Love of the Automobile Endures
Our relationship with cars may not be the same as that of our grandfather or great-grandfather, but that emotional connection continues to be passed down—especially when you live in Michigan.

As a Michigander you not only have a connection to your car—which, of course, is none other than American-made—but more than likely your job, company or your sister-in-law’s cousin has some connection to the auto industry. Don Hart, President of MOVE Communications, can attest to this. In January he attended Autoweek’s annual Design Forum at the College for Creative Studies to hear about the three subjects that affect our company: Cars, design and marketing.

The forum brought together some of the best brains in the business to discuss what it is like to design for today’s consumer. One of the speakers included was the “Father of the iPod,” Tony Fadell, who used to serve as Senior Vice President of Apple's iPod division, where he developed the first 18 generations of the iPod.

Staying Connected Through Technology
Fadell came out of retirement to found Nest and create an energy-efficient thermostat that is Wi-Fi enabled so you can adjust your temperate settings via iPhone app from anywhere around the world.

He brought this concept of “staying connected no matter where you are" to the forum. Sure, technology has entered our cars. For example, our conversations no longer need to end on the way out the door; we can simply enable our Bluetooth headset and drive handsfree. Then there are the latest innovations, like Ford’s new feature that will read your texts out loud and respond with pre-selected messages. But, Fadell wants to see electronics blend more seamlessly with cars for an enhanced consumer experience.

Millenial Point of View
Clay Dean, Director of General Motors North America’s Advanced Design, suggested that the Millennial generation of 80 million strong, who his company is targeting, isn’t asking for the glitz and glam of high-tech features; but instead they desire a vehicle that reflects their culture, triggers emotion and reassures their commitment to the brand. 

Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer at Kia, is dedicated to pulling on the heartstrings of consumers, because he too sees a strong emotional connection between people and their cars. “Our fascination for cars is not a matter of age,” said Schreyer. “In our business brand building starts very early. Each of us remembers certain times of our lives and the car we had.”

Designing and the Environment
Max Wolff, Design Director for Lincoln, focused on the designs saying, “Our design must differentiate us.” Comparatively, Peter Horbury, Senior Vice President of Design at Geely Group, who designs for Volvo, shared a perspective from oversees. According to Horbury, car buyers from Sweden and Scandinavia are looking for vehicles that are more environmentally savvy.

A Valuable Relationship
Whether you believe today’s consumer is looking for technology, an emotional connection or design, or all of the above, we can’t deny that the auto industry has devoted itself to keeping up these relationships and inspiring new ones.

Blog Post By: Jade Grammatico, MOVE Winter/Spring Intern and Kim Beson, Associate Writer/Project Coordinator.