Mini Packman Report by Niklas Palm

MINi PACK MAN.

mini packman. interior design and vehicle architecture for small families in big cities.

MINI PACKMAN.

Thank you!

Thesis Project 2011 Umeå Institute of Design Umeå University in Umeå, Sweden.

Oliver Sieghart, Anders Warming, Demian Horst, Chris Chapman, Son Wan-Reyol, Anne Bergström, Christine Fottner, Elizabeth Schwartz, Julien Sarremejean, Simon Sebastian, Nils Uellendal, Magnus Aspegren, Martin Willers, Olof Einarsson, Joel Alexandersson, my girlfriend Lina Lidström & many more I probably have forgotten.

In Collaboration with MINI in Munich, Germany.

And also a big thank you to people I never got the name of - the man that never talked to me, the woman that was angry all the time, the smiling old lady, the nice people in the BMW Restaurant, The people at Sixt & everyone else that in some way made this project to what it eventually became.

Content. Chapter one - Introduction

006

Chapter two - Mini & MINI

018

Chapter three - research

038

Chapter four - Inspiration & Trends

062

Chapter five - the project

080

Chapter six - Interior development

098

Chapter Se7en - Exterior Development

130

Chapter Eight - Final Result

144

“FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION - THAT HAS BEEN MISSUNDERSTOOD. FORM AND FUNCTION SHOULD BE ONE, JOINED IN A SPIRITUAL UNION.” - Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

ď &#x160;Introduction. Chapter one

Prologue. Hej! [He:y] My name is Niklas Palm and you are currently holding my degree-work report in your hand. This report is the beginning of the end of a long journey that started when I was very little. The need to create has always followed me, from sketching, painting and sculpting to fashion, graphic design and LALALA. To fulfill that dream I had to go through a couple of steps, the first one being a Bachelors degree in Product Design in 2008. When starting at the Umeå Institute of Design in the fall of 2005 as one of the youngest students ever to be accepted to the BA-program, I was entering new territories with product design and the design process, something that since then have been very precious and something that you can read more about in my design philosophy. In the fall of 2008 I started at the Master Program of Transportation Design at UID, the next milestone in my journey to my dream. In 2009 I took a full year off to do an Interneship at BMWDesignworksUSA in Singapore. Here I was doing real projects with real people and real companies, a very daring task that made me realize the strength about my product design background. With an extended internship in the fall I continued working on real projects, among these a Rolls-Royce and a Mini Interior that got picked for further development. In Los Angeles I worked like a “real” car designer, an amazing experience and one of the most important mile-stones on the journey. Now, the spring of 2011 and doing my degree-work in the MINI studio in Munich, I am confident to finalize the dream and create a Thesis project that will stand out in the crowd to show my skills as a professional industrial designer. So I hope that you are ready to find out everything about this project and my way of thinking as a creative person. The end of the beginning and the beginning of something new starts - now.

Niklas Palm iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

n lu fa .

Om mig [oh-m Me:y] About me. Name Ola Niklas Palm Born Falun, Sweden Lives Well, currently in a little student room in Munich doing this degree with MINI. Loves My car, honesty, brunch, Fjällräven, Lina, flying, T-shirts with a pocket on the chest. Hates Injustess, yellow cars, when doors open the wrong way, flying, the feeling when you just layed down in your bed and you remembered that you forgot to brush your teth. Favourite Quote “Form follows function has been missunderstood - Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union”. - Frank Lloyd Wright. Why I love this quote Just because form follows function doesn’t mean it looks good. Everything can look good if you try hard enough. About this page Yea, I know its a bit stupid. but now you know something about me that I hope you will take advantage of.

Design Philosophy. During the branding project* in the spring of TD1 (2009) I started to understand myself and what I am designing. The brand I picked was Fjällräven, a Swedish outdoor clothing company that’s been around for almost 50 years. Their products are all about functionality, in any kind of weather anywhere on earth. People that buy Fjällräven clothes, including myself, appreciate this kind of simple design where the functions are the features. Instead of hiding features, they show it, oversize it and makes it part of the expression. For instance, many other outdoor companies, such as Tierra or the North Face tend to add feature just because they are new and cool. Fjällräven have very advanced materials, but they don’t change anything unless they come up with a better solution. They are very back to basic.

in the wilderness and you need to light up something outside the vehicle when it is still.

Looking at the product I ended up with from the branding project, this mirrors both the company and my way of thinking when it comes to design. Every feature has a function. Nothing is there just for show, except for logos. But they sort of have a purpose too, showing the brand of the vehicle, but not more than necessary. For instance, on the front side of the mirrors, the high beam light is located. This not only gives the vehicle a cool appearance, it’s the ultimate place for this kind of lighting. But it also adds a new function: when you move the electric powered mirrors, you also move the light. This adds the function of a search light, perfect when out

If this kind of “form vs function” thinking would be applied to more products, I believe that both the functionality and the aesthetics would increase. Or as Steve Jobs, President and CEO of Apple Inc, once said “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Frank Lloyd Wrights quote “Form follows function has been missunderstood - Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union” on the first page of this chapter tells my story pretty well. Form follows function seems like a compromise when you can have both. You just have to work for it. But at the same time, in some products it is the extreme functionality that makes it beatiful. Watches, for example. I tend to like the watches that is purely and mainly made to function and to show the time in the best possible way. Watches made to bling never really gets it. They are trying too hard.

I dont believe my philosophy is the one that is going to save the world. But I do believe that products that works AND look good is the whole essence of Industrial Design. And in the end, we all wanna eat and keep the cookie.

*In the branding project we are asked to create a vehicle for a non-automotive brand, In my case Fjällräven, And to create a vehicle that fits the company´s users, core values and design language.

project Brief. The original Mini was a in the beginning aimed at small families - a functional car that was as small as possible to be light on fuel, but still with space enough for four people and their luggage. A car like this would fit perfectly into an urban future scenario - a small family in a big city in need of a daily commuter that also work in the weekends. Looking forward, the global urbanisation and population growth of earth will give the need for small vehicles that works just as well as a normal car today. Future laws and legislation together with a permanent oil shortage in just a few degades will make big petrol driven cars useless and expensive. Just a some cities today have banned the SUVs, petrol cars could face the same destiny in mega cities in the future. With the knowledge of crash safety today, even small cars can be fairly safe. This together with the computer technology of the future that can drive cars better than humans and the benefits of vehicle architecture that comes with electric drive, the effective space of cars can be made much smaller than today, and still be safer than ever. But eventhough todays cars are safer than ever, according to a study by NTF we get worse and worse on placing our children in cars in a safe way. What can be done to a car interior to make it easier to have children traveling in a safer way? In this project I will create a vehicle that is as small as possible on the outside, but still fullfills the needs of families in a big city environment in the year 2025. At the same time, it should follow in the original Minis footsteps and be a thrill to drive actively on the open roads. A difficult task, but by looking at this just as much as an industrial designer as a car designer, I hope to make form and function into one, joined in a spiritual union.

ď &#x2039;Four people in a seven-seater?

method(s). I am confused. And I have always been. I tend to wear two different hats when I design - on one hat it says industrial design. On the other automotive design. But this confusion is good, it gives me different ways to look at design. Design is by the way the word that is the most confusing word in the history of words. Design. When people hear that word they go “aah” and “ooh nice” - but they dont know what it really is. And I dont think anyone does. “designer clothes”. “design cell-phones”. So if a design-cellphone is designed, what are the others then? Grown? My vision of what design is goes back to my years in the Bachelor program at UID between 2005 and 2008. Here we learn the design process - a tool to create successfull and good design. Design in that meaning that it has to work. Its about the funtionality, its about solving a problem. In pure Automotive design, its so much more superficial, its about emotions, expressions, the mind of the viewer, the mind of the driver, the feeling it gives you. Not so much functions, problems, manufacturing etc. Because someone else will take care of that during the GIANT design process of bringing a car to life. My mind knows all this and then creating something else out of it. Still nameless, but it could be called Industrial Emotions. Or Automotive products. It is, the way I put it in my philosopy, a try to eat the cake and still have it. Or as Frank Lloyd Wright so elegantly put it (and the most common quote in this report): “Form follows function has been missunderstood - form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” The quote, however, puts the weight on product design - he wants more emotions in the industrial design world. Myself feel a bit of lack of the “form follows function”-part in automotive design - meeting halfway would be perfect, but is it possible? “think outside the box” is a famous quote broight back to life by Volvo for the introduction of the C30 in 2007 - But to be able to think outside the box, you need the box. You need to know the boundaries to be able to be creative. In this degree work, I am going to follow my own path which leads just between Product and Automotive as I will try and bring the best of both worlds into this project. Solving Problems with Emotional Expressional Design. SPEED. Ha!

