THE
AUTOMOBILE: DESIGN AND CONCEPT
By
Omer Brans.
How
can we predict solutions and plans for cars of the future to ensure
commercial success and the durability of the enterprise? This is the
objective of numerous car manufacturers, each of which has his own
methods, often drawn from the history of car manufacturing itself.
To
reach this objective, it seems inevitable that reference will be made to
certain analytical tools from which many lessons can be drawn.
It is out of the question to review such questions here as this
would require a literature of encyclopedic proportions, but we have
chosen a few points that we consider vital, and that we have essentially
integrated into the know-how of our research department.
First and foremost, we must research what has already been
achieved by other manufacturers or creators in order to gain insight
into what should be done, but more importantly, what should not.
One cannot broach this subject without having first developed the
statistical tools of analysis to illustrate the coherence of each
creation. These tools,
which one could call ãquality criteria,ä facilitate a comparison of
vehicles and the uncovering of a cause-effect link between commercial
success (or failure) and these quality criteria.
The most basic of these tools take the following form: cost per
km per passenger, frontal area per passenger, total wet area Cx/passenger,
total wet area Kg/cc, Kg/cc/passenger cell volume, etc.
What are the most judicious tools for this purpose? We leave this
to the imagination, the range of choice being almost limitless.
There is always a reason (though often hidden) for the failure or
the success of a vehicle; the key is to find the right tools to update
the predominating aspects in this event.
It seems preferable to foresee problems, rather than encounter
them later.
Many
other points should be taken into account, and the evolution of
technique is so rapid in certain domains that often no scientific means
exist to provide foresight into how a project will be received.
In fact, we gain knowledge through experience; unless science is
innate, even those who are most competent will need a course in
concept-manufacturing-marketing to draw conclusions from this experience
and develop expertise concerning this type of project.
Nonetheless, and this is not an exception, intuition, when
mastered, often facilitates a projection into a future reality and is
certainly the most powerful and dynamic tool in the world.
All creators use it, with varying degrees of satisfaction and
varying degrees of consciousness. Just as one develops the functions of a software program, it
is necessary to know how to cultivate this ability in order to optimize
creative capacity. This is
why, very often, one man is at the origin of a gigantic production and,
without him, the creation would have remained at a standstill for years,
perhaps never even coming into being.
The examples are numerous. For
this reason, the size of a research department is never proportionate to
its competence, even though there is a great risk of associating these
two parameters. Intuition is probably the most difficult element to identify,
subtle as it is, but nothing would be worse than to reject this type of
imagination and to stick stubbornly to an overly rigid mental scheme,
incompatible with creativity -- intuition being infinitely superior to
reflection, but the practice of both being ideal.
We are convinced that it is of prime importance, before embarking
upon any new project, to take interest in the personnel -- to allow them
to express their creative ideas by optimizing training methods and
knowledge, and by careful management of hierarchy and responsibilities.
Creativity cannot be realized if there is neither the scientific
or technical basis, nor if it is limited to the performance of sterile
tasks. Each of us needs to
take responsibility for identifying and evaluating creativity, and, in
our view, this is where most of the work lies.
One too often forgets that the business is nothing and the
personnel, the men and women who produce the ideas, are everything.
On
the other hand, the equipment, in particular the computer science at our
disposal today, the strength of which has caused a veritable
transformation of our research departments, is a double-edged sword.
In fact, the computer is so full of charm and potential that the
engineer can find himself, in a way, hypnotized by the machine,
unbeknownst to himself. He can make the machine an end in itself,
whereas it should remain only a means to an end. The engineer is
absorbed into his screen without realizing it; he can no longer use his
imagination, he simply plays with the functions of the software.
We believe it is preferable to succeed in a project planned in
the corner of a restaurant than to fail on Catia. To our knowledge, the
latter has unfortunately already happened with an aeronautical program.
The success of a project depends also on giving importance to ãformä
and ãenvironmentä: it depends on bringing together several elements
(machines, human beings, premises, etc.) and combining them wisely.
