DETROIT Car interiors become more stylish, flexible

One designer says there's a lot of room for creativity inside the vehicle.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DETROIT -- The space invasion is on.
After years of focusing on the outside, automakers are spending more time and money on the interiors of their vehicles as they try to wrap the space around the versatile lifestyle of the American motorist.
To differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace, car companies cater to our love of convenience and style, whether it's a trendy dashboard material or a back seat that turns into a huge cargo compartment in seconds.
"You might buy a vehicle based on a certain style, color or price point. But on the inside you want the interior to reflect the different modes you go through during the day," said Bill Fluharty, vice president of industrial design and research for auto supplier Johnson Controls. "You go to work, go to lunch, stop at the gym, pick up the kids and take out the spouse. To help them get through life better, automakers realize they have to be more flexible."
Drivers now have the power to change their vehicles from the office commuter to the garden-supply hauler and back again. Front seats can be folded in half, and rows of rear seats can disappear without having to store them in the garage.
Passengers, meanwhile, now occupy their own living space rather than just a seat. In some vehicles, each seat has its own power outlet, overhead lamp and reclining control.
Must look good
But the inside can't just be more flexible. It has to look good.
Mark Lee, chief executive of Peake Plastics in Plymouth, Mich., said automakers are pushing suppliers to design plastic trims that better reflect the real thing.
For example, wood grains must now have depth and a richer look, and color selection must run from basic black to metallic blue or trims with geometric shapes. It's not enough for a piece of plastic to just look like metal, it has to have little flakes of real metal added to carry the illusion further.
Fluharty added, "People are sensitive to the quality and style of consumer products these days. We are so aware of product design because of stores like Target, which taught us that a product can be inexpensive, great-looking and functional."
He added that athletic gear-maker Nike has taught consumers to be aware of fabrics and metals and how they work.
"There is a huge awareness revolution," Fluharty said. "People are hungry for better product design."
New attitude
Ed Golden, a Ford Motor Co. design director, said his company has changed its attitude about interior.
"We in design are spending more time in the interior," Golden said. "When you are designing a Mustang or a Thunderbird there is only so much you can do because you have to stay true to the brand. But on the interior, there is so much that has not been done yet."
The interior is fast becoming one of the few areas where some companies can compete because many automakers are beginning to share many of the mechanical operations such as the power train.
The new design and flexibility ideas are popping up in many 2004 vehicles.
For instance, the Toyota Sienna features its "Split and Stow 3rd Row" seat. The seats not only fold in half by the pull of a strap but they can also be stowed in the floor of the vehicle. That creates enough room for hauling everything from flats of flowers to sheets of plywood. The Lincoln Navigator goes one step further -- drivers need only hit a button to fold down the seats.
Some changes
Many sport-utility vehicles and minivans are also doing away with bench seats in the second and third rows, replacing them with individual captain's chairs that can be adjusted according to what the user wants.
Power outlets, once limited to just a cigarette lighter, now double in the front area and pop up in the back seats so each passenger has his or her own DC power outlet for everything from a Gameboy to a cellphone recharger.
The 2004 Chevy Malibu features a fold-down front seat that can serve as a table for a briefcase or more space to haul cross-country skis.
The F150 features the overhead rail storage system designed by Johnson Controls. The system allows drivers or passengers to reconfigure or snap on new storage bins, small tool kits or first-aid kits. At the end of the rail is a DVD player for the passengers in the back seat.