Toyota recently filed a patent for a fragrance dispensing system, which could be used to spray would-be thieves with tear gas.
At its core it’s meant to enhance the driving experience, as it can detect when the owner is in the car, after which it would spray their favourite scent into the cabin. It can also do this in advance, so one always arrives at a car smelling of whatever you like most. Like bacon, for example.
That’s all fine and dandy, but this system can also be turned into a weapon. If the car detects someone tampering with the starter system, it can use that same system to deploy some tear gas.
For the record, Toyota is the first motor manufacturer to apply for such a patent.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, however. We can’t imagine it will be easy to get a system like this through all the red tape it will inevitably have to go through in order to be approved for production.
We reckon Toyota South Africa fans will definitely want this in their vehicles.