Jerry Hirshberg, the head of Nissan Design International in California, recounts how, in one particularly difficult time in the development of 1999 Nissan Quest mini-van, he told the designers to knock off early and take in a movie or something so they could come back the next day for a fresh look at a problem that had them stumped.
Finding a solution to the problem–how to increase the cargo area behind the van’s third seat without extending the length of the vehicle or compromising legroom–indicates how big a role interior design plays in the development of new vehicles, beyond finding space for the extra cupholders or map pockets.
“We really designed the vehicle from the inside out,” says Hirshberg, who has designed his share of sport-utility vehicles and sleek coupes and sedans during his career at General Motors Corp. and Nissan.
Nissan’s solution to the rear-area-cargo puzzle was to install a sturdy, lightweight shelf that effectively doubled the available storage area, Hirshberg says. The height of the shelf is adjustable and the new feature should go a long way toward satisfying the request from consumers for some additional space for groceries and other “stuff,” says Hirshberg.
In fact, J.D. Power & Associates recently estimated that interior features and layout heavily influence consumers’ final decision on vehicle choice. “It used to be the interior just sort of happened. That’s not the case any more,” says Daniel Jannette, president of Technology Division of Lear Corp., a major supplier of interior seating and trim.
The quest for better packaging and additional convenience have spawned all sorts of new features on production vehicles and concept cars from cargo bins in the trunk to cigar humidors in the front-seat of luxury cars.
“You want to be able to offer the buyers something extra,” says Bill Donnelly, director of sales and marketing for Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. For 1998, Aston Martin is offering a special Alfred Dunhill edition of DB7, the company’s most popular model, that comes with a humidor, cigar cutter, lighter and pens. In the non-smoking version, the humidor is replaced by a Dunhill-made grooming kit with combs and bruhes, Donnelly said.
Chrysler’s Chronos concept vehicle, which resides in the $100,000 neighborhood, also includes a humidor, with a humistat, to go along with the car’s leather-wrapped steering wheel and sports-watch like dials in the instrument cluster. The humidor adds an exclamation point to the car’s strong presence, says Jack Crain, Chrysler Design Studio chief who directed the Chronos project.
Meanwhile, Johnson Controls Inc., a major supplier of automotive seats and interior components, has built a concept car called the Symbiosis that includes a storage compartment for an umbrella. Johnson Controls also has unveiled what the company’s representatives describe as a “near future” concept vehicle, dubbed Van-Go, that includes an office, with a desk-top-like writing surface, room for a computer and storage space. The second-row includes a child activity center in which the center seat folds down and turns into two desks and storage compartments.
Oldsmobile’s Bravada X-Scape, which was shown off by GM at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, also includes a power passenger seat that folds into a working surface, which includes a special cavity for a lap-top computer. And there’s room for a cellular phone, GM officials said. The X-Scape also offers an entertainment center with a videocassette player built into the floor console and a seven-inch, liquid crystal monitor that flips down from an overhead compartment. In the rear, the X-Scape comes with a “cargo management system” that slides out 24 inches over the rear bumper. The sliding cargo platform also can be used as a buffet table at tailgate party with partitions that carve the space into bins for individual packages.
The sliding cargo floor feature also is on the Buick Signia, another concept vehicle from GM that borrows characteristics from both passenger cars, vans and sport-utility vehicles. The Signia’s powered rear-floor extends 15 inches over the rear bumper to make it easier to get bulky items in and out of the vehicle, Buick officials say.
Honda has been showing off the MV-99 concept vehicle, which cosmetically is a dead ringer for the company’s 1999 mini-van due out this year. On the inside, however, the Honda concept includes several features not found in the ones used in average suburban van pool, such as real-time video rearview mirrors. The MV-99 also comes with a fold-down video monitor, and the armrests in each passenger seat include room for an individual data processing center so the user can stay in touch with his office or business, according to officials from Honda Research and Development, which thinks more mini-vans will be used as mobile offices.
The unfolding revolution in interior design also is reaching into other uncharted spaces in the passenger car.
Lear has designed a storage system that divides the trunk into separate bins, compartments and containers to eliminate the haphazard look of the traditional rear trunk. Lear also has designed a concept vehicle that places the compact-disc changer in a compartment tucked under the ledge in front of the rear window.
Dan Presto, a spokesman for Saab, says the Swedish automaker spent a lot of time in making sure the details of the new Saab 9-5 were just right for the driver and passenger. Saab even brought in aircraft designers to help work on the car’s interior layout, he said. The final design for the 9-5, which went on sale in early April, included placing an air-conditioning vent in the glove box to preserve small food items, and there is a small pocket near the bottom of the B-pillar just behind the driver’s seat that can hold a rolled-up umbrella.
Volkswagen AG, however, managed to score a beat in the race for the best interior feature when it put its now famous bud vase into the new Volkswagen Beetle. The vase is made of plastic but it seemed to capture the Beetle’s quirky charm, Volkswagen representatives suggest.
Saturn, GM’s small-car subsidiary, hasn’t started installing vases. But most of its dealers will leave flowers or candy on the seat for customers as a token of appreciation after a purchase or service call, says Greg Martin, Saturn spokesman. “It’s one of those extra little things the customers have come to appreciate,” he says.
