The driver’s seat may be on the left side, but it has long rested at the center of the way cars are designed. The basic interior setup derives from that of the horse-drawn carriage, with ready access to acceleration, steering, and braking systems, 360-degree visibility, and the necessary sightlines over the power source in front.
The forces reshaping the nature of transportation are conspiring to shift that focus away from the driver—first toward the rear row, and eventually toward a kind of vehicle that defies conventions like front and back seats.
As traffic increases and commute times extend, consumers with money to spend (especially in China) are hiring chauffeurs and retiring to the back seat. Look, for example, at the introduction into the American market of long-wheelbase, rear-seat biased vehicles like the BMW 5-Series GranTurismo or the Volvo S60 Inscription, originally developed for Chinese buyers.
The booming ridehailing industry brings the same backseat luxury to the masses, and so automakers are creating vehicles with users other than the driver in mind. New vehicles developed for that new use, from Nissan’s NV200 “Taxi of Tomorrow” to Faraday Future’s FF91, deliver outrageous rear legroom for their size.
“Consumers are spending more time in their vehicles, and they’re traveling on roads that are more congested,” says Michael Harley, analyst for industry research firm Kelley Blue Book. “We are sitting idle, expecting to be pampered, informed, and entertained.”
The changes won’t stop there. The rise of electric propulsion will let more and more designers rethink how they shape their vehicles, without a bulky engine up front or a transmission tunnel running through the car’s center. They can move the passenger compartment forward toward the front wheels and extend it backward toward the rears. In effect, they can make small cars feel bigger. The all-electric Chevrolet Bolt, for example, is a compact car that easily accommodates six-foot-tall adults in its backseat.
Some design conventions will persist—like a smartphone camera’s ersatz shutter…
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