City youth helps designs car for social networking generation

Nagpur: How do you design a car that fulfils all the needs of generation Z? When told to design such a car, a team of students from Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) ended up making a sleek vehicle with seats in peppy colours, sliding doors and many gadgets embedded into it. As it was revealed to the public at General Motors’ headquarters at Detroit a couple of weeks ago, it made people exclaim it was more an experience than a car.
The car was designed for an annual event organized by Clemson University called Deep Orange, that lets graduate automotive engineering students create a prototype of a forward-looking car. Sponsored by General Motors, the problem statement for Deep Orange 5 was to build a car for generation Y/Z buyers in US living in megacities. The designing team of 18 members consisted mostly of Indian students, including team manager Rivkah Saldanha. Nagpurian Amol Borkar, a former student of Somalwar School and Yashwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, was also part of the team.
“When we first got down to designing the car, we started thinking of a car with speed, great curves, heavy power and few other things. After the initial excitement died down, we started understanding the needs of the target customers in 2020. The major features in the final product were transformative interiors, capacity for infotainment and sliding doors for better ingress/egress in tight parking spaces of urban areas,” said Amol. He added that it ended up becoming much more than a utility to get from one place to another.
Keeping in mind the different needs and moods of the urban young adults, the team included game mode, work mode, party mode and drive mode in the design of the car. The seating arrangement of the car can be adjusted to any of these modes, as per requirements. The vehicle also enables the user to access social media, has a digital cockpit and enables the user to display messages on the door with the help of a colour display unit.
“The whole concept of Deep Orange is to give participating students a peep into the real world of automotive engineering and designing. We were working together with cross functional teams, like it actually happens in the industry. System integration and working in cross-functional teams was the best experience I took from this project to the job I do right now,” said Amol, who now works with General Motors. Several students on the team also have full time jobs with major automakers.
DEEP ORANGE 5 DESIGN IDEA
Automakers are struggling to capture generation Y/Z as sales drop and are seeking new ways to capture this audience. Deep Orange 5 was about creating a better value proposition for young adults that have little money to spare, desire extra space, range and performance for leisure activities. In addition, it should create a solution where social networking and mobility go hand-in-hand, creating an emotional connection with the vehicle, which leads to the creation of a mobility lifestyle.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
Adjustable seats that can be turned in any direction to enable various vehicle usage modes, including driving, working, relaxing and storage
A digital cockpit that enables display of unique content for both, driver and passengers
Colour display integrated into both front doors facing outwards, allowing driver and occupants to display digital messages to outside world
Double-hinged doors that allow for comfortable egress and ingress in tight urban parking spaces, as well as improved vehicle access for users with disabilities
A two-piece rear hatch concept that allows for easy access in tight parking spaces