If you think the interiors of tomorrow's family cars will be boring, think again. Future car and truck interiors will look and be used much differently than they are now if today's young designers have their way.
During the SAE World Congress on April 14 in Detroit, Ward's Automotive Group unveiled the winning designs of four finalists in its Auto Interiors Student Design Competition.
The honored students imagined that family-friendly vehicles won't just have entertainment centers, they will become entertainment centers. Standard seats will morph into mini-playgrounds for young children, or turn into swings or hammocks for travel-weary parents.
To get this fascinating glimpse of the future, Ward's AutoWorld magazine partnered with the prestigious College for Creative Studies in Detroit to create a competition sponsored by International Automotive Components Group (IAC) and Lear Corporation, with support from SAE International. A class of 15 automotive design students was challenged to create an interior for a young, active family that enjoys the outdoors and is environmentally conscious.
The judging panel consisted of Tom Peters, executive director-performance cars and fullsize trucks, General Motors Co.; Dan Vivian, director-engineering design, Hyundai-Kia Motors North America; and Jane Harrington-Durst, manager-color styling, PPG Automotive Coatings.
The grand award winner, as well as the winners of two special awards from IAC and Lear, will be announced May 19 at the Ward's Auto Interiors conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, MI.