by Lauren Teo

If you ask any teenager on the cusp of getting a driving license, “What kind of car would you like?” you will no doubt get a list of cars that pass the test of being cool enough, and a 4-door sedan or minivan will probably not make the list. But lets face it, a 16 year will give you a list of what they want, but at the end of the day, they’ll drive anything (including a riding lawn mower with doors and a windshield) just to get the freedoms that come with having a car. As we get older, our expectations of a car’s design change as our needs change and we learn and demand more about stringent requirements for safety, performance and other features.

The hot topic now is of course fuel efficiency, as environmental concerns increase and we watch fuel costs skyrocket close to prices that would force the average person to either resort to a life of organized crime or going online and selling grilled cheese sandwiches with the image of the Virgin Mary burnt on the top. Governments have laid down the law when it comes to carbon emissions and there is hope and need for fuel efficiency reform for car manufacturers. This has challenged engineers to evaluate fuel efficiency, the carbon footprint of a car, and designers now have a new list of requirements and goals that they have in designing “greener” cars. This is not a simple task for car companies, especially for American car companies that saw a significant slump in sales even before the environmental and fuel concerns were put in the spotlight. The priority for the designer is now maintaining a stylish edge while being conducive to aerodynamics and environmental regulations.

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Lauren Teo
Freelance Writer

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