The last thing I remember good when I think of seaweed is sushi. Yes, there is just no escaping the tang of that nori-wrapped Japanese cuisine gem (that is exactly the makizushi, ladies and gentlemen, and a lot more sushi variants are available in your favorite Japanese resto).

But with ideas evolving (weirdly, if I may say) and appetites for a tastier approach expanding, looks like things are about to change. The simplicity of things will soon catch up on this looming phenomenon of connotations massively sprouting from here to there. For instance, mention “seaweed” in the office of Toyota today and the people there will give a knee-jerk reaction different from this author’s. Let me warn you: do not be surprised if what they would associate seaweed with is a car. So in a long shot it may be possible. But, c’mon, even if this is Toyota we are talking about, it still does not make sense: seaweed is to car?

Or perhaps it does. Especially because, and I quote a headline, “Toyota Wants To Build A Car From Seaweed.” According to news, Toyota is eyeing to use this strange material to make a bioplastic body of a car (i.e. the 1/X plug-in hybrid concept) that is projected to be in showrooms 15 years from now. Not just because bioplastics are becoming a trend in the industry nowadays are the folks in Toyota considering the use of seaweed to take the competition a notch higher, but more importantly because the material can be key in having a car body and frame that are superior collision safety.

The very thought of such oddity is exciting, but David Buttner, Toyota’s senior executive director of sales and marketing, emphasized that realizing the kelp car is still a decade away. “However, it shows where we’re going. Our thinking is that post-2020, cars like the 1/X will be made of plant-based plastic,” he said.