This osmosis is not spontaneous, and it is up to the company's
director to involve himself deeply in the task, without which serious
setbacks can occur (as we have seen in the case of some manufacturers),
resulting in disaster; both on commercial and technical levels, like
Mercedes, for example (Smart, A5 and the Mans 24H).
To
succeed in a project means for some manufacturers to follow the general
movement, either in imitating competition or improving on it, but the
most advanced will have understood that above all it is essential to
precede this movement, to stay lengths ahead. This necessitates not only accepting a large risk factor, but
also applying progressive and rational methodology supported by a
development of the users' expectations; a kind of barometer which must
facilitate the evaluation of, not the trend changes, but the real
changes which occur and of which society is often also the reflection.
Here we are no longer talking about trends. These terms are already over-stepped because that which
creates a trend in turn goes out of fashion and represents an aspect too
ephemeral and of little interest. To
slightly change the shape of a bumper, add a piece to the steering wheel,
to make minimal aesthetic modifications for no rational reason (no major
improvement in a technical aspect of the vehicle), at times making the
general line even more cumbersome, as did some Japanese manufacturers,
all simply to give the impression of a new model -- a result purely of
market considerations: this takes the buyers for wallet-owners with low
IQs. This type of
production is absolutely incompatible with any kind of realistic vision
of the future.
THAT
WHICH IS OVERLY EXCESSIVE TIRES QUICKLY
To
commit to a style -- for example, forms which concentrate solely on
broken lines or, oppositely, solely round lines, like bio-design -- is
to accept from the moment of creation the death of the project; this
representation is too manichean to correspond to the lasting vision that
a human being has of the vehicle, which must evolve in a world of
variables and delicate nuances. That which is overly excessive tires
quickly. It is all a question of striking a balance, a refined cuisine
which must not disgust the buyer. The
great potential of the technology used and the advancement of this
futuristic vehicle must succeed in inciting surprise and admiration, and
avoid provoking disinterest. Porsche
perfectly achieves this point, and the starting potential of its cars is
extraordinary. This is
largely due to technical coherence, mechanics and aerodynamics advanced
and optimized almost to the maximum from the beginning.
Other manufacturers prefer to relive the evolution of the
automobile, going through every phase imaginable, even if this has no
rational basis, but simply follows the fashion.
This root is endless as the combinations are endless.
Only the physics, the aerodynamics, the resistance of the
materials, the ergonomics, among other factors, have logical rules, and
it is in understanding and respecting these that we approach a future
reality: it is with these rules that the vehicle must comply, and not to
the subjective fantasies of a project director who gives in to the whims
of fashion. The most
difficult task is to synthesize all these factors into a homogenous
creation in which each element is in harmony with the next. The ultimate goal is to make these elements multifunctional,
to generate a diffusion of systems, synonymous with security and
efficiency. The approach to
this type of design must not be the traditional, but should be realized
around basic elements precisely defined from the outset.
If we take the example of the aeroplane: it is preferable to
manufacture an aeroplane around an engine and passengers, and not the
contrary, meaning to try to put an engine and passengers in an airframe
constructed using arbitrary dimensions.
The parallel between this methodology and that used in cars
illustrates an obvious opposition. No other approach, in our view, allows one to envisage the
long-lasting success of a project for the future.
VEHICLE
PHILOSOPHY MUST MOVE FORWARD
Apart
from the purely technical aspect, the philosophy surrounding the vehicle
must also advance. From a simple cart with an engine, we have arrived at
a means of transport both reliable and secure.
But the evolution does not stop there, because, in fact, it never
stops, and it is in the mentalities and in the new needs of men and
women that we will find the reasons behind the success of the new
vehicle. It is certainly
not in the research department where we will find the initial spark of
this answer. In fact the
advisers are not the buyers and it is the user and not the creator who
will buy this vehicle in accordance with his needs of the moment or of
the future, of which he is often not yet aware.
His needs are strongly linked to social, economic and political
factors often difficult to bring to light.
But the trend these recent years has been towards a reduction in
working hours, towards a democratization of leisure pursuits, and, on
one hand, a rupture in the cell that was the family, and, on the other,
a reinforcement of the latter. More
pronounced extremes in a way, just as in the working world.
