De-orbited
Below is the dash mock-up for the VW Orbit, a 1986 concept "car of the future." *insert reverb* Take a gander...
It's interesting to note what they got right and wrong. The whole passenger's side is both right and wrong. While the "Infovision" name on the screen is very close to the "infotainment" systems in modern cars, it's just a nav map here. The other functions (entertainment) are spread out to the right as discrete devices. Electronics convergence was still a new idea at the time -- almost science fiction, as it was being pushed by people like Arthur C. Clarke -- so it's not surprising they missed that. CDs and cassettes were the standard of the time.
The multizone climate control is another hit for them. Again, it's often integrated into infotainment today, although my Camaro has discrete climate controls (which I prefer).
The driver's side is hit and miss. The vehicle status display is commonly used today, although it's usually a top-down affair. The bar-style speedo and tach, while they do exist, are relegated almost exclusively to head-up displays, while dashboard displays are often adaptable between digital and psuedo-analog.
The steering wheel is mostly wrong; they're all covered in buttons today. Climate, audio, cruise control, phone... Too damned many buttons, I often think.
The biggest differential factor that the VW designers could not possibly have foreseen was the rise of inexpensive super-high resolution color LCD touchscreens. Nothing remotely like them existed at the time; 256-color CRTs were the leading edge of display technonlogy, and their bulk and power requirements necessarily constrained the thinking of designers.
Still, considering the limitations under which they were working, I'm quite impressed. They were really thinking ahead in many ways. I remember seeing this very photo in one of the shiny-paper concept car special editions that the car magazines put out every year. I spent quite a long time drooling over it. I'm amused that the car I have now is better and more advanced in every way... at least where the dashboard is concerned. GM still can't figure out how to build a reliable transmission.
It's interesting to note what they got right and wrong. The whole passenger's side is both right and wrong. While the "Infovision" name on the screen is very close to the "infotainment" systems in modern cars, it's just a nav map here. The other functions (entertainment) are spread out to the right as discrete devices. Electronics convergence was still a new idea at the time -- almost science fiction, as it was being pushed by people like Arthur C. Clarke -- so it's not surprising they missed that. CDs and cassettes were the standard of the time.
The multizone climate control is another hit for them. Again, it's often integrated into infotainment today, although my Camaro has discrete climate controls (which I prefer).
The driver's side is hit and miss. The vehicle status display is commonly used today, although it's usually a top-down affair. The bar-style speedo and tach, while they do exist, are relegated almost exclusively to head-up displays, while dashboard displays are often adaptable between digital and psuedo-analog.
The steering wheel is mostly wrong; they're all covered in buttons today. Climate, audio, cruise control, phone... Too damned many buttons, I often think.
The biggest differential factor that the VW designers could not possibly have foreseen was the rise of inexpensive super-high resolution color LCD touchscreens. Nothing remotely like them existed at the time; 256-color CRTs were the leading edge of display technonlogy, and their bulk and power requirements necessarily constrained the thinking of designers.
Still, considering the limitations under which they were working, I'm quite impressed. They were really thinking ahead in many ways. I remember seeing this very photo in one of the shiny-paper concept car special editions that the car magazines put out every year. I spent quite a long time drooling over it. I'm amused that the car I have now is better and more advanced in every way... at least where the dashboard is concerned. GM still can't figure out how to build a reliable transmission.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 10:03
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home