A vehicle’s interior is a critical element in the overall design process and regarded by the vehicle maker as one area where the individuality of the car can be demonstrated. By 2010, interior designers expect to see consumers being able to customise their spacious cabin repeatedly to suit each trip. They also predict that luxury car interiors will feature an increasing amount of natural materials such as cork or even bamboo, as well as new forms of plastics.

Planning the car around the interior

Until recently, most cars were designed from the outside-in, but designers are increasingly planning the whole car around the interior. Vehicle makers are already experimenting with instrument panels whose colours and displays can be altered to taste.

Mix and match interiors, however, are also likely to appeal to young buyers – a vital market segment to all manufacturers. Designers are also experimenting with plastics, and instead of disguising them to look like wood or leather, are making the most of their bright colours and unusual textures.

New, lighter materials for more complex seats

If you climb into a new car today, it is likely to be extremely supportive, versatile and pleasant to sit in. It will contain a multitude of hidden creature comforts such as adjustable lumbar supports, massage systems, climate control systems, memory mechanisms, height and rake adjustments, self-positioning headrests, built-in seatbelts and, of course, airbags.

“Seats are also becoming lighter – by as much as 50%. “

Seats are also becoming lighter – by as much as 50%. This paradox is achieved through novel designs using magnesium rather than steel or tougher foam in preference to metal frames.

Flatwoven fabric

Automotive interior fabrics are becoming lighter and cheaper while providing additional functionality, processing and production efficiencies as well as improved recyclability. Yet keeping pace with current fashions will also be an important selling point in the future. Flatwoven products have been a major growth area, especially at the top end of the market, as they have excellent properties including texture quality, colour and pattern variety and surface interest.
 
Recyclability supports use of environmentally friendly materials

Recyclability of interior parts is receiving greater attention by North American and European vehicle makers. By 2003, 80% of all new vehicles built in Europe must have 80% recycled content. As a result, interior designers are moving away from less environmentally friendly materials, such as fibreglass, foams and mineral fibres, moving instead towards natural fibre products.

Acoustics is about quality of noise, not just its level

Expert Analysis The Global Market for Automotive Interiors This new and exclusive report from just-auto.com provides a detailed analysis of recent developments within the global vehicle interiors sector.  With 160 pages, 8 tables and more than 40 figures covering seats ; door and interior trim; cockpit  and  overhead systems. It also incudes profiles for the major automotive interior manufacturers.

Vehicle acoustics used to mean stuffing as much insulation as possible into a door panel to make the interior quiet. The emphasis is now on making a statement about a car’s quality. BMW, for example, put its new 7-Series through tests in an acoustic chamber to fine tune that luxury feel. An acoustic system is now far more sophisticated and includes everything in the cabin, from the dashboard to package trays. The trend is toward lighter, more porous sound absorbing and dampening materials. Developing a complete acoustic system has become such an exact science that some manufacturers have developed elaborate software to detect subtle squeaks and rattles.

Headliners have more uses than you think

While headliners are an important contributor to interior aesthetics, they also provide insulation from road noise and can serve as carriers for a variety of other components, such as visors, overhead consoles, grab handles, coat hooks, electrical wiring, speakers, lighting and other electrical/electronic products. As the electrical/electronic content available in vehicles has increased, headliners have emerged as an important carrier of technology. Headliners have become a key element in the vehicle makers’ aim of creating fully featured, quiet and distinctive vehicle interiors.

Cockpit engineering focuses on module integration

As more electrical and electronic systems are squeezed into the already over-crowded cockpit area, so the unit value rises. A ‘fully loaded’ cockpit typically brings together a number of important systems, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning, airbags and safety systems, steering columns and systems, instrumentation and instrument panels, navigation and entertainment systems. The skill is in integrating the modules into a complete cockpit.

A great deal of the vehicle’s electrical systems and wiring are positioned within the cockpit area; some 40% of the wiring harness in a mid-range car is located in the cockpit. The cockpit is one area in which suppliers are moving toward platform engineering; similar to the principle used by vehicle makers to assemble different models from the same basic elements.

Tomorrow’s interiors in development

Tomorrow’s interiors look set to become even more comfortable, functional and entertaining. Based on consumer research into the needs and expectations of European drivers in the upper mid-segment market, Johnson Controls’ product designers have come up with the concept car ‘Etimos’ to present some eye-catching innovations. They include a funky cockpit layout which features a retractable infotainment screen, rear seat entertainment system, massage and climate-controlled seats as well as flexible storage ideas to make room for all those extra items that we need to carry with us today. A multi-level instrument display inside the Etimos separates the primary vehicle information from the secondary information.

Fig 1: Etimos multi-level instrument display

Source: Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls has also showcased another concept car ‘Ariston’ to present how automotive luxury could look in the future. The future interior concept displays a number of radical new ideas in an effort to predict what the luxury car customer will want in ten years time.

Fig 2 Luxury limou-lounges: Johnson Controls’ Ariston interior concept
 
Source: Johnson Controls

Based on international consumer research, Johnson Controls’ designers have come up with some flexible solutions. For example, having learned that many drivers no longer use the boot (trunk) as much as previously thought, rear leg room has been increased by reducing the boot size. The interior has also been made higher, following the trend towards taller vehicles.

“The trend away from B-pillars has also been copied and these are absent, creating a more cohesive single space out of the cabin. “

The trend away from B-pillars has also been copied and these are absent, creating a more cohesive single space out of the cabin.

In a separate development, Johnson Controls and toy maker Lego have developed a new interior design called Lego InMotion. The new concept contains more than 50 new features and incorporates bold colours. The front-passenger zone was designed with adults in mind, while the second and third-row areas are geared towards children of all ages. For adults, the reconfigurable first-row overhead console features a variety of electronic products from an audio system to a rear-vision safety system. The first- and second-row seats are equipped with four-point restraints, the second-row seating features a child-booster seat and a flexible side-seat storage area that is removable and replaceable. The vehicle also features a number of unique seating products. One is ComfortLab. A pair of air bladders, integrated into the seat cushion, alternately inflate and deflate to create a natural, walking-type movement.