehicle on the road,” I was pretty excited to see what they had up their sleeve.

Now that I know, however, all I can do is shake my head in disapproval.

Toyota originally said that details about their latest concept would be announced next week when it made its official debut, but they apparently couldn’t hold it in any longer. It was just TOO good to wait.

All of the anticipated specs about the RND Concept were leaked today, and as it turns out, the “face-changing” new concept is about as real as the HondaHAIR. The “concept” is nothing more than a Toyota Auris with an oversized plastic red nose attached to the front of it.

YOU GOT US, TOYOTA!!!

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OMG!!! Soooo funny!!!

According to the automaker, the RND was just a hilariously-elaborate joke to promote and acquire funds for Red Nose Day, an event held every other year that, from what I understand, consists of UK residents wearing red noses to help raise money for charity.

Perhaps Toyota thought this whole scheme would be fitting as the benefiting charity is entitled Comic Relief, but the problem is that no one seems to be laughing.

Technically, there was nothing untrue in the press release that Toyota sent out this past Wednesday— the red nose is production ready, and has the ability to transform the look of every vehicle on the road—but as just about everyone expected something truly game-changing to come from the announcement of the new concept, it’s no surprise that the reaction isn’t quite as positive as Toyota likely hoped it would be.

Maybe this whole thing will get some laughs on the other side of the pond, but as an American who frankly couldn’t give two shits about Red Nose Day, and who expected big things to come from this whole thing, I can’t help but be a little bitter about it all.

If you want to get your hands on one of the red noses, you’re pretty much shit out of luck unless you live in the UK. Toyota is currently selling them on eBay for £5 a pop, and says that they will be available in dealerships starting next month, just in time for Red Nose Day, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 13.

Am I just being a dick, or does someone out there agree with me here? Feel free to back me up or rip me a new one in the comments below.

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John is a full-time automotive blogger who digs cars, but also spends a disturbing amount of time watching and reading about movies. His first car was a maroon 1993 Buick Skylark which, after a solid seven-year run, was laid to rest in August of 2013. He currently writes for phantomcopy.com.

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Car WTFs

The Most Interesting Aspects of the Dodge Demon

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hellcat demon engine

Many of us thought that the Dodge Challenger Hellcat was about as intimidating as a car could get. After all, people couldn’t hardly get them off the lot without crashing them when they first came out. Then Dodge upped the ante with the new Demon. But aside from the raw power, there are some other interesting aspects of the new Demon.

Check out the video below for a full rundown of just how unique this car is.

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Car WTFs

Mercedes Names May Be Getting More Confusing

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mercedes naming gls coupe

Think you finally have your Mercedes names mastered? Well, a new challenge appears to be coming, friend.

How to now identify Mercedes models by name

Some moves in the northwoods of Canada by the brand appear to signal a change in the naming conventions that will be used for Mercedes and AMG models. Candian trademarks have been filed for  A 40, CLA 40, SLC 40, SLC 50 and GLE 50 in addition to CLA 53, G73 and S73.

If this proves true in the states, it would signal an end to the rule of two digits for Mercedes, three-digits for AMG counterparts. The new world would be two digits, ending in a “0” for Mercedes, and two digits ending in a “3” for AMG. This supports rumors of  an AMG ‘73’ model with a hybrid powertrain.

While this change isn’t terribly difficult to comprehend, it certainly makes things interesting when comparing legacy and upcoming Mercedes models. There are a lot of numbers to keep straight, and a lot of explaining to do. And the letter and number combos leave something to be desired in terms of cachet.

Oh, it’s got cachet baby!

It makes one appreciate the simplicity of giving each vehicle an actual name, like the domestic manufacturers do. Sure, that’s how we ended up with the Chevy Nova, but what are you going to do? There are only so many names, surely one for an automobile would end up meaning “no go” in some language, right?…

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What’s with Toyota’s weird shifter pattern?

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"What's the Toyota's weird shifter pattern?" image of 2011 Toyota Camry shifter

I like my car. It’s a 2011 Toyota toaster, I mean Camry. If you made a list of everything a car has to do, the Camry would check all the boxes. It gets me from point A to point B with the consistency a learning golfer would envy. It’s a toaster. You put in the bread, choose your level of toastiness, push down the thingy and then wait for it to pop up. But there is one interesting thing about my car. The shifter. That’s it up there. That is definitely not conventional at all. So, what’s with Toyota’s weird shifter pattern? (more…)

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