Seeking The Sweet Spot

VEHICLE TRENDSSeeking The Sweet Spot

LAS VEGAS (Jan. 25, 2006) - When Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates shares, those serious about riding future consumer trends to profitability listen. Visteon Corp. was there to listen, to learn and to showcase some of the very types of products Gates envisioned.

What happens as consumer demands accelerate?

Gates began the keynote address at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month in Las Vegas by saying, "Now, we talk about this as the decade of Digital Lifestyles ..." He went on to describe his vision of where we are headed, what will fuel the progress and what vehicles will drive industries from here to there.

His vision included applications and infotainment that could be provided to the screens and devices consumers travel with: improved high definition audio and video streaming, seeing who one is calling, personal security and safety, navigation, Web broadcast movies and television, education, business meetings and more. Central to this transition was a dedication to enhancing multimedia portability, dockability and flexibility to not only increase usage by consumers, but to also empower consumer personalization to a degree unseen before.

The shift of consumer electronics from basic and simple personal uses, to ones that integrate solutions to fit consumer lifestyles is being fueled by several factors. Improved memory, stronger and sturdier hardware, software advances in speed and traffic capacity, structuring products in a manner that optimizes portability - these themes would enable products and applications to evolve from consumer destinations into lifestyle journeys. Being user-centric in design and development is one key. Maximizing the opportunity to use these products throughout the day is the other.

Reconfigurable Instrument Panel Concept
(Photo: Visteon)

To get there, companies are going to have to reach beyond themselves and form key partnerships with others to combine their strengths and visions to weave new customer-centric products from the expertise each has developed. Gates called this "interactivity." It is a generation above what we've come to know as corporate alliances. For in the fast moving lanes of technological development, the accelerating pace of consumer expectations and demands requires companies to cooperate to deliver products that hit consumer "sweet-spots" before their time has passed by.

Where is it all headed? Visteon says it has traction in two key channels in the industry - the OEMs and the aftermarket. The company also knows that consumer feedback is integral to current and future success. To that end, it provided two exhibits for consumers at CES: One demonstrating the company's OEM-targeted electronics and the other its aftermarket mobile electronics solutions. With two exhibits featuring the latest in electronics, interiors and climate control technologies, Visteon says the reactions and dialogue with consumers provides it with real-world feedback and a reading of the pulse of consumer expectations.

The OEM-focused booth demonstrated mood-setting vehicle interior styling applications, connectivity innovations and other interior applications such as iPod capability, USB connectivity, a dockable audio player, a dockable DVD/gaming/media center, customized instrument cluster gauges, a reconfigurable instrument panel concept, advanced satellite radio applications, streaming audio, wireless charging, next generation wireless radio head units, LED lighting and more.

Customizable Gauge Cluster
(Photo: Visteon)

The cluster gauges allow owners to select from a number of gauges those that appeal to them. The gauges chosen are displayed in the center screen, immediately in front of the driver. Figure 2 illustrates a reconfigurable instrument panel concept, and based on customer feedback, the company expects a similar product to be available in the near future.

At its automotive aftermarket booth, Visteon targeted today's tech-savvy and mobile consumers by highlighting specialty automotive electronics. The applications displayed included the next-generation dockable family entertainment system, a hands-free Bluetooth wireless phone kit and a full range of audiophile-quality sound systems.

Dockable Family Entertainment
(Photo: Visteon)

The company's Dockable Family Entertainment system is an aftermarket system that combines in-car video and Nintendo gaming experiences for almost any passenger vehicle. The new media system features a 10.2-inch screen, and can play any DVD-based movie or any one of over 750 Nintendo Game Boy Advance games. The center also has ports for camcorders and other electronic devices, as well as a port to attach a handheld Game Boy, allowing two players to interact. With OEM fit and performance, the system can be undocked from the headliner and moved to other locations - another vehicle, plane, train, outdoors, recreational vehicle or even at home.

For companies like Visteon, meeting the challenge of staying in the sweet-spot going forwards requires dialogue. A manufacturer must apply not only what it knows about automobiles, but also what it has learned and used from its relationships with suppliers and consumers. It's what interactivity is all about - in a sense that place where the sum of one plus one is more than two. It's a bit like drafting in a NASCAR race, where two or three cars chasing the leader can travel faster and overtake the leader with more fuel to spare than they could have alone.

(Sources: Visteon Corp., CES)