An Inside Look at Coming Car Interiors?

By Bill McLauchlan

As you’d expect, new car models and the latest concept creations are the stars at any big auto show. In that respect the glittering hardware on display at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show was no different.

But sometimes you get an interesting glimpse of future product direction by checking out the booths where component manufacturers and other industry suppliers blow their own horn.

Take, for instance, Faurecia, one of the world’s top suppliers of vehicle interior structures. Among other things it develops and produces instrument panels and centre consoles, cabin designs, door panels and decorative components (paint, film, wood, aluminum, etc.). At the LA Show, it offered up some tantalizing visions for the near future of automotive interiors and seating that are ready for the road.

The Faurecia exhibit turned heads with what it called Performance 2.0. A demonstrator filled with new ideas for design and surfaces and new levels of comfort, connectivity and lightweight materials, all conceived for affordable mid-size cars – the market most favoured by mainstream consumers. Several of the demonstrator’s features respond to just a light touch or a simple hand gesture to help make driving easier and simpler – attributes sure to be a welcome prospect for any motorist coping with stiffening fingers or other forms of limited upper body mobility.

A quick look at its instrument panel illustrates how this interior approach is built for lightness, with an exceptionally slim design and high-tech systems.

One is a retractable head-up display (HUD), placed above the steering wheel, that furnishes a transparent view of critical driver information. It replaces conventional gauge groups. In this neat application a small projector module remains flat and hidden away when the car is parked, tilting up only when the engine is started.

Another larger retractable screen is an eight-inch interactive touch-screen placed where an infotainment system might otherwise have been situated and is available for navigation as well as other functions. Below this central retractable screen, icons appear for interaction with air blowers and connections to infotainment features, which light up only when needed.

The demonstrator also suggests that the next wave of control technology will simply be a wave. In this instance, a mere hand gesture makes the glove box, rotate out and open.
The dash vents are an interesting touch, too. Rather than utilizing today’s typical adjustable fins, this design uses large, open, driver-oriented decorative vents to the left, right and above the steering wheel, along with two defroster vents. The decorative vent on the passenger side displays graphics during the day and is backlit at night. Natural fibres are used extensively throughout the entire panel to reduce weight, as is wireless connectivity in the centre console where reduced wiring and harness requirements allow even more weight reduction.

As for the console itself, an armrest atop it spirals out and opens with just a single touch. Which then reveals a wireless charging area for smartphones. It also enhances smartphone use by coupling it with the vehicle’s own antenna to expand connectivity for the phone. And content displayed on an iPhone stored in the console can be shown on the centre retractable screen for the front-seat passenger and streamed to a wirelessly charged 10-inch tablet mounted on the back of the driver’s seat.

Everything available to the smartphone online can be displayed on the back tablet, which uses a gesture-based interface and a totally wireless connection. The technology identifies the phone owner’s playlist and can interact with it on the retractable screen. The driver’s head-up display, meanwhile, shows only the information required to operate the vehicle, consisting of turn signals and electronic readouts traditionally shown on gauges.

Along with state-of-the-art, sculpted, seamless (rather than conventional cut-and-sew methods) seating incorporating lightweight plastic and an advanced foam process, it promises a lightweight car full of high-end convenience and easy operation. Just the thing to help midsize car buyers feel like they’re experiencing luxury and comfort once found only in premium vehicles.