“without the box, you can’t think outside of it.” - Niklas Palm (Yes, im quoting myself) 2009

mercedes-Benz aesthetics 125 concept 2010. art or design?

Spring Schedule. 2

1 8

FEBRUARY Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Pres. Prep.

Sketch Exercises, Expl Sketch Exercises Exploration oration & Ideation.

Week 1 5 6 7

Research Sketch Exercises, Expl Sketch Exercises Exploration oration & Ideation.

JANUARY Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Presentations Presenta tions in Umeå. in Umeå

Workshop Worksh op ab about out car interiors. interiors

Presentations in Munich.

Christmas

Pres. Prep.

Linas Birthday. Munich days. APRIL Munich weekends.

Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 11 12 13 14Umeå days. 15 y16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Umeå Weekends.

Week 18 4 5 6

KICKOFF PRESENTATION MUNIC ICH. DEGREE K

DEGREE WORK KICKOFF ‐ Research Present O ntation.

CEMBER Week 51 Week 52 0 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Sketch Development, Tape Drawing, Clay modeling, Full scale mockup. Alias Modelling

Week 5 2 3 4

Week 9

1 2 FEBRUARY 3 4 5 6 7 8 Week 6 Week 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Sketch Development, Tape Drawing, Clay modeling, Full scale mockup. Alias Modelling FEBRUARY Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Sketch Development, Tape Drawing, Clay modeling, Full scale mockup. Alias Modelling

MAY Week 19 Week 20 Week 21 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

JUNE Week 22 1 2 3 4

DEGREE PARTY

UID D DESIGN TALK & EXHIBITION.

Final Hand in of Degree work Report H t..

Report & Preparation for Examination.

FINAL PRESENTATION MUNICH (?) A

"5 Weeks Before"‐Presentation. W

High Quality Rendering exterior/Interior Additional Alias Modeling. Finishing Model

EXAMINATION UID ‐ Mentor Oliver Si N e eghart (?)

Workshop Worksh op ab about out car interiors. interiors Christmas

MID REVIEW MUNICH (?)

Research

Week 1 5 6 7

JANUARY 7 8

KICKOFF PRESENTATION MUNIC ICH. DEGREE K

Pres. Prep.

DEGREE WORK KICKOFF ‐ Research Present O ntation.

Week 50 Week 51 Week 52 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Pre DegreeWork‐work Countryman Test

KICKOFF PRESENTATION MUNIC ICH. DEGREE K

Week 5 2 3 4

DEGREE WORK KICKOFF ‐ Research Present O ntation.

JANUARY Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 DECEMBER 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Week 9 2 3 4

Week 14 6 7 8

APRIL Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Model Milling



Model Sanding, Detailing.

"5 W Weeks Before"‐Presentation.

MARCH Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1

Mid‐Review at UID

MID REVIEW MUNICH (?)

Week 9 2 3 4

High Quality Rendering exterior/Interior Additional Alias Modeling. Finishing Model

Report & Preparation f

lets go! 17

“I’ve always felt that stylists such as you have in America are ashamed of a car and are preoccupied wwwwwwith making it look like something else, like a submarine or an airship... As an engineer, I revolt against this.“ - Sir Alec Issigonis (1906-1988)

 Mini & MINI. Chapter two

Alec issigonis & all his friends. The microcars started to pop up in the end of the 50s because of the Suez Crisis in 1956. At that time petrol stocks were sliding and the British Government had imposed petrol rationing according to which only ten gallons a month were allowed. Many manufactures tried but one little car was shining more than the others. Sir Leonard Lord, The boss of BMC, was interested in a car that would seat four, use an existing engine and be smaller than anything else that his corporation currently made. Alec Issigonis was instructed to design an alternative to the cheep, cheerful and uncomfortable bubble cars, like the BMW Isetta. The messurments given was a box, 10 feet x 4 feet x 4 feet of which, looking at in lengthwise, about 6 feet and 6 inches would be available for the passengers and about 1 feet and 6 inches for a luggage space, leaving not more than 2 feet in which 36 inches to mount the possible engine. It seemed quite impossible but Issigonis loved challenges and the project was a go. Issigonis was brave by turning the engine sideways, stuck it on top of the transmission and gave it front wheel drive - something very unusual at that

time.. Suddenly, the engine bay could be very compact – wide but short – and his 10ft target looked achievable. Using Issigonis’s famous freehand sketching skills, which were then interpreted by his faithful acolytes, this is what was achieved. The first prototype of the Mini had been designed and built by October 1957. It was nicknamed the “Orange Box” because orange-boxes were initially used for seats. The production version of the Mini was demonstrated to the press in April 1959 before it was launched for the masses in August the same year. Several thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales but the name MINI did not appear by itself immediately — the first models being marketed under two of BMC’s brand names, Austin and Morris. Alec Issigonis was an inventive type of person. According to every lover of the Mini, he certainly was a genius. Before the Mini, cars were too large, too heavy, or too crude. After the Mini, and the arrival of transversely mounted engines with front-wheel drive, all previous cars were obsolete. Issigonis’s products were truly perfect and the Mini was his ‘One Big Thing’.

The suez-crisis (1956)*

The attack followed Egypt’s decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal, after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam, which was partly in response to Egypt recognizing the People’s Republic of China during the height of tensions between China and Taiwan. The three allies, especially Israel, were mainly successful in attaining their immediate military objectives, but pressure from the United States and the USSR at the United Nations and elsewhere forced them to withdraw. Britain and France completely failed in their political and strategic aim of controlling the canal. Israel fulfilled some of its objectives, attaining the freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran and the pacification of the Egyptian-Israeli border through UNEF. * Source: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis

Mini 1959.

 Also known as

 Manufacturers

 Messurements (cm)

Powering

Austin Se7en Morris Mini Minor Riley Elf Wolseley Hornet BMC (1959-69) British Leyland (1969-84) Rover Group (1984-2000) Length: 303 Width: 145 Height: 135 Weight: 630-770kg 848 cm3 4 cyl, front wheel drive. 4-speed manual gearbox.

The special ones. During the lifetime of the original mini, several special models made its way onto the showroom floors. one of them, the most famous one, was made by alec issigonis dear friend - John cooper. John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was in the beginning not that happy to see the Mini as a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management the two men collaborated to create the Austin Mini Cooper and the Morris Mini Cooper - a well handling, inexpensive little sportscar - that hit the showroom floors in 1961. The original 848 cc engine from the Morris Mini-Minor was given a longer stroke to increase capacity to 997 cc, boosting power from 34 to 55 hp. The car featured a racing-tuned engine, twin SU carburettors, a closer-ratio gearbox and front disc brakes, very unusual in a car like this at that time. One thousand units of this version were commissioned by management, intended for and designed to meet the homologation rules of Group 2 rally racing. A more powerful Mini Cooper “S” was developed in tandem and released in 1963. Featuring a 1071 cc engine with a 70.61 mm bore and nitrided steel crankshaft and strengthened bottom end to allow further tuning; and larger servo-assisted disc brakes, 4030 Cooper S cars were produced and sold until the model was updated in 1964. Cooper also produced two S models specifically for circuit racing in the under 1000cc and under 1300cc classes respectively, rated at 970 cc and a 1275 cc - both of which were also offered to the public. The smaller-engine model was not well received, and only 963 had been built when the model was discontinued in 1965. The 1275 cc Cooper S models continued in production until 1971. Sales of the Mini Cooper were as follows: 64,000 Mark I Coopers with 997 cc or 998 cc engines; 19,000 Mark I Cooper S with 970 cc, 1071 cc or 1275 cc engines; 16,000 Mark II Coopers with 998 cc engines; 6,300 Mark II Cooper S with 1275 cc engines. There were no Mark III Coopers and just 1,570 Mark III Cooper S’s.

The even more special. The mini was first recognized as a fairly cheap and very small family car but was soon an almost “class-less” vehicle where rich and famous people wanted to be seen in the little beauty. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Mini became a veritable “fashion statement”. Many celebrities of that era drove Minis that had been customised by famous British coachbuilders. Examples include Peter Sellers’ wicker side-panelled Mini built by Hooper (the Rolls-Royce coachbuilder) which appeared in his movie A Shot in the Dark. Ringo Starr’s hatchback designed by Radford, who also built a Mini de Ville for Britt Ekland, Peter Sellers’ wife, with a special rear estate wagon door. Radford also built Mini de Villes for John Lennon, Marianne Faithfull and a psychedelic version that appeared in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour owned by George Harrison who maintained it through the years and had it restored, including the art, prior to making an appearance with it at Goodwood as late as June 1998. Marianne Faithfull drove her duo-tone de Ville to the Law Courts to hear Mick Jagger’s appeal of his drug conviction in 1967. The same year John Lennon drove his de Ville hatchback to Apple studios after hearing of Brian Epstein’s death. At around the same time, Radford also extensively customised a 1275 Mini-Cooper S for Monkey Michael Nesmith which gave dramatically improved performance combined with luxury and silence. Coachbuilders Wood & Pickett also made special versions called the Margrave and Margrave SE, sold by Mayfair dealerships in London. Marc Bolan famously died when the Mini 1275GT in which he was a passenger hit a Tree in Barnes, London on the 16th September 1977. The site is now Officially Recognised by the English Tourist Board as Bolan’s Rock Shrine.

