GM Forum Sketches the Road to Tomorrow through Design
Global experts discuss importance of design for improving urban mobility and personal
lifestyles
EN-V represents future urban vehicle design: smaller, smarter, safer and more fashionable
Shanghai – General Motors hosted the Design - Sketching the Road to Tomorrow forum today at the SAIC-GM Pavilion at World Expo 2010 Shanghai. The fourth installment of GM's "Drive to 2030" Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series brought together leading experts from local universities as well as renowned international design organizations and General Motors to address creative design.
Kevin Wale, GM China President and Managing Director (left 2), Feng Zhu, founder of Feng Zhu Design Inc.(left 3), Hartmut Esslinger, founder of frog design (right 3), Edward T. Welburn,GM vice president of Global Design(right 2), Zheng Shiling,director of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Space at Tongji University (right 1), discussed on Design - Sketching the Road to Tomorrow which is the theme of this forum.
The aim of today's forum was to identify design solutions for improving people's mobility and lifestyles by addressing transportation challenges such as traffic congestion and limited parking space that are the results of growing urbanization. Participants discussed the importance of cooperation for promoting future-oriented automotive design, industrial design, concept design and architectural design.
Following on the success of The Pathway to Sustainable Mobility forum in May, the Mobility Internet: Connecting the Virtual Superhighway forum in June and the Electrification: Plugging into the Future forum in July, today's forum offered the promise of an urban transit system in the year 2030 that will be characterized by zero petroleum consumption, zero emissions, zero congestion and zero accidents.
"We regard automotive design as a key part of our effort to realize this vision for sustainable mobility," said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. "In order to cope with the mobility challenges from rapid urbanization, General Motors is engaged in both developing advanced automotive technologies and driving creative new frontiers in design. Leveraging automotive design will enable us to transform these technologies into automotive products that exist in harmony with the urban environment and people's lives."
Future Cars: Smaller, Smarter, Safer and More Fashionable
At today's forum, Edward T. Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design, addressed the challenges facing automotive designers as the world's cities become increasingly crowded in the 21st century and the demand for personal mobility expands. He mentioned the need for personal vehicles that are smaller, smarter, safer, more fashionable and environmentally sustainable. According to Welburn, the three EN-V concept vehicles that GM unveiled in Shanghai in March represent a significant step toward meeting the future needs of an increasingly urban world.
Edward T. Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design, mentioned the future need for personal vehicles that are smaller, smarter, safer, more fashionable and environmentally sustainable, on the Fourth "Drive to 2030" Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum.
Each EN-V weighs just over 400 kilograms and has a length of about 1.5 meters, whereas a traditional automobile weighs more than 1,500 kilograms and is three times longer. According to Welburn, EN-V offers the promise of not only realizing "zero gasoline consumption and zero emissions" through electrification, but also analyzing traffic information in real time, automatically selecting the best travel routes, and sensing traffic conditions through its on-board connectivity technology to ensure "zero congestion and zero accidents." With its small footprint, EN-V can dramatically increase the utilization rate of space, making parking easier. The novel materials used in EN-V can also reduce the direct environmental impact of the automobile.
The convergence of electrification and connectivity, said Welburn, has given GM's design team a new sense of freedom by removing the constraints of traditional vehicle design. This offers the promise of making driving more fun and fashionable than ever before.
In the process of developing EN-V, GM design teams in different parts of the world contributed their ideas about the exterior of future vehicles. The inspiration for the design of the three EN-V vehicles – Miao (Magic), Jiao (Pride) and Xiao (Laugh) – came from GM design teams in California, Europe and Australia. Each of the vehicles has a unique design theme. Xiao exudes a lighthearted appeal with its gumball-blue color and nautically inspired design. Miao was mostly inspired by the sleek, masculine look of consumer electronics. Jiao was influenced by high-speed bullet trains and the bright red paintwork of Peking Opera masks.
"EN-V represents the trend of future urban vehicle design," said Welburn. "With the leapfrog of future technologies such as electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving, the ideas demonstrated by EN-V will provide a viable solution for sustainable personal mobility. EN-V will help transport GM into a new era of automotive design."
Leading the Auto Design Trend and Vision of Future Transportation
Innovative design has long been a focus of GM. From the 1927 Cadillac LaSalle, the world's first vehicle developed by professional designers, to the 1938 Buick Y-Job, which is regarded as the world's first concept vehicle, and from multiple award-winning models in recent years around the world to the revolutionary EN-V, GM has established its position as the leader in automotive design among global automakers.
"When it comes to design, GM has always looked to the future. However, our vision extends beyond just vehicles to personal mobility solutions. Our goal is to use bold innovations to change people's lives," said Welburn. "This is on display at Expo 2010."
GM has had a visionary presence at eight global expositions, where it has introduced future-oriented technologies for changing personal mobility. GM's vision for an integrated highway system at its Futurama pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair became reality 20 years later. At World Expo 2010 Shanghai, GM has joined SAIC in sharing its vision of urban mobility and sustainable transportation in 2030.
"I'm very optimistic about what the future will bring and the role GM will play in creating it," said Welburn. "As long as young people around the world stop and stare at a vehicle as it drives past, there will be an opportunity for GM Design to continue to pioneer new concepts, new designs and new functionality."
Sketching the Road to Tomorrow: Perspective of Designers from Different Fields
Since the birth of the automobile in the 19th century, automotive design – together with urban planning and architectural design – has been changing the urban traffic landscape. At today's forum, designers from different fields highlighted the importance of collaboration for ensuring sustainable urban mobility.
Hartmut Esslinger, the founder of leading European design studio frog design, described the historic and current differences and shared objectives of automotive and industrial design. According to Esslinger, the boundary between automotive design and industrial design is becoming fuzzier and much more challenging in the new age of analog-virtual convergence.
Hartmut Esslinger, founder of frog design, discussed on the topic of "design for 2030".
"Product visionaries and designers must rethink actual patterns and be able to project a future in which technology and design serve people," he said. "As we reach the point where 'intelligence' is shared by users and the devices or vehicles and products they operate, design will become universal. Its holistic objective will be the creation of a humanistic environment."
According to Esslinger, the passenger car will become a linkage like other industrial designs to a much better urban life.
"Great movies and video games can stimulate people's imagination and excite their sense of future mobility," said Feng Zhu, founder of content creation studio Feng Zhu Design. Zhu pointed out that there are opportunities for merging the entertainment world with the transportation industry to improve the user experience and ease of accessibility. For example, he said, "virtual designs from the entertainment industry can influence and inspire vehicle design, helping make the driving experience as fun as going to the movies."
According to Zheng Shiling, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of Tongji University's Institute for Architectural and Urban Space Research, architectural design is an important force for driving urban mobility that should not be neglected. He called it both a part of social life and a kind of holistic experience, a technology as well as an art form, and a shaper of the urban landscape. Zheng expressed the belief that a sound architectural system and a reasonable arrangement of urban space can create a balanced ecosystem that includes a sustainable transportation system.
The "Drive to 2030" Sustainable Urban Mobility Forum series is addressing urban mobility issues and facilitating comprehensive analysis and discussion of the prospect and feasibility of sustainable mobility from multiple perspectives, including the business role, policy incentives, urban planning, new energy and technology innovation. Topics include: The Pathway to Sustainable Mobility; Mobility Internet - Connecting the Virtual Superhighway; Electrification - Plugging into the Future; Design - Sketching the Road to Tomorrow; Technology Solutions - Roadmap to Reinvention; and Urban Mobility - Drive to the Future.
General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM is the joint global automobile partner of World Expo 2010 Shanghai along with SAIC. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.
