Road and Driver

Among GM’s many future-product announcements today is The Lab. It’s essentially a website where consumers can give GM feedback on future vehicle designs—think of it as a virtual focus group for cars.

In a video on the site, design strategist Wade Bryant explains that building eco-friendly cars means getting into the heads of consumers who will buy them. The so-called Eco Initiative is aimed at getting consumers to tell GM what they want in green cars. In theory, that’ll help the company build green cars people actually want to buy.

The Lab will also show off design studies and prototypes to gauge customer reactions. Currently on show are the Bare Necessity Truck and Bare Necessity Car. The truck’s designed for people who absolutely need a truck for their job, but want something more fuel-efficient. Hybrid engines and weight savings are the key ingredients, as well as eliminating non-essential features and more durable parts. The bulkhead between payload bed and cab can also move to alternate between large bed/small cab and small bed/ large cab based on driver need—à la Chevy Avalanche.

The Bare Necessity Car has a simple goal: to have the lowest cost per mile for any four-seat vehicle. To that end, it’s small and designed to have as few parts as necessary, all of which are built from lightweight materials. GM’s banking on drivers making vehicular sacrifices in order to be more eco-friendly.

For now, both concepts are pretty far-out and miles from production, but we’re curious to see what will come of the ideas exchanged between consumers and designers at The Lab.

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