The winner takes it all. The biggest stronghold of the Mini was and always remained rally racing, the Minis in red livery tuned by John Cooper were becoming competitive with more power. In 1963 Aaltonen and Hopkirk finished first and second in their class of the Monte Carlo Rally, the Flying Finn even clinching third place overall. And in 1964 they entered the race with a new and even more powerful car: the new Cooper S. Developing a maximum output of 70 hp, the higher top speed of 160 km/h promised to make the Mini more competitive but also much faster acceleration to 100 km/h in 13 instead of 19. The weather conditions in 1965 were some of the most difficult ever and instead of the final circuit race on the Formula 1 track to Monaco, the teams now had to go back to the mountains a second time. Facing this kind of challenge, Makinen put up an amazing performance in his Cooper S, achieving the fastest time in three out of five special trials on the last legs of the race. Entering the last night Makinen won no less than five out of six special trials, to take the overall victory at in 1965. Then came one of the most questionable decisions in the history of the Monte Carlo Rally. The race commissioners demanded a technical inspection after the event where the four additional headlights mounted on the radiator grille of the Mini Coopers were found to fail with French homologation rules. With the Lotus Cortina being disqualified for the same reason, Citroen driver Toivonen moved up to the top of the podium as the winner. A small red Mini with a white roof proudly showed its tailpipe to all the larger entrants, clinching overall victory in the Monte Carlo Rally, and then repeated the task in 65 and 65. The tiny little car immediately became a legend: Originally conceived as an inexpensive and economical means of transport, the Mini had been transformed into the Mini Cooper S. There was still no other car in the market able to offer the same kind of sporting performance for so little money.

Capital Mini. The MINI as we know it today showed its face for the first time at the 1997 Frankfurt Auto Show as a concept developed by Rover Group and BMW who bought Rover a couple of years later. Rover, however, wanted to create a straightforward economy car just like the original Mini from 1959. BMW won that battle and presented the production model in 2001 as the MINI Cooper, MINI spelled in capital letters to separate the new and the old brand. The First Generation: MINI One, One D (Diesel), Cooper & Cooper S 2001 - 2006 (2007 some markets). The first incarnation of the new MINI , which started production in 2001 included all major hatchback models. The One, One D (Diesel), Cooper and Cooper S. The One & Cooper began production and sale in some markets in 2001, ahead of the MINI Cooper S in 2002 and the One D, which was launched in 2003. In July 2004 the first generation MINI had a “facelift” to coincide with the launch of the MINI Convertible. The new models had different (smooth) grill surrounds, new front and rear bumpers and headlights. Inside the face lifted MINI has a three piece rather than five piece dashboard, a new Getrag gearbox for the One and Cooper, and many other revisions. The Cooper S also jumped from 163 to 170 hp as standard. The Second Generation: MINI Cooper & Cooper S 2007 The second generation of the “new MINI” was launched in 2006 as a 2007 model. MINI made a major overhaul of the car, every external body panel is new and the interior is brand new. The second generation MINI (AKA R56, the internal code for all hatchback variants) also features new engines made in the UK at BMW Plant Hams Hall. Late in 2007, MINI showed a longer version of the Cooper called Clubman. This model is kind of a station wagon with side hinged rear doors as on a delivery truck and a raised roof. The other mini: Countryman 2011 in the beginning of 2010, MINI showed the new and bigger car called Countryman. This light SUV sported the All4 all-wheel-drive-system on some models and is the first 5-door MINI ever. More information on page 36 28

Design Language. Interior

Austin se7en 1959 Simplicity to the maximum. only the things you need. And not even that.

Sections

Rover Mini Cooper 1999 No real heritage in the design language - but so british. Leather, wood and chrome.

volumes

surfaces Mini Cooper R50 2001 Simplicity and heritage from the original. But british?

mini cooper S R54 2007 Defined & exaggerated at the same time. Makes the R50 feel old. Still not british.

Color & Trim

ď &#x160;Mini Countryman 2011. Circular Elements orgie but very well designed.

Design Language. Exterior

Morris/austin 1959

MINI IS ABOUT Parallelism Circles Muscles

mini mkii 1968

Design Keywords Form follows function. emotional sculpture. human body archetype. dynamic orientation. stance on the wheels. jewellery icons.

acv30 1997

Circular Elements. First Grade

Second grade

mini r50 2001

Third grade

Scheibenwinkel

Dachline Dynamic Orientation

Kielform Funktionsdiagonale

Parallell Orientation Cascading Surfaces

ď &#x160;mini r54 2007

Design Language. Thoughts about the

ď &#x160;Mini Countryman 2011.

The current MINI design-language is sprung from the original Mini from 1959 . especially the exterior. But what is happening now is that with the Countrymans new features such as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cap-roofâ&#x20AC;? and square front lights, its starting to become its own design-language - maybe not even retro anymore. I believe that a future design language of MINI doesnt have to follow the original Mini to that extend as today - 13 years ago, Rover Group showed the Mini Spiritual with the concept more than the design language similar to the original car. My thoughts on this is that to keep the Mini Spirit alive, there should be atleast one of the cars in the MINI range that follows the concept of the Mini and not just the design language. Placing them side by side as above, the size different is obvious. But as the original Mini is extremely small, the Countryman is still a small car, not more than a couple of cm longer than four meters. Inside, the different is obvious because of time, but the overall design language with the big dial in the middle still exists. In the Countryman, the orgy of circles and ovals is striking and the thick surfaces and big radius is almost making the design childish or caricatyristic - But its not. It is actually working surprisingly good. But for future design (like this thesis project) I can see the ovals and circles develop in the same way as the headlights on the Countryman.

four days in a Countryman. A big part of the MINI culture is of course the design. But one part that is atleast jus as big is the driving characteristics.The original Minis are known for its go-cart feel and the new MINI because it is just pure fun to drive. I have always loved to drive cars, a big part of my interests in car design isof course the first part - the car. The idea that you can use a machine that you control by yourself to go from one place to another while having a blast - that is one of the best things I know. Therefore I just had to drive a MINI ASAP so I could understand all the fuzz about the cars. To do this, I e-mailed to BMW Sweden in Stockholm and told them about my project and why I wanted to borrow a car - surprisingly, the day after I had an answer telling me that I had to go through the “right” channels (as if the channel I went through was wrong) to make this happen. No MINI, I thought. But the day after that, I had an e-mail from Anne Bergstrand at Bavaria Bil in Stockholm telling me that I could have a Countryman for a few days! Happiness! Two weeks later I flew down do Stockholm to pick it up but my 4 hour late flight made it impossible to pick it up on a thursday night so instead I had a wonderful dinner with friends and picked it up on friday morning. The car I got was a MINI CooperD Countryman FWD(Doh!) in gray metallic with a white roof (it is actually light blue, which you can almost see on the picture too. why?), white beautiful 18” 8-spoke wheels with studded tires and a massive sunroof. No leather, no navigation. Driving it through the streets of Stockholm made alot of people stare and point which was really amusing. Before when I have seen the car only on press photos, I always thought the wheels looked too small. But now in reality, they are really well sized and the stance of the whole car is really impressive. I could ask for 5% more in tire profile to fill out the massive wheel-arches but it works really good from scratch. The next day, I picked the car up at my friends place and fired it up to start removing the ice from the windows. Suddenly, I heard a big bang from the back of the car, sounding like someone had hit it. But no scratch or anything, I couldnt find out what it was. Thats when I saw on the roof that the snow on the back part of the roof was gone and the glass was visible. 36

MINI COOPER D COUNTRYMAN 2011.

What had happened was that when the interior was heated up, either the glass or the metal roof got a tiny little bit bigger and then popped. Luckily, the glass was whole and I could continue enjoying the car. Something that really strikes you when you see the Countryman is that its super hard to size it up. Seeing it by itself, it looks massive. park a VW Golf next to it, and it looks small. And extremely well proportioned. The rear part of the glass area together with the “helmet-roof” and the rear lights looks very good and I actually like it better without the rear spoiler from the Copper S version. Speeking of that, It is very weird that there is no “Countryman” writing anywhere on the car. It even says CooperD on the back - Wouldnt it be better to Call it CountrymanD? The whole naming strategy is a bit backwards. Anyway, Now I drove the car up north to Falun and my parents. on the way, a major snow storm hit Sweden and the little car had to show some offroad skills on the E4 highway. Just driving it was working fine without 4WD, but when overtaking trucks and slower vehicles in the “snowy-lane” you really feel the need for it. Overall, This is my kind of MINI. Its small but not too small. Its fun to drive, but still stabile and enjoyable on long drives. And it looks so good in reality. My weapon of choice would be a Countryman CooperS in dark blue with black wheels and black roof with leather and navi. It absolutely has to be 4WD, that for me is the whole point of this car.

