Visceral Elegance

Cars…

Such advances…

Such disappointments!

In the past we were attracted to the style of the car we bought but now cars have become so homogeneous, mostly for corporate reasons, that most have lost any individual aesthetic.

The Steering Wheel and the Turn Signal Lever are the last control interface details that remain untouched but we may soon lose those as well to an A.I. and Autodrive.

Nowadays, the automotive human interface suffers abysmally under an attack of technology. Lost are the Tactile, Haptics, Affordance and even Texture, all consumed by the ubiquitous “Touchscreen Interface”, void of the sensual feedback turning driving into a chore... a necessity. Devoid of anything visceral in the piloting of an automobile. Overpowered steering systems, numb braking systems and computer controlled 10 speed automatic transmissions that seem more confused than our kids when searching for the right gear to be in.

No “Seat of the Pants”… No shouts of , “Ahhh… DS…DS”, on the Champs- Elysees as the new 1955 Citroen floated past. The DS… The “Goddess”… Lost.

As a child, I was complicit of this very thing. Desiring a flying car while thinking little of the actual look, form, function and feel of the controls it might possess.

My resolution is to refocus my energies, my desires and expectations.

My goal: to resurrect an Industry by instilling Visceral Elegance, then, I can relieve my guilt and only then…

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Volume 11, Issue 9, Posted 4:04 PM, 09.03.2020