The advent of space and monospace is the logical consequence of
this state of affairs where the largest habitable volumes liberate the
vehicle from certain constraints and render it more fit to live in.
One tries to enjoy life and the family in an environment which is
becoming more and more hostile, and one works to live rather than lives
to work. The automobile is
becoming more and more a space for living and, with the new
communication technology, will inevitably become a workspace.
A means of transport, a space for living, and soon a mobile
office, a space for games and culture, this is what we look forward to
because we have a real need for it. All these conditions are obviously
insufficient and numerous other factors enter into the picture (drivability,
dimensions, modularity). In
fact, more and more conscious of the value of things, the client pleases
himself rationally by thinking of his family and, even if he wishes to
be valued by his vehicle, he will always make a choice with corresponds
to his reality and his mental scheme, his mindset.
CARS
ARE BOUGHT PRIMARILY ON APPEARANCE
The
buyer must be able to visualize himself in the vehicle which he has
chosen and which suits him. But
the only aspect which the buyer, who is not a technician (as is most
commonly the case) can understand easily is the vehicle's appearance.
He won't need any special training to say whether he likes it or does
not like it, and if, however, this simplistic vision gives him access to
a mild sort of comprehension of the vehicle, it is nonetheless an
important comprehension which will satisfy him a good deal.
The less knowledgeable one is about mechanics, the more important
the form (its aesthetic value) and the less important the content (the
mechanics). A car is often
bought, therefore, based on its appearance, which must correspond to the
image the buyer has of himself, in character as much as in physical
appearance. It is for this
reason that ugliness must be avoided, and that this means of transport
cannot be sold properly unless it carries a message which is often
invisible, but very real: it must speak to the buyer's subconscious to
make him say ãI like this line and this shape,ä even if, in fact, he
is probably incapable of defining the profound and initial reason for
his choice. The difficulty lies in the fact that all buyers are different
and that, ideally, they would each like a different vehicle that suits
only them, an impossibility. However, certain motorists achieve this
through 'tuning,' which crystallizes this desire for difference.
This is why the only way out of this dilemma is to make reference to
vertical art, unanimously recognized. Some manufacturers have understood
this and have rightly made of a Xsara a 'Picasso'! Today, to assure
the viability of a vehicle, the manufacturers must perform a
transmutation, making their automobile creations into artistic creations.
Bringing art onto the street, they can be responsible for the
advancement of the motorist by showing him a creation of quality which
will broaden his field of vision and consciousness and show him a new
way of apprehending matter. Just as language facilitates the formulation
of reason and is therefore at the origin of most discoveries, artistic
matter, transformed into an automobile, will allow the individual
concerned to touch a new reality of the world which surrounds him. This
will render the motorist more intelligent, because intelligence is also
a phenomenon of apprehension, and he will be more sensitive to creations
of quality, which moves towards development of customer loyalty.
Moreover, the new functions to which he will have access in his vehicle
will generate new needs and will help him discover a new approach to
life. A spacious vehicle to live with will allow for diverse uses and
influence his lifestyle. The object acts on the individual; it is
therefore absolutely necessary to create intelligent vehicles, very
different from cubes with 4 wheels, and to avoid giving them idiotic
names such as ãSuper Style Modelä.
A
BADLY DESIGNED VEHICLE WILL NEVER GO FAR.
Thus
the manufacturers have a sort of moral obligation of which some are
unaware: to advance the human being by his vision of the automobile
through each of the proposed creations in its appearance and use. To
live up to this moral obligation is to guarantee the success of the
vehicle. This observation is fairly reassuring as regards the order of
the things in our world, and one could say that 'a badly designed
vehicle will never go far'. To avoid this we can ask ourselves a
seemingly obvious, but often neglected, question: am I improving or
disimproving on the last model or on the competition? And sometimes it
is a disimprovement. It is often the case where a vehicle highlights a
brand name because of the splendor of its conception, but the company
tries to change it: since it can't get better it has to get worse! In
fact, there are not multiple combinations by which one succeeds 100% in
a project respecting a schedule of conditions: there is only one.