112 hp Diesel 1598 cm3

4,4l/115g Co2

219.900 SEK

 Proportions & Stance. confident. details. driving characteristics. size vs space. glass roof gives the totally black interior a new dimension. performance from only 112 hp.  Why does it say cooper on the back? not the same white on roof & rims. I always used the small digital speedometer instead of the big center piece.

ď &#x160;Research. Chapter three

Future Luxury. MINI is what you use to call a premium brand. Premium means pretty much that its a little bit nicer than a “normal” car but still has not reached up to a luxury level. Yet, I feel its important to look into the world of luxury, as a premium brand is more luxurious than a normal car and is therefore luxurious.

So what does this mean then? Looking at what luxury was once in a time, and what luxury is today, there is strong connection to what it was from the beginning - quality. The reason something was luxurious was because it was the best money could buy. Then people started to make products that looked and felt like luxury (i.e. quality) but was not.

If you read about luxury in a dictionaries, they say something like “the state of great comfort and extravagant living” or “an inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to obtain” as the definition of what luxury is. But most interesting is the antonym (the opposite) of luxury - necessity. If you take this perspective, luxury is something that appeals to and feeds our lust. Thorstein Veblen’s manifest conspicuous consumption from 1899 is still a working description of traditional luxury. Serge Dive, CEO of Beyond Luxury describes the inner meaning of luxury like this:”Luxury is an urge, an absolute desire to sin with the view to break our daily routine and give us the illusion of happiness if only for an instant.”

A good example of this is ofcourse cars. A mercedes from the 60s was luxury because it had real leather, real wood, the chrome was metal and everything was made with the best possible quality.

But people start to experience luxury as depthless and the expression is definitely in process to be redefined. We are spotting another more sophisticated pattern around the corner in the traditional luxury markets. “Overconsumption is no longer a signal of success,” as Chris Sanderson of Future Laboratory puts it. It doesn’t feel ok to buy unnecessary things when people are starving and the world is about to get overheated. It just doesn’t feel right. We see a new kind of responsible luxury that is evolving from the inside. It looks quite different from luxury as we know it today. If Thorstein Veblen still would be around it is not impossible that he would have described it as conscious consumption. But future luxury will not be all about consumption. It will probably be more about cultural experiences than material possession. More about sharing than keeping. Unfortunately it will still not be available to all and every one, its the built-in nature of luxury. It makes us feel special and selected.

Today, luxury can be a Hyundai, Volvo and even a Skoda. But just because the wood is shiny and the leather is soft - does it make it luxurious? Maybe. The old Mini was basicly class-less. It was a car made for the people, but even celebrities and wealthy people bought it because of how it looked. and how it felt. And how it made you feel when you were driving it. Is it then a luxury vehicle because it makes you feel special? Something that appeals to and feeds our lust? Maybe. But true premium - as I see it - is not if it has 15 screens, leather seats or 15 speakers. It can have fabric seats and just a radio - if it is quality, quality in everything from design to material, then it is premium.

quality inside.

“Imagine looking for the best cappuccino when visiting a new city. Money can not buy this information, as there is no one to pay in order to get hold of it. You either know how to find out, or you don’t. Probably, the coffee is to be found in a back alley with a barista that makes her own perfect blends. And a cup of it is probably not more expensive then a tall latte at Starbucks. Luxury is no longer a monetary matter.” - Björn Jeffrey

FUTURe world population (Est.) 2009 2011 2025 2050

6.8 billion 7 billion 8 billion 9.4 billion

FUTURE WORLD URBANISATION (%) 1990 2000 2010 2020 2025 2030 2040 2050

43.0 46.6 50.6 54.9 57.2 59.7 64.7 69.6 Source: UN Statistics

Future household size (EST.) Great britain 2004 2026

2.34 2,11

Australia 2001 2026

2,6 2,2

Japan 2005 2030

2,56 2,27

OECD Report

Future world 2025. Singapore, the third most dense country after Macau (1) & monaco (2) makes a great example on how an european city can look in the future. Singapores city center is not big. Infact, you can ride a bicycle around the island in less than a day. But the density of the country, and especially the density in the middle of the city makes it very interesting to see how problems are tackled today - both in good and bad ways. Singapore has the highest car prizes in the world due to a 300% tax ontop of the prices. This together with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;lotteryâ&#x20AC;? that every year gives away rights to drive a car for 10 years. But the wealth in Singapore is enormous so the prices doesnt really affect the ammount of cars. You see a dussin Lamborghinis a day and there is always a cab available around the corner. In a city this dense, where distances are not an issue, an electric vehicle would be ideal. If european cities will be this densed in 2025 is unlikely, but looking at the map on the left shows that we are getting closer for each year. This increase in density requires a sustainable sulotion for having a private car.

Future Family. How will a future family in 2025 look then? Well, according to the “The Future of the Family to 2030“ OECD-report from 2009, the households of the world will become smaller - but much greater in numbers. Realisticly, families will be more common with 1 or 2 children than 3 or 4. A large number of small families that will move into bigger and bigger cities. Commuting will take place just like today, but looking at cities like Los Angeles, the commuting will also go from the city center to the outskirts, to “company cities” in a suburban area (Thousand Oaks 40 min outside LA holds a large numbers of medium and large corporations, but no real city center). Both parents will have jobs, especially if they live in the central area of the city where rents are high. Because of the parents limited spare time, children will stay in kindergarden from an earlier age and stay longer each day. Activities with friends and relatives will be very important, as the bonds the parents made during their younger years are still strong. vacations, excursions and dinners together are nothing unusual and a common summer house somewhere is an easy and cheap way to get a good and relaxing time, by yourselves or together with your friends. future families will have a hectic schedule during the work days but make up for it on the vacation periods. Future looks bright in a different light than today and the Generation Zs will enjoy every minute of it.

“It’s a bit like learning a language in high school compared with being a native speaker.” - Lucinda Schmidt on not being born in the IT-era 46

user: Generation z. Generation Z, Or the IT-generation, Is everyone born after 1995. Some say its between 1994 and 2009, but from ‘95 is the more common explaination. Generation Z is highly connected, many of this generation have experienced communications and media technologies like internet, instant messaging, text messaging, The non physical music (mp3 instead of discs), mobile phones, YouTube, Touch screens, etc that also gives the them the nickname “digital natives”. Internet is now increasingly carried in pockets on smart phones, like the iPhone. A marked difference between Generation Y and Generation Z, is that older members of the former remember life before the takeoff of mass technology, while the latter have been born completely within it. Some can be described as impatient and instant minded, and tending to lack the ambition of previous generations. Psychologists says that an “acquired Attention Deficit Disorder” since their dependency on technology is high and attention span is much lower, as opposed to previous generations who read books and other printed material, along with watching TV live when it is broadcasted. Generation Z are also more individualistic than previous generations. While members of Generation Y are group and team oriented, members of Generation Z are more self directed even though soccer moms and curling parents are just as common with these members as with children of the previous generation. A small percentage of Generation Z is also said to have above average intelligence and have ambitions justs as strong as the other generations.

Analysis: the user. Demographers and social researchers have talked endlessly about Gen Y and their fast embrace of new technology. However, Gen Z is the first generation born into a digital world and as Lucinda Schmidt from the Sidney Morning Herald puts it, Its like being a native speaker compared to learning a language in high-school. Generation Z is mentioned in almost all the literature found on the subject as the impatient generation. They are used to instant information, fast food, fast decisions and ofcourse fast internet. In their world there has never been a 56K modem, or going to the library to find information. Friends are a big part of their life - if not THE life. Friends are not mentioned in the same sense as before - now people have a trillion “friends” on facebook and everyone you have met is a friend of some sort. The future bonds between people will be weaker, but many more bonds will be made. Internets big part in their life is because it is such a huge information channel. You dont need a tv anymore. Or an Ipod. or a computer. All you need is a mobile device (iphone, ofcourse). With this thing you can reach anyone and anything in the world. You always carry everything with you. You dont have to go somewhere to do a certain thing. Or you dont have to change something in order to make something happen. I believe this is a very big part in the design of this vehicle - as people tend to demand everything close, available and instantly, a design that doesnt fulfill the wishes and needs of this generation will simply not work. to quote Mercedes-Benz: “its everything or nothing.” Generation Z’s characteristics: born completely within the it-era. Constant information flow. Impatient. instant minded. Individualistic. Ironic.

