Horrible idea for Door hinge placement.

"Priced at approximately US$10,000, it can achieve a top speed of 37.5 mph (60 km/h) and has a range of about 31 miles (50 km). "
Though I like the styling of the Toyota's Smart Insect (weird name btw), it seems like A LOT of money for such low performance and only ONE seat.
The Renault Twizy has two seats and better speed and mileage for about the same amount of money.

Overdesigned, as concepts usually are.
-There's no reason to use the more complex gull-wing style doors when there are two other tried-and-true door mechanisms in use in millions of vehicles (typical door, and sliding van door). -The wheel wells are so tight, there doesn't appear to be any suspension travel. -Automatically opening the trunk is an unnecessary expense and luxury in what is apparently meant to be a commuter vehicle. -The whole front is clearly designed to look cool, rather than be aerodynamic. -It's far better to provide a tablet docking area that comes with a cheap, basic tablet serving as little more than a dashboard, rather than something totally integrated which cannot easily be serviced or upgraded. -The open spaces on the side create a lot of drag and turbulence, reducing efficiency.
Bottom line, if this is going to sell, it has to be as cheap as it is effective, and as stylish as it is simple. Relying on flashy gimmicks like gull-wing doors and a trunk that opens when you wave at it will get Toyota nowhere.
I feel it would be better for them to start with a basic, fundamental design that works well (efficient, stylish, enjoyable, & cheap), and THEN add features like driver recognition in later models, or through a tablet/smartphone app that gets updated.

@Joel
"-It's far better to provide a tablet docking area that comes with a cheap, basic tablet serving as little more than a dashboard, rather than something totally integrated which cannot easily be serviced or upgraded."
This, so much this. The first car company to let people dock a standard tablet (and replace upgrade that tablet later) is going to make huge waves.

Not being capable of highway speeds will severely limit the market for this concept. A good idea for a 1 person but not good enough.

I was thinking the same thing: let my phone or tablet be the "smart" brains of the vehicle... and keep the costs down. Just give me a safe, inexpensive vehicle without all the bells/whistles. Even make my phone or tablet be the music. Just need an amp and speakers in the car only.

I would way rather have the Volkswagen L1, even if they never seriously would sell it for $600 (truth was closer to $25,900, which is another colossal mistake, and it was supposed to be released in 2010 and I certainly have never seen any of them anywhere). I would want the L1 because of the inspired salt-flat styling, but also because you could fit two of them in one parking stall. It is/was a tandem car practically no bigger than a motorcycle. It had a 299cc diesel with over 200 mpg and sure made a lot of sense at $600, no sense at all at $25,900.
Second best is the Volkswagen NILS, but I think that's just another concept car. For about $10,000 they were blowing out 2011 Smart Cars, I'd have a smart car over the insect.

@Joel
Brilliant thought. I look forward to tablet dockable cars, where enhanced functionality is handled by the tablet and is easily upgraded.

I am confused as to the purpose of the Smart Insect. It does less than a golf cart, transportation wise, e.g., single, not multiple passengers. It carries less payload. About the same range/speed.
I concede drag & weight are less important with such a low speed, but still no attempt was made to address these two fundamentals. (I assume, because I can see the first, and no mention was made of weight.)

Theres something about the one passenger that makes me want this...