INTEGRATE
NEW TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.
The
other solutions, which might not be bad, move towards this improvement
but are substitutes which will see only moderate success. With
perfection being impossible to reach and the advancement of technologies
pushing limits all the time, we must regularly integrate new scientific
advances. If we make the analogy to an aeronautics concept, to create a
one-seater plane with propellers, there is only one solution to be found:
it is a plane with a very small frontal area (in accordance with
existing motorization); with a very small wet area; very light; with a
small pilot; a propeller of one diameter and a speed of rotation
calculated in accordance with the speed desired. Chance plays no part in
this and if one sincerely takes all parameters into account, there will
be only one solution that really works. This is why it is advisable to
set down a precise schedule of conditions, the most important step in
the development of car design. Everything must be set out here, even
that which is not fixed but left free, to allow the project to develop
without constraints. The difficulty is making these good choices. It
would be a pity to render a project doomed from the outset by shutting
closed the schedule of conditions. The example of the SM by Citroen is
totally enlightening in its all-French beauty, which unfortunately
suffered from having mechanics that could not support it; the same holds
true for the Fiat Dino, its Italian equivalent. This is probably one of
the reasons for its slight democratization, even if the SM benefited
from numerous innovations, wrongly abandoned in the models that followed,
then taken up again recently. From the DS to the SM we can see a great
improvement on an esthetic level, then with the CX, the BX and the XM a
progressive deterioration. But appearance alone is not enough to
guarantee success; every other factor must be thought out and managed
properly, at a mechanical level in particular. We strongly regret that
the esthetic basis of the SM deteriorated and never saw the light of day
again, even slightly remodeled, with a modern chassis and mechanics. In
fact, it is in the association of these successful and optimized
elements, regardless of how old they are, that success is guaranteed. To
combine solely the elements of quality to create a homogeneous vehicle
and to avoid falling into a situation of impasse, even on one of these
elements, on the pretext that the others were successful (as certain
manufacturers do), is to tend towards a product that sells very well.
Changing models too frequently in an attempt to create something new and
different each time is a vicious trap to fall into. In fact, through
constantly searching for something different and trying to create a
style, certain manufacturers find themselves unwittingly re-hashing
themes of a distant past which no longer presents any technical or
esthetic interest because it is obsolete. Thus, they block up some
computer which hasn't enough memory to manage the applications. To
avoid this, adhere to logical basics:
-
-
Don't change a winning team, unless you want to lose.
-
-
Keep the good elements.
-
-
Improve all that can be improved.
-
-
Innovate.
-
-
Always approach a design in its globality.
-
-
Aim to surprise through a mastery of technology.
-
-
Create interest in the genius and coherence of the concept.
-
-
Sell!
Only
within these conditions is it justified to use old methods, several
decades old, and it is not by chance that several recent models have
revived esthetic themes of the past.
NOT
RESPECTING INVENTORS AND DESIGNERS PENALIZES EVERYONE.
We
strongly hope that research departments, whatever their size, integrated
or not within the automobile manufacturers, adopt these methods of
modern development. Too many enterprises 'potter around,' picking
esthetic and technical solutions from left and right with no real
coherence. In so doing they harm the profession by misleading buyers
about the quality of the vehicles they create, and on the other hand,
those who are too naive and would have entrusted these companies and
their ideas, believing they would receive greater financial gain. Not
respecting inventors and designers penalizes everyone: the company,
society and the economy, because some forget that the creators are the
main engines of the advancement of the automobile. A very short-term
outlook is at the origin of this abuse, and we strongly encourage every
manufacturer to not support and even to denounce such an obsolete
system, negative for everyone involved.
To
establish real dialogue and a competent exchange, group work in which
each party is respected; these are the important conditions which favor
the emergence of competence and strong projects. Suspicions, distrust,
abuse, latent conflicts have never contributed to the creation of
a coherent project. In the image of their creators, the vehicles
will either be divine or monstrous, and the intensity of the cult, of
which they will be the object, will be intimately linked to this. We
look forward to all new creations, even if we know well that there will
always be one ãhideous dinosaurä among them to remind us of what we
should not do.
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