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interview: young family. The Bjรถrk family is as normal as a swedish family can be. But yet, it fits the age group and family size perfectly for this project. They are both below 30, have two kids, 4 and 2 years old, and live outside a relatively big city (atleast in Sweden) where they commute to work in the mornings. The family Volvo 940 is used for everything from daily drives to work to roadtrips to the family summerhouse during vaction time. Now, being a little bit older, both sons are sitting in the back seat - the older one facing forward and the younger one facing backwards. Why the older one is already traveling forward is because he couldnt fit traveling backwards - his legs where too long and hit the back support whith his feet, even in the front seat. with both seats in the backseat, there is no chance to squeeze in a third person in between in a comfortable way. The parents are then forced to the front seats and no other passenger can join. If more people have to join and the kids are away, they have to remove the seats temporary and then mount them back later, a time consuming and usually hard an complicated work.

northern europe united states of america

southern Europe

Family cars. Scandinavia  Midsize Station Wagon Europe  Midsize MPV USA  Fullsize MPV or SUV China  LWB Midsize Sedan

MPV - MultiPurposeVehicle i.e. Minivan SUV - SportUtilityVehicle i.e. Softroader i.e. CityJeep LWB - LongWheelBase: Audi A4L & A6L, BMW 5-series LWB, Mercedes E-Class L and Volvo S80L are among the special chinese made extra long wheel-base models that is not sold anywhere else in the world.

China

The family car situation throughout the world varys alot depending on the country or contintent. Looking at the different cars makes it feel like its not really based on the need but on traditions and feelings. In northern Europe, more specificly scandinavia, the station wagon rules in almost every class of vehicles. in southern Europe, small MPVs are the choice for families. In the United States and China, the choice of car is more based on traditions and emotions. Americans can buy a big SUV or MPF even if they only have one or two kids. When the gas price is low, fuel economy is not a selling point. Instead, safety (as in size) and comfort are the key features. Here, families can buy a 9 seater Chevy Suburban just because they CAN and then can offer friends and families a nice ride too. For China, the situation is almost the same. Stretch wheel-base mid-size sedans are the number one cars on the market. This is not really because the need the space to stretch their legs in the back seat - this is because they want to offer the best possible treatment for family and friends. Maybe they cant afford an Audi A6 - but a stretched A4 is almost as good.

Sweden 

1. Volvo V70 2. VW Golf 3. VW Passat 4. Volvo V50 5. Kia Cee´d 6. Audi A4 7. Renault Megane 8. Ford Focus 9. Saab 9-3 10. Renault Clio

*Germany  1. VW Golf/Plus/Jetta 2. VW Polo 3.Mercedes-Benz C-Class 4.Ford Focus 5.Mercedes Benz E-Class 6. Audi A3 7. Opel Astra 8. Mercedes-Benz A-Class 9. BMW 5-Series 10. BMW 3-Series USA  1. Ford F-series 2. Chevrolet Silverado 3.Toyota Camry 4.Honda Accord 5.Toyota Corolla 6.Honda Civic 7.Honda CR-V 8. Nissan Altima 9. Ford Fusion 10. Dodge RAM China 

1. BYD F3 2. Volkswagen Lavida 3. Hyundai Elantra Yue Dong 4. Volkswagen Jetta 5. Buick Excelle 6. Shanghai-VW Santana 7. Xiali N3 8. Chevy Cruze 9. Chery Covin 10. FAW-VW Bora

Color Explaination Station Wagon Bodystyle ratio unknown. Hatchback Truck Sedan

market 2010. The rainbow of colors on the left tells the story almost on its own. The different between for example Sweden and China is striking. But what is hard to see in these positions is the body style ratio on the white positions. For instance, VW Golf is sold as a 3 door, 5 door, Plus (i.e. a little bit higher... but not an MPV) and Variant (station wagon) but how many of which is not presented. But regarding Volvo V70s position as the number one in Sweden and only being offered as a station wagon, the conclusion is that Passat, A4 and Saab 9-3 is more common as a station wagon than a sedan in our “combi-friendly” country. In the US, its a big different. the Ford F-series pickups are outselling everything. The SUV and Pickup-market in the US is giant, People here buy cars because they MIGHT need the size and space and this is a big different from Eurioe. In China, every car on the top 10, actually every car on the top 20 too, is a sedan. Why? Its hard to say, but traditions plays its part. A sedan shows that you buy a car because you can, and not because you need it, almost the same as in the US. As said before, Sweden and northern europe is not a sedan region. For instance, Volvo S40 (the sedan of V50) is on place 67 on the swedish list and the top definite sedan in sweden is actually SAAB 9-5 on place 36. Overall look on Europe shows that small hatches are the kings. The ford Fiesta was the most sold car in Europe in 2010, a car in the same size as the MINI and the Clubman, but not when it comes to price. A right sized and right priced car can definitely be a hard nut to crush in a couple of years.

*Numbers for Germany 2010 not available at time of delivery. November 2010 positions are shown above. 53

Technology: Power. The Michelin Active Wheel is a true revolution when it comes to vehicle architecture. By making one unit with Engine, Steering, Breaking and suspensionleaves basicly batteries and computers in the chassie. The simplicity of the construction makes it possible to place functions where there is space and not because they need a fysical connection to other objects. The drive-by-wire technology is now spread across several Airline manufacturers and is even used in some production cars from BMW. The chassie below is from the Venturi Volage that features the Active Wheel. A unit like this is extremly efficiant for the overall architecture of a vehicle. Because of the benefits written above, no engine is in front of the driver and instead the deformation zones can be optimized which gives more space to passengers or an overall smaller footprint of the car.

Electro Engines products (featured above in the TrueElectric Saab 9-3 Convertible) is more than just replacing the petrol engine and tank with an electrical unit and batteries. Their battery construction gives the benefit of placing the cells in different places, and not as in one big unit as of now. Now, batteries can be placed in the same way as other electrical components - where there is space. Another benefit of their battery technology is that the cells are loaded with electricity in a different way than normal batteries. In normal batteries, the weakest cell is the limit and no other cell can be charged more than this one. ElectroEngines batteries are charged differently and in a certain order, which makes it possible to charge the batteries to a higher level and alot faster. 55

Technology: Safety. Cars already run on our streets without drivers. Well, technically, there is ofcourse a person behind the wheel, but he is not activly driving the car. Google surprised a lot of people this summer when it was revealed that they have been driving around on the roads of Los Angeles of over three years testing their equipment with cars that drive by itself. But what is the benefit of this in the future? Most unlikely will we have cars that actually can drive themselves while the driver is leaning back to read a newspaper or even worse - sleep. This technology can be used to detect obtacles and dangers faster than the driver will ever do. Then, either automaticly fix it without the drivers knowledge, or by informing the driver and let him/her do it. This technology can be used to detect cars and objects in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;blind-spotâ&#x20AC;?, be used instead of rear view mirrors, or simply addapt the car to the driving conditions of the moment.

The rather embarrasing moment this summer when Volvos pride and glory system â&#x20AC;&#x153;City Safetyâ&#x20AC;? was being demonstrated in Gothenburg is still fun to laugh at on youtube. But the fact is that the system works with a charged battery in the car and with real people instead of the inflated dolls they used on the second try when it didnt work again. The system detects human bodies and if detected in a critical zone infront of the car, the system can put on full brakes at speeds up to XX km/h. The radar system in the windshield also detects if a vehicle in front of the car suddenly brakes and can then slow down or add on full brake force to stop before its too late. 57

safety revolution.

In the beginning, cars were extremely dangerous machines. Crashing a car not many decades ago meant a certain death for the occupants, even in low speed. Around 30 years ago, the airbag was invented and is now the best life saver after the seatbelt. The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European car safety performance assessment programme founded in 1997 by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport and now the standard throughout Western Europe.* * Source: EuroNcap.com/

But even today some cars come out on the market with weak safety and a good solid construction of a car can be the different between life and death. Euro Ncap have set the standard of what safety is and this together with the prestige of having a safe car in a companys lineup makes it easier to survive or get minor injuries when the not so fun happens. But in car racing, the drivers can step out unhurt from the worst possible crashes thanks to simple but solid technology. This is something that I belive can be put in production cars to make the future even safer.

The seatbelt as we know it today was invented by Nils Bohlin at Volvo Cars in Gothenburg. The first production car to use this device was the Volvo 122, or Amazon. A 3-point harness is decreasing the risk of a severe injury by up to 50%. Combine the 3-point harness with an automatic tensioner and the risk of a severe injury is down to 55%.

The Airbag slows down an accelerating upper body, but also to stop the head from hitting the interior of the car. Airbags are extremely good in cars that look like they do today. But if surfaces can be moved away from the occupants and seatbelts made to stop the acceleration of the body in a better way than with three point belts, the airbag can be questioned.

