Eduardo,
Your observation about craft and car design is
interesting.
Recently I asked en engineering manager at GM why GM
only has so many SUVs in the design pipeline given the
trends in gasoline prices and the trends in SUV sales.
He said that it was because GM had not done any
research related to trends in gasoline prices although
this seems hard to believe.I cannot say whether this
is accurate but based on my own contact with the
industry I would not be surprised.
Exterior car design is related to (male?) status as
much as it is about transport in the US. Over 95% of
car student applicants in Detroit are male.
It would be interesting from an anthropological
viewpoint to research what artifacts in craft
societies have been replaced by cars in terms of
expression of male status.Americans seem to impose
living qualities on cars and perhaps one status object
was the horse.Another artifact from a craft tradition
might be the flamboyant decorative armour of the
Renaissance.An expression of wealth, taste, maleness,
strength and position more than about protection in
battle.
American males do not like public transport as it
implies in this society low male status.
The exterior of the vehicle is the area most connected
to male status. To work on interior automotive design
historically in Detroit implied low status for a male
designer.There was no specialization for interior
design in the courses and many or most trans students
did not complete detailed interiors during their
studies.Consequently the quality of design of
interiors was extremely low.The style of illustration
of the exterior is much more about gesture and emotion
than the interior. The exterior designers are
considered to be artists. The exterior design of
vehicles changes far more often than is necessary from
an otherwise functional viewpoint. Exterior trans
students had little or no interest in the interior
design of vehicles.This is really the functional
center of the vehicle for human interaction.
The evolution of the vehicle in the United States must
take this issue of male status into account. In Italy
also the design of exterior of vehicles seem to be
very much about male status. American males like to
talk about the horsepower of the vehicle even though
it may be a factor of five or ten times the functional
requirement. This question of male status is closely
connected to the overuse of existing global oil
resources.
Rob Curedale
From: Eduardo Corte Real
<[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Mustang - it's a research question (a
long response)
Hi MArk,
Gresat post. i'm also late. Just back from a quick
vacation period.
You=20
wrote (very truly):
"The basis of a vehicle is usually derived from its
predecessor and
only=20
incrementally adds new content with each update."
It seems remarkably alike what one tells the students
when defining=20
traditional craftmanship or folkloric handicraft as
oposed to Design.
Cheers,
Eduardo
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