"There will be cup holders," he sighs. "The world wants cup holders. Designers are crying, 'oh shit, another cup holder'." But Jacob is smiling. He knows that cup holders matter. The outside of a car gets all the attention—at first. Yet it is inside that we sit, often for long stretches, and nowadays most of us want to do more than just listen to the radio. (...)
Car design began on June 23rd 1927, when the executive committee of General Motors (GM) met in Detroit and approved the creation of a new department to "study the question of art and colour combinations". Harley Earl, who made customised car bodies for Hollywood stars, was hired as its leader. Over the coming decades, Earl developed the idea of making concept cars, both to get a better idea of what production vehicles would look like and to drum up interest in new models. He also came up with the annual model change and, brilliantly, put tail fins on Cadillacs. Earl was also the first to hire female designers, thus beginning the process of feminising the automobile.
Today GM has 1,900 designers in ten design centres in seven countries. Many are specialists in safety, aerodynamics, materials, colours or ergonomics: there is even a specialist looking after cup holders. Cup holders got going in the 1980s, although some were available well before. The idea came from the spread of drive-in restaurants and cinemas in America, as people parked up and wanted somewhere to put their drink. Now they take the drink for a drive.
Many European carmakers at first resisted fitting cup holders, only to capitulate in time. Some regional differences remain: an American car could have a dozen cup holders, a European one only half that. And the American cup holders are generally bigger (to hold those supersized Cokes). In Asia, the cup holders have to take drinks that come in square containers. (...)
by Paul Markillie, Intelligent Life | Read more:
Illustration: Nick Hardcastle