Racing cars are using a 4-, 5- or 6-point harness that fixates the driver to the seat. This combined with a roll-cage have proven to be extremely safe for the drivers. Examples of horrorful crashes in racing where the drivers can walk away uninjured shows the benefit of the “more-than-three”-point harness. Four point harnesses in racing cars are stiff, which means that you can’t lean forward as with a 3 point haness. But this function do excist on the after market, and Volvo showed with the SCC concept that 4-point harnesses can work in civilian vehicles. combine this with surfaces far away from the occupants and a safety cage and you can simplify the safety equipment which means lower weight and better fuel economy.

Recommended mounting points & angles by Simpson harnesses.

Children in cars. NTF - The National Society for Road Safety is a non governmental organisation which works to improve road safety - is an umbrella organisation and consists of 24 county road safety federations, 70 national, interest and professional organisations and hundreds of local voluntary associations. The national network is made up of thousands of people working to help you contribute to a safe road traffic. The following recommendations was made together with several car manufacturers and companies in Sweden in 2006 to provide the best possible safety for traveling with children in a car: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The safest way for small children to travel in a ar is in a rear-facing child-seat. Our recommendation is that children should sit in a rear-facing position until the age of four or as long as possible. The location of the child-seat in the front or the rear of the car is equivaly safe in a crash. However, placing the child-seat in the front usually gives the children more leg room in a rear-facing seat due to that the front passenger seat can be moved backwards to allow more space between the seat and the dashboard which makes it possible to have bigger/older children rear-facing. This makes it possible to meet parents demands for access to both front of rear passenger seats. We have a responsibility to inform about the dangers of placing children in infant seats, rear-facing child seat, forward-facing booster seat or booster seat in a place equipped with a non-disabled passenger air bag. We have an active role in the handling of shutdown airbags so the risks of misuse of the system is minimized. Children shorter than 140 cm should not sit in one place equipped with a non-disabled passenger air bag. Side airbag poses no hazard to children in rear-facing car seat. Most forward-facing child seats help to keep the child in an upright riding position that helps the side-airbags to protect the children.â&#x20AC;?

Children age 0-10 positions in cars in 2009. Facing backwards

Facing forwards

Laying down

Accordning to a survey by NTF in December 2010, only 40 percent of Sweden’s three-year-olds are facing backwards in the car, even though it is up to five times safer than forward facing. NTF observed 5,000 children outside 347 pre-schools across the country. But in 1998, 70 percent of all 3-year-olds was facing backward and as late as 2009, the NTF a survey shows the proportion of three-year-olds placed rear-facing was 46 percent. “If nothing is done, we see more people killed and seriously injured children as passengers in cars in the future” according to the article. 1% of children aged 1-4 traveling in the front passenger seat are sitting in front of an active air bag, according to NTF. The study is based on 5000 observations outside kindergartens in Sweden and have been compiled and analyzed by VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute). In the age group 5-10 year olds, more than one in five children is sitting in front of an active airbag. According to all current recommendations, no person shorter than 140 cm, regardless of age, can sit in front of an active airbag.

Children age 0-10 traveling in the front passenger seat (1156/5000 Observations.)

For children aged 1-4 years sitting in a rear-facing child safety seat, an active airbag becomes lethal even at a relatively low speed collision. The child’s head and neck are namely inside the airbag inflator radius where the force is at its peak. The airbag on the passenger seat of the car is designed to protect persons with a length of 140 cm.

Active Airbag Turned off (key) Turnedoff (Disconnected) Turned off (Removed) No Passenger Airbag

ď &#x160;Inspiration & Trends. Chapter four

Compact Living. “Compact living” as a term have been around since the beginning of the 80s. It is basicly when you have a small space that works just as good as a big space. If not even better. Today, compact living stands for the same thing as before, but could also be as the house on the bottom of this page. Called Weehouse, this “Box” is lifted on to the spot it should sit and comes with everything except plumming. Here, you’ve got all you need for an escape away from society and the the stress from the big city. But maybe you dont need a living room, maybe the bathroom is small - but the feeling of space, and the feeling of air because of the big windows makes it bigger than it is.

A Hong Kong architect creates a magic feat of “green” design by packing 24 “rooms” into a 30 square meter apartment. Growing up with a family of five, plus tenant, Gary Chang once slept in the former tenement flat’s corridor-like living room. This helped cultivate a genius for making the most out of limited elbow room. Modular walls slide to divide the space to serve the usual daily purposes. A wall full of shelving pulls forward, revealing a panel housing a linen closet. Behind another divider there’s a bathtub, and a guest bed can flop down over it. Rather than walking from room to room, Chang makes the living spaces shift by gliding the walls from one point to another. “The house transforms and I’m always here,” he says. “I don’t move. The house moves for me.”

Compact Living. In Steve Sauerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 182 square foot appartment he manage to fit a bedroom, kitchen, dining room, TV-room, lounge area and a bathroom with a shower and a tub. How he did it? By working with levels, especially where you dont need full height to the ceiling, he managed to squeeze all this in without making it feel too tight. On the picture, you see Steve in his lounge area ontop of the TV-room. The bathroom (not showed) features a bath-tub in the floor where he can stand up and take a bath. Whats happening under his appartment is not stated... This is a major inspirational source to this project, as the level of thinking in Steves appartment and thr airy feel of the Weehouse is a perfect inspirational source for a car such as MINI - a car with a limited amount of interior space that is going to work just as good as a big car for the user and its family.

The 9h capsule hotel in Kyoto, Japan are offering high-end premium capsules at the price of a normal three star hotel. The name is based on the concept that the customers are spending one hour before and after a seven hour sleeping time, therefore the name 9h - or Nainawasu in japanese. Form language and concept feels very close to what MINI stands for.

The military. The military have inspired designers for decades. The true ruggedness and the myths behind certain objects makes it somehow cool to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;warâ&#x20AC;?. As stated in my philosophy, There is something special with products that are made for true function - they somehow become beautiful just by being pure. Certain military objects, like watches, tend to be just my cup of tea. The true inspiration in the spirit of these items, not the actual look of them, but that you CAN do products that look and is good at the same time, is a true inspiration source in this project.

Vintage.

Vintage is not to be mixed up with retro as the vintage trend is more about a nice patina on cool products than the actual age and style of it. Vintage items and the vintage style can be found everywhere from cameras to posters, a lot of the current graphical trend can me linked back to the 60s and 70s. If the camera above would have a screen on the entire back side and be 10 mm thin, it would be amazingly modern. I would not call this retro, but more of an actual classic look combined with modern technology. This could be the next step of retro automobile design - to me retro is more of a caricature of the past.

Irony/Fugly. For many years, the ironic/fugly trend has been the biggest thing in fashion and design. Especially the hipster trend, where everything is supposed to be exhagirated in some way, if its too big or too small, too much color or just plain ugly. Ugly was, and is, the new good looking. This can also be read as a reaction to society where you have to look good to be successful. And this reaction is now so powerful that good looking can be everything from ugly to beatiful. Or just cool. This trend has also affected the auto industry, where the smaller the car is, the more of a fuglyness it has. But why this? Looking at people, the taller they are the more beatiful “lines” and proportions they have. A shorter person, or a car for that matter, gets a different kind of statement due to proportions and lines, but I belive that with good proportions, anything can be beautiful.

Fixed gear.

Bicycles have looked the same for the last 130 years. During the 80s and 90s, bikes should have as many gears as possible, fenders, bottle holders, patterns, huge wheels - just stuff. But the last couple of years, the streamlined look, together with the fixed gear trend have boomed on the market. This can be read as a “back to the basic” trend where only the most essential features are needed. Its almost that people realize that “wow, I dont actually need all this stuff, it works anyway.” This “trend” can be seen in the auto industry too and

Stance.

The stance trend on the aftermarket scene has been around for ages and is usually seen as two trends turned into one. The stance of a car can always be better - it can be lowered and spacers can be used to move the wheels out to make the car look less â&#x20AC;&#x153;nervousâ&#x20AC;? and more confident. The other part is to use narrow tires on wider rims. Drifters in Japan calls this Hipari, where stretching a thin tire onto a wide rim decreases a wheelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standard tire width resulting in a smaller contact patch and less traction. When learning how to drift this can be advantageous since you can get the car sliding sideways at lower speeds. In Europe this was done for other reasons - the law. Here, the tread of the tire had to be under the wheel arch, but nothing was said about the outer part of the rim. Therefore, people could get the stance and width they wanted and still obey the laws. All this together gives the Stance-trend where proportions is everything. Just as in car design.

