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The Frankfurt Auto Show is coming up, so we were prepared for at least one zany French concept car. Renault has certainly delivered on that promise of eccentricity with the Frendzy, an asymmetrical EV that wants to help you balance work and family by transforming into two distinct cars. Oh yeah, and you can plug a BlackBerry PlayBook into the dash.
Like the guy who gets a mullet as a lifestyle statement, the Frendzy is both proud of its split personality and not ashamed of how awful it looks. Examples of this duality of purpose begin at the exterior. The “work” side features a sliding door, while the “family” side has conventional doors. A modular interior allows for storage or a comfy bench seat in the rear. Since it’s an EV, it emits two separate custom sounds at low speeds, kind of like if Sybil ran an ice cream truck.
When you’re working, other drivers can tell you mean business because the rear-view mirrors will sit upright like a truck’s and the interior will be bathed in green light. When the kiddies are in the back seat, you can let your family flag fly with horizontal mirrors and orange interior lighting. And who said you couldn’t have it all?
It’s the perfect concept car, if you’re a paté delivery driver by day and a loving parent of two kids nights and weekends.
Inside, the door panels and dashboard are riddled with power receptacles that can charge and connect with an included BlackBerry PlayBook, though we bet the French will use them all as cigarette lighters.
And, with so much work and family, where’s the room for friends — er, frendz? The concept’s name is more appropriate for a failed social networking website than a car.
We lost some of the Frendzy’s sense of purpose when we found out that some features could be used for work and family. For instance, the external LCD display can show the name of a business or drawings done by a kid in the back seat, the 21st century equivalent of putting a light up pizza delivery sign on the roof or writing “Wash Me!” with your finger.
C’mon, Renault — if you’re going to give us a high-concept concept car, at least keep it ideologically pure! Even a mullet knows you keep the party in the back and the business in the front.
Images: Renault

Via: Autopia