Premcar turns 30 in 2026. To celebrate, we’re sharing some of our knowledge. This time, it’s about a key design principle.
Read a new-car review today and you’ll likely find strong opinions about in-cabin technologies.
This is the high-tech stuff inside the car that occupants interact with.
Things like touchscreen-controlled infotainment systems.
One advancement that’s come under fire in recent years is Driver Monitoring.
These systems use cameras, AI and other technologies to check (for example) if the driver is distracted or suffering fatigue.
Their intended functions are important.
But for many new-car reviewers they’re too intrusive, with reports these systems emit endless unnecessary warnings to driver.
Their intrusiveness is a problem because they could drive people to switch them off.
Everyone accepts that car companies often want to be technology leaders.
Vanity, or the desire to be perceived as an advanced brand, can often drive this.
The better approach?
Take the advice of the guy who designed the paint job for Air Force One.
He helped shape famous brands like Shell and Exxon by styling their logos.
He worked with NASA to design liveable spacecraft interiors for astronauts.
He also designed Coca-Cola bottles and vending machines and pioneered streamlined styling for everything from refrigerators to cars.
His name was Raymond Loewy.
He was an industrial designer.
His MAYA design principle was simple.
It stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.
If a product is too advanced and strange, it will feel alien and consumers will avoid it.
If it’s innovative but familiar, they’ll embrace it.
Creating a new car for a target buyer is easy on a PowerPoint Slide.
Navigating the processes, committees and egos to get that product to the showroom is not easy.
Too many ‘tech flexes’ can derail that product’s journey and turn it into a turn-off.
So always follow Loewy’s principle when creating products you want to sell.
Make it advanced, but keep it usable and familiar.
Bernie Quinn, CEO of Premcar
About Premcar:
Premcar Pty Ltd is a leading Australian vehicle engineering business that specialises in the automotive, defence and aerospace industries. For more than 25 years, global car-makers have made Premcar their go-to partner for the complete design, engineering and manufacture of niche-model new cars, full-scale new-vehicle development programs, and electric vehicle (EV) conversions and manufacturing. Premcar’s body of work is extensive. It is the name behind more than 200,000 new cars and 55,000 new-vehicle engines. The company has delivered technical advancements and sales success for major car brands from Europe, the USA, Japan, China and Australia. Visit premcar.au.