OEM+

OEM+ is linked very close to the stance-scene, but in a more refined way. This is ofcourse because of the whole idea behind OEMplus - to use OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to style and refine a car. The best example is ofcourse the use of wheels from a bigger car on a smaller car, lets say BMW 7-Series 20â&#x20AC;? wheels on a 3-Series. Before, the trend of car styling was to change the car to the extend that it was very obvious that it had been redone. Now, the trend is to make it look factory made and especially with tricks that you dont see at first sight. This change of mind is very intreresting and shows that its not so much about showing off, but to be confident in yourself and that you are happy with the result and with your car.

Fiat multipla. Fiat Multipla was presented in its current version in 1998 and generated widespread attention because of its peculiar shape and styling. The package and architecture of the Multipa makes it possible to fit 6 people and their luggage on a footprint below 4 meters in length. This is possible by placing the passengers in two rows with three in each row and by the cars with of 187 cm. The design of the multipla was made by the Indian designer Rana Singh (Exterior) and the swedish designer Jonas Blanking (interior). In 2004 the multipla got a facelift that totally ruined the special look of the vehicle. the front hood was now going from the bottom of the wind scree, just like on a normal car. The original Multipla, Made between 1998 and 2004, has very special proportions, with extremely low DLO and almost vertical side windows. This gives a very good view out of the car and the grab handles in the door is visible from the outside. The name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Multipleâ&#x20AC;? stands for versatility and the herritage goes back to a model based on the fiat 600 with the same name.

The Multipla sports two rows of similary sized seats (the front middle seat being a little bit narrower) which pushes the driver out very close to the door. The interior space is magnificent and the best part is the low windows where you can almost see the knees of the passengers from the outside, and the flat floor in the front area. Fiat should get tons of credit for pulling this package off in under 4 meters, but should be wipped for giving such an amazing design such a bad facelift as the Multipa got in 2004 (pictured below).

Smart Fourtwo. The first pre-production model of the Smart ForTwo was shown in 1998. The first generation lived on until 2007 when the model pictured here was introduced. However, the first generation is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;smartestâ&#x20AC;? of them two exactly 2.5 meters long with a surprisingly roomy interior that feels like a bigger car to drive. by placing the engine in the back of the car the front deformation zone could be optimized and therefore gaining a very good result in the EuroNcap test, eventhough being so small. The current generation is a whole 30 cm longer which is spread out on interior space and pedestrian safety. But still being extremely short but with good interior space and even with a clear space between the driver and the passenger, placing the AC unit in the actual dash. Smart? Very, but you have to pay for it.

KIA pop.

“the chrome is a genuine finish, applied to the Pop’s carbon fiber structure. It endows the Pop with a terrific retro-future feel, evoking rocket and space travel of a bygone era.” - CarDesignNews.com 76

I have never really liked Kia. The lack of design language and not a feeling of a “real” carmaker without a history made it to one of those korean brands that you didn´t really care about. And then came the POP. In the beginning, I was almost ashamed of liking it, it had some kind of anti-automotive-masculinity over it. But then I started to understand why I liked it. Its not a car - its a product that people can transport themselves in. This car evoke something inside of me that have been in the background since I started studying car design - its a step away from car design as a sculpture to a mixture of fashion and product-design thinking. Its very functional, but its not functional design. This is form and function hand in hand to create something where the beauty has a function. The reason why I picked these photos from Cardesignnews.com instead of the official press photos is that its like this its supposed to be seen. The black chrome surface is almost patinated and not “perfect”, giving it a very different and modern look, where vintage “not perfect is perfect” is the key.

ford fairla

ne.

This concept ca as a concept r is now 6 years old - show for the upcom ed on the 2005 ing miniv채n/S UV/StationWag Detroit Auto Show on Flex. It sported an in The thick bent terior that showed exactly w pl milled metal pa ywood, the rough woven hat you can do with mater pockets, the ials. rts - this interio smooth ish and supe r sh ows luxury in r friendly. a different way leather, the - almost ecothe flipside of the coin is that the only thing was the Ford -logo - nothin that followed the g remained of the original co Flex to production ncept. This is interio r has been fo llowing my w school years, or and it is defin itely a big insp k as inspiration throoughou iration for this t my project.

ď &#x160;The project. Chapter five.

Opportunity.

Compact living, the trend of the 80s and 90s is coming back. But what if it came back in another form of container? Just as a compact living environment has to work just as good as a normal house for the occupants, a microcar must work just as good as a normal car eventhough its tiny. By implementing the thinking and ideas from compact living into a vehiclular form, new ideas and improvements for a cars architecture can be accomplished.

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Todays cars are safer than ever but our kids travel facing forward at an earlier age than ever. Is it connected? Does people believe that with a safer car you can place your kid in another position? A growing factor is also that our kids are getting bigger. This makes it impossible to place them backwards at a lower age - the legs are too long and the backrest is in the way for the feet. Another concern is the child seat itself. Is it safe enough? Is it approved? How do I mount it? How do I unmount it? Whats the weight limit? All these questions makes it harder for parents to feel right. Should you feel guilty because you place your big 4 year old child facing forward because he simply doesnt fit sitting backwards? The point is, can it be easier to make the right decision regarding childrens safety than it is today?

ď &#x160;

Children age 0-10 positions in cars in 2009. Facing backwards

Facing forwards

Laying down

This is an actual ad for Seat Alhambra, about 3 years ago. But still car companies are not pushing rear facing child seat configurations at all. Even at MINI, it is almost tabu to talk about this. As this projects end result will be a car bought by families with children, the interior will be executed in a way that makes it easy to make the right choice for the safety of the occupants. All occupants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yea , you sweded likes to put your kids backwards...â&#x20AC;? -Anonymus german commenting on my project. (2011)

Conversation. An old fashion way of making a point. But a conversation is more than just what comes out of the conversating peoples mouth - its body language, mimes, facial expressions, talking with your hands. All this adds upp to a conversation and helps peole express their points. When more than two people are traveling in a car forcing one or more to sit in the back seat, the back seat is very much the BACK seat - second class. A vehicle for families and friends could make it possible to enhance and improve conversation and other social activities in the car, especially on longer journies.

ď &#x160;

In an appartment or house, people coming to visit you can chose their own seat, they can face whoever they want when conversating. Why cant a vehicle interior have the same opprtunity? Imagine a vehicle where friends never say â&#x20AC;&#x153;shotgun!â&#x20AC;? to try and get the front seat, a vehicle where every seat is just as good and an interior where the passengers can face each other or change their position during the trip.

BrainStorming. By using the ideas from compact living as a tool together with the user profile I wanted to create new scenarios that shows some of the attributes wanted in the vehicle. By iinterpretate what functions and features from compact living environments into vehicle attributes, New ideas and visions where created. To map these attributes even more, a scenario day was created based on the Generation Z user-profile and interview with parents of today. Here it is easier to see the problems and opportunities and what kind of functions that are wanted for a future family vehicle.

06.50 Breakfast is ready. The family of four sits down to eat together.

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07.19

19.00 Arrives at home. Grand parents picked up the kids at the kindergarden. Family eats dinner together prepared by the grand parents.

Parent 1 (hereafter called P1) takes the two children to the car. It is raining. Parent 2 (hereafter called P2) takes its bike to go to work due to the near distance.

07.25 P1 and the two kids are off to the kindergarden. 07.41

Arriving at the kindergarden.

07.49 Leaving kindergarden. 07.55 Arriving at a neighborhood where two co-workers of P1 lives. P1 is today the car pool driver. 08.00 Leaves the neighborhood together with the two co-workers. 08.09 The three co-workers starts to go through todays presentation. 08.42 Arriving at the office. parks the car and goes to work. 17.55

Leaves office parking lot after work.

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Arrives at p2:s work place. Loads bike. Heads for Ikea.

Arriving at ikea. Picks up ordered package. Loads it in the car.

ď &#x160;

21.05

P1 and P2 heads slightly late to the car. going to a play together with two old friends.

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Arrives at friends house. Picks up friends. Heads for the theatre.

SCenario. 08.09 Work-in-car. Conversation friendly interior. Work friendly interior. Personal seating position. Entertainment. Place for beverages.

07.55 pool-car. Seating change to fit adults. Easy Ingress for adults. 06.50 Breakfast.

07.19 going to the car. Childseats (two age-groups). Easy & Safe Ingress for kids & Adults. Storage close to the children/driver. Place for garbage. Entertainment.

07.25 leaving the kids at the kindergarden. Easy & Safe Egress for kids & Adults. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dont forget anything important in the car.â&#x20AC;? 90

08.42 Parking at the office. Charging when parked. Parking space. Ingress, Egress when parked. Footprint.

18.19 Pick-up. Easy to load cargo. Comfort with cargo. Attachment-points.

18.33 More cargo. Easy to load cargo. Addaptable interior. Attachment-points.

Vehicle attributes. Hold 4 adults and their luggage/accessories. Hold children(1 year old and above) without further equipment. obey passengers need when it comes to seating, position, location, direction etc. changeable for the need of load in the car. easy ingress egress for all passengers.

