GM is continuing to push ahead with a company reinvention and in an unprecedented move, has created The Lab blog to post concept work from the design studios online. Two concepts have just been added which are results of an ECOinitiative project aimed at understanding and developing greener transportation alternatives. The two concepts explore the theme of the ‘Bare Necessity’ which as GM Designer Therese Tant writes is a back-to basics approach, less is more, less cost, less complexity = efficiency.
The Bare Necessity Truck looks at making utility vehicles smaller and more efficient. The design team’s idea was to have a reversible bulkhead between the cargo bed and the passenger cab area to allow for a space flexibility. This shared area allowed the overall size of the vehicle to be smaller and lighter. They estimate 2 feet in the overall vehicle length are saved.
The Bare Necessity Car explores the design of a four seater car with the lowest cost per mile operation. The designers worked to use the minimum number of parts and the integrate the most use of sustainable materials they could.
GM opened up the Lab for visitors to comment on the design work. Traditionally for automakers, this kind of design work was never seen outside of the design studios to keep competitors in the dark. This is an interesting move by GM to give a peek at what is currently being generated on the designers desks.
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I hope you realize that Consumers want high fuel economy and a low price. Period.
Design should just be a given,. so why all the bad designs at GM? Can you guys get something right for once.? And this ugly beetle design attempt at the PT cruiser – Give it a rest already!
August 11th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
@ Scott, Go to the Lab and leave some comments Scott. Now’s your chance.
In a way I agree that this is an opportunity for GM to unload the old styling baggage and start completely fresh.
August 11th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
“The Lab” concept not only provides GM with a great opportunity for crowdsourcing, it signals a change with the organization (something the brand desperately needs).
However, my worry is this: Not everyone who provides feedback will be a qualified buyer. Unless precautions are taken, GM runs the risk of mistaking the comments for insight. This is a common problem in market research. People comment on what they think the target market desires, without actually being the target market (thousands of tweens commenting on the styling of the new Corvette). These comments not only dilute the real information, they can push things in the wrong direction.
The company sees an opportunity to please everyone and ends up pursuing a direction everyone hates—mediocrity.
Let’s hope this doesn’t become the case.
Mark Gallagher
Brand Expressionist®
BLACKCOFFEE
August 12th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I appreciate the comments and hope you all will post on the LAB. As a designer at GM, I can honestly say that we are really attempting to connect with our customer through the LAB. We want to learn what we have been doing wrong and of course do not want to pursue mediocrity through a crowdsourced focus group. This is just a start…baby steps in running man mode.
I think this site will help us as designers take the risks we have internally been wanting for some time. Designers are used to criticism, what we hope for is constructive feedback.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:48 pm