CHRYSLER
DESIGN
DYNAMICS
very, very cautious about doing
anything that might be considered
frivolous,” he says.
Now, however, designers at GM
and elsewhere say technology is
catching up with their imaginations,
which should make for much
broader, more dynamic changes
faster. Their goals are ambitious:
Create radical new vehicle designs
that can adapt to a more crowded,
more resource-strained and
rapidly-changing world.
“I will be really disappointed
if we’re not doing some of these
things in 2030,” Dean says. “We
need to create the solutions that
will make society better.”
HUFFINGTON
06.24.12
CHISELED HOODS
Safety and fuel economy
regulations drive a lot of design
demands. Designers have to
take into consideration airbags,
crumple zones (the area of
that crunches together in a
car accident), roof strength,
pedestrian safety concerns and a
host of other issues.
Combine those issues with
fuel economy concerns, and the
fact that steel is quite hard to
bend, and you can see why it’s
challenging to pursue avant garde
designs in mass-market cars.
The drive for improved
fuel economy is also forcing
automakers to be more inventive,
and could mean we’ll see some
Analysts say
automakers
spend more
than $1
billion on the
development
of new car
models, like
the Dodge
Viper.