ď &#x2019;

invite to conversation between passengers. entertain passengers during journey.

obey needs for city driving when it comes to parking, visibility, space, charging (of batteries) footprint etc. space for personal belongings.

19.00 Home. Charging when parked. Theft.

21.32 Friends. Seating for adults. Room for conversation. luggage.

Future family transport. The only family oriented micro-car out there is the SpaceUp! Blue Concept from Volkswagen. Showed nearly two years ago as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;retroâ&#x20AC;?-sibling of the Up! and SpaceUp!, it featured built in child seats in the rear and a front seat that could spin 180 degrees. However, built in child-seats have been around for nearly 20 years and the front seat spinning around is only for conversation when the car is at stop - the seatbelt is still in the B-pillar. Even though very well executed, the SpaceUp! Blue doesnt offer anything revolutionary and is still just a regular car.

Family oriented

Degree work 2011

effective footprint

Larger footprint.

Basic arhcitecture 93

family tree. When the topic and deliverables where picked for this thesis project, the Mini Rocketman was not yet revealed. being a vehicle in a similar cathegory, this family diagram shows my intentions with the vehicle. While the rocketman is more of a lifestyle vehicle, the Packman is aimed at people lookig for maximum space with the smallest footprint - both when it comes to environmental impackt as actual size in the city environment. The Packman can also be compared to the japanese vehicle class of Keicars - atleast when it comes to overall length. To be able to squeeze as much out of the footprint area as possible, a wider stance is more likely to give the occupants the space they need - eventhough the overall length is comparable to a micro-car.

mini packman. 94

Package.

chevrolet silverado 3500hd crew-cab 2007. Mercedes-benz sls e-cell concept package.

Power electronics. high-voltage batteries. The SLS E-Cell is the first car that has been constructed both for a regular engine and an electric drivetrain from the beginning.

push-rod strut

it features the battery pack in the same space as the shaft has on the regular car. the electric engines are locaded both front and rear making it 4WD.

power electronics electric motors/gearbox

electric motors/gearbox

Since the early days of the automobile history, everything that is going on under the body have basicly looked the same. Engine in the front, driving in the back, gas tank behind passengers, brakes in the wheels, steering wheel etc just like the Chevy Pickup on the left. the last decade we have seen alot of change in this area (but cars still look like cars and will probably do so until aliens visit us). one of the first real changes on concept basis is the GM HyWire Concept from 2002 (pictured above) with all the items needed for propulsion is locaded in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;skateboardâ&#x20AC;?-like frame below the body. the big advantage here was that you could simply switch the body from for example a SUV to a sportscar. GM HYWIRE CONCEPT 2002. mini packman thesis project package.

ď &#x2019;

wheels active wheels body batteries The package proposed for the Packman is insipired by the Michelin Active Wheel and the advantages of it. Steering, braking, suspension and ofcourse power is locaded within the wheel which makes it possible to dedicate the vehicles whole length to the passengers compartment and/or safety zones and I see this as the most valid package for a vehicle that should be small on the outside butas big as it gets on the inside. 97

“The future is not to be predicted, But created.” - Ervin László (1931-)

ď &#x160;interior development. Chapter six

Form inspiration.

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“AAAAHHH!!! IDEAS!!!”

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“60s sport.”

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“friendly.”

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“cutting edge.”

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“function.”

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Midreview.

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stacked.

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final design proposal.

ď &#x160;

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ď &#x160;exterior development. Chapter se7en

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first of the first.

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“Stance & Attitude in a friendly way.” 139

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Final Proposal.

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ď &#x160;final result. Chapter eight

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instrument panel. The instrument panel is attached to the panel infront of the door on the drivers side. When changing the position of the steering wheel, the whole dashboard will adapt to the drivers size and messurments. The steering collumn is hollow and gives a perfect storage for the drivers items. By moving away the glass panel in the steering wheel (panel holding drivers information) the steering collumn can be filled with anything you usually put in the glove compartment - here in much easier reach for the driver. Side view mirrors have been skipped to give the car a lower CW-value, adding a rear view screen in the ventilation system in each door. The ventilation system itself works as a Dyson fan and blows around the screen The indicators are operated by buttons on the steering wheel, with a stick for windshield wipers on the left and the gearbox controls on the right..

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Space. I wanted the interior to be more of a space with furnitures than an interior with everything included and morped into each other. With simple “walls” and “products” attached as free standing objects, the interior feels airy and bigger than it actually is.

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Gear box controls on right side. wiper controls on left side.

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Center icon. The center Icon holds all the information and entertainment for the passengers. Working in the same way as the drivers display, the glass can be folded away and a storage compartment is revealed. The whole icon can be moved backwards to be used as a central entertainment unit for the passengers. In this position, the back glass also act as a screen giving a potential rear facing passenger the same entertainment possibilities as the back passengers.

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seats. The seats are attached to a special rail that runs below the floor and the center consol of the car. this makes it possible to put all the functions for moving, tilting, folding and pivoting the seats in one feature. inspired by the attachment points for seats in airliners, this function makes it possible to completely addapt the interior to the needs of the occupants.

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rail system. The four seats are attached to the center rail system located under the center console. Here, all the seats functions and movabilities is being made by one oval rail. The seats can be stored in the front luggage compartment or anywhere else on the rail, for examble behind the drivers seat so you can load very long objects.

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friends. The interior can be changed into a lounge-area when driving with friends the front passenger can sit facing rearwards to the other occupants and all the seats can be swivled around to give the passenger a perfect position. The center icon can be moved backward so all passengers can share the experience. Here they can play games, listen to their music (simply put any device in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;tombolaâ&#x20AC;? and spin the wheel), plan the trip together or simply just use it as a storage compartment. Going on a long trip can be fun but also exhausting to just sit in a car. If any of the passenger gets tired, even the backseat can be turned backwards to get the passenger a private little corner.

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family. The seats can be turned into a child seat with the same mechanism as they fold for storage. When pulling the strap on the headrest, the headrest including the seatbelts goes down to a lower position. At the same time and proportionately to the headrest, the seat base itself is moved upwards. this gives a perfect position for kids from around 1 years old. The windows in the door gives perfect visibility even for the smallest kids and they can also play with the interactive windows where they can draw or play games.

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stuff. When the seats are pushed forward, the front passenger “fire-wall” folds down and the seats are stacked in the luggage compartment. The seats itself can also be used as support for goods in the car bu using the seatbelt as a harness. This works very well with tall objects and also with bikes. The seats storing on the back can also be used when folded (see picture). The center console and the “fire-wall” infront of the driver protects him/her from moving objects in an event of a crash.

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seat holds cargo.

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family photo. The exterior links its design and proportions more to the classic Mini and the overall length is very close. Features like the sliding glass window, the fuel filler (charger on the packman) and the hinge-design links back to the original.

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front charging point.

front glass opening. Engine air intakes in wheels.

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open it.

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rear charging point.

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cameras.

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data. 1550 mm

1870 mm front opening.

optional engine.

Batteries.

engine.

3380 mm

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size matters.

the new mini packman.

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giantly small.

the new mini packman.

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Conclusion. During this project, I have tried to look at car design - with the main focus on interior design - as problem solving industrial design. For me, the boundaries, the box or the limits, is whats the most interesting part of this. If you know what you can do today, or if you know what a material is possible to do, then you can see how far you can reach beyond this. For me, function and form goes hand in hand, NOT form follows function. By starting with the user and the humans in focus, everything is built up

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around this as a center piece because that is what differs industrial design from art - a user. It has been extremely interesting to work from within a car company and to be inspired with form and shapes but still create functional AND beautiful objects - I see interior design as closer to product design than exterior design and combining this into a symbiosis of all the elements required to create a beautiful object is what drives me to become an even more developed and skilled designer.

references (in order of appearance): Mini Online Museum http://www.minionlinemuseum.com Copyright © 2010 Wikipedia - The History of the Mini. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini last modified on 8 February 2011 Netcarshow.com - MINI http://www.netcarshow.com/mini Copyright © 2005-2010 Mini Sverige (Sweden) http://www.minifamily.se WeeHouse http://www.weehouse.com Iso50 - Steve Saures 182 Square Foot Apartment. http://blog.iso50.com/19368/182-square-foot-home/ 25 August 2010 Gary Chang’s 300 Square Feet 24 Room Apartment http://blog.cleantechies.com/2010/04/29/extreme-compact-living300-square-feet-24-rooms/ 29 April 2010 David Carlson - Future Luxury http://issuu.com/davidcarlson/docs/david_report_6 5 September 2008 The Future of the Family to 2030 - A Scoping Report http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/34/42551944.pdf OECD International Futures Programme Paris, 19th December 2008

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