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Volt goes futuristic with its interior
BY KATIE MERX
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The interior of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt will be as futuristic as its range-extended electric propulsion system if General Motors Corp. designers get their way.
Think backlit, expandable, zippered door pockets, laser-projected heads up displays and instant synchronization with the driver's personal electronics -- and all in a car that can travel 40 miles on a fully charged battery without a drop of gas and 600 miles with the help of a three-cylinder gasoline engine.
"This vehicle had to be designed for an urban lifestyle," said Therese Tant, design manager of GM's advance design interiors, speaking Wednesday at the Ward's Auto Interiors conference at Cobo Center in Detroit.
"This vehicle would have to sync up with your life: home, work, family, traffic patterns."
The interior has been designed to make life easier for urban dwellers who are environmentally conscious and lead city-centered lifestyles, GM says.
To accomplish that, designers used recyclable, reusable materials.
Several interior surfaces are made with materials used in padded luggage that provide some give in such storage spaces as the door pockets and a removable backpack in the rear, Tant said.
Technology in the car -- which GM is engineering as if it will be ready for production by the end of the decade but is still dependent on development of an auto-appropriate lithium-ion battery -- would allow drivers to chose which laser-projected graphics appear when they enter the car.
Choices would include e-mail notification, traffic warnings on regularly traveled routes and calendar reminders pulled from personal electronics in the driver's pocket or purse.
While none of the interior design shown in the show car is guaranteed to find its way into a production vehicle, Tant said she would at least expect the flavor of the design direction to remain.
BY KATIE MERX
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The interior of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt will be as futuristic as its range-extended electric propulsion system if General Motors Corp. designers get their way.
Think backlit, expandable, zippered door pockets, laser-projected heads up displays and instant synchronization with the driver's personal electronics -- and all in a car that can travel 40 miles on a fully charged battery without a drop of gas and 600 miles with the help of a three-cylinder gasoline engine.
"This vehicle had to be designed for an urban lifestyle," said Therese Tant, design manager of GM's advance design interiors, speaking Wednesday at the Ward's Auto Interiors conference at Cobo Center in Detroit.
"This vehicle would have to sync up with your life: home, work, family, traffic patterns."
The interior has been designed to make life easier for urban dwellers who are environmentally conscious and lead city-centered lifestyles, GM says.
To accomplish that, designers used recyclable, reusable materials.
Several interior surfaces are made with materials used in padded luggage that provide some give in such storage spaces as the door pockets and a removable backpack in the rear, Tant said.
Technology in the car -- which GM is engineering as if it will be ready for production by the end of the decade but is still dependent on development of an auto-appropriate lithium-ion battery -- would allow drivers to chose which laser-projected graphics appear when they enter the car.
Choices would include e-mail notification, traffic warnings on regularly traveled routes and calendar reminders pulled from personal electronics in the driver's pocket or purse.
While none of the interior design shown in the show car is guaranteed to find its way into a production vehicle, Tant said she would at least expect the flavor of the design direction to remain.