"The conclusion was, 'We need one of those [human machine interface] things,' " recalls Stuart Norris, lead designer for GM. "That's where you need to be if you're in the luxury space."
When GM engineers and industrial designers discussed the idea, however, they decided they didn't want to make a me-too product. Up to that time, the conventional design process had been simple: Engineers would examine trends among competitors' products, decide which features they liked, and put together a rough concept. Then they'd hand off the concept to a design team, which would "make it look pretty."
Designers pushed for a 1.8-liter storage area behind CUE's faceplate.
In this case, however, the process would be different. "On CUE, we completely turned the design process on its head," notes Mike Hichme, lead engineer for Cadillac's User Interface group. "Everything was design-driven. We said, 'Let's understand the customer needs and then figure out what technologies we need to support those needs.' "
The CUE team started by doing four independent studies geared toward understanding how people interface with their vehicles.
"We wanted to know what people were bringing into their vehicles," Hichme says. "Cellphones? Navigation systems? CDs? IPods? Most of all, though, we wanted to know how people learn about their vehicles."
GM assigned designers and engineers to visit dealerships and sit with customers who were picking up their cars for the first time. In some cases, they rode home with the customers. Then they reconnected with them after three or four weeks to hear more about what had happened during the interim.
GM team members wanted to learn about the unboxing process -- that is, the process that occurs when buyers pull new products from their packages. In essence, they were drawing a parallel to the individuals who videotape the unboxing of their recently purchased iPhones and iPads (hundreds of unboxing videos can be viewed on YouTube). Only in this case, the tech team was taking virtual snapshots of customers "unboxing" their new cars.
Team members discovered that there were varying types of unboxers. Some owners were methodical, carefully reading their vehicle manuals as they learned. Others were "hunt and peck" types, gathering knowledge on the go. Some owners attacked the learning process as couples, sharing the chores. Others simply learned by arguing with family members. One woman pasted scores of notes on the dashboard as reminders. Whatever the methodology, though, the idea for GM's team was to make an infotainment system that would be usable by all those people.
On every customer visit, GM engineers took photos and recorded events on videotape. Mostly, though, they just watched quietly.
"We tried never to interfere," Hichme says. "You don't even want to ask them questions because they might make something up or remember it incorrectly."
A final note on the Prius PHV, Ann. To me, it seems like the most logical form of electrification in vhicles today. By minimizing the size of the battery, Toyota will hopefully keep the costs down. If you're a person who drives less than 13 miles roundtrip to work, and if you recharge religiously, you can run in pure electric mode the majority of the time.
Ann: We should know by second quarter of this year. Predictions seem to vary from $28K to $32K, but when I interviewed Toyota engineers over the summer, they described the sweet spot as $26K. I doubt they can come in that low, but they do have the advantage of a small-ish battery on this (one-third the size of the Volt battery), so they should be able to keep costs down.
Wow, that price could make a big difference. Under $20K is my sweet spot for buying a new car, but under $30K is when I start paying attention. When do you think we'll find out?
Next we want to hear how much Toyota is going to charge for its plug-in vehicle, the Prius PHV. If that comes in at a reasonable price -- say, $28K -- we'll really see electrification appealing to more consumers. We should know soon.
Thanks for reporting on that lower-priced Prius and the down-sized pricing of plug-in hybrids. They should go a long way toward getting volumes up by appealing to more consumers, especially in these tough economic times.
Ann, I'm afraid that until now, most hybrids and electric cars have been aimed at upper-end consumers. That's starting to change no, though, with last week's introduction of the $19,000 Prius c. Automakers are also turning to plug-in hybrids because they can market them at the mid-level of the market by reducing the size of the battery and, therefore, reducing the cost.
Chuck, that's a really interesting shift in what's defined as luxury. Thanks for pointing that out. OTOH, I hope that doesn't mean that EVs and hybrids are being aimed at the upper end of consumers, since that will most likely delay acceptance and the higher volumes needed to make them mainstream. During the energy crisis in the mid-70s, people started buying smaller Japanese cars in huge numbers because they both cost less and had better mileage than Detroit. It was a win-win.
I think there's a solution to the unsustainable luxury car dilemma that you mention, Ann. In earlier stories, I have mentioned that the Volt is based on a new definition of luxury. I can buy a Chevy Cruze for under $20,000 or buy a Volt for $40,000. In some respects they are the same car, same size, same foundation. The Cruze gets 42 mpg; the Volt gets about 45 mpg on gasoline and 90+ mpge using electricity. The Volt also has a few more luxuries inside. I really do believe that most of the of the buyers of the Volt, Leaf and other EVs and hybrids are wealthier consumers with a new definition of luxury. If they were buying out of a sense of pragmatism, they'd go for vehicles like the Cruze.
I agree, Rob, that SUVs aren't always what they appear to be. And the reason that they are safer is simply that they are usually based on truck bodies, which makes them weigh more, which is partly why their mileage is so low, etc. etc.
If I want a truck--which I do--I'll buy a truck, not one of those.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
We recently posted an online slideshow called, “18 People You Didn’t Know Were Engineers.” Within hours of its publication, readers began to suggest names of other luminaries -- astronauts, politicians, athletes and actors -- who were educated or had worked as engineers.
In yet another sign that hydrogen is creeping into the consciousness of global automotive designers, sports car maker Aston Martin plans to run a hydrogen-fueled vehicle in a 24-hour Grand Touring race later this month.
One of the ugly truths of engineering is that life has a price. Cars, buildings, power plants, and industrial machinery can always be made safer for a cost, but manufacturers are at the mercy of the market.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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