Ford NAIAS 2005 Concepts - Interior Design Review

The concept behind the SYNus is a tongue-in-cheek look at the needs of young future city-dwellers from its miniature Brinks truck / bank-safe-on-wheels exterior to the contrast of its interior: a flexible lounge / love pad / bedroom-on-wheels.

The Fairlane concept goes beyond the mini-van or the SUV and, according to J Mays, is based on “rewriting the people mover story, offering a more upscale vehicle for American families, whether they’re traveling to a concert with friends, or to the cottage for a weekend getaway.”

The Shelby GR-1 could be an effort to build on the GT platform and recoup some of Ford’s investment in time and money. It was first shown in Pebble Beach but it was refinished for the NAIAS in a mirror-like polished aluminum skin that enhances its luscious sculptural sportscar shape. This is Ford’s performance car for the future.

The contrast between the interiors of the cars is marked. Where the Fairlane has a three-row seating setup typical for people movers, the aim in designing the interior of the Synus was to avoid having rows of seats and to make the interior as flexible as possible. “I find the concept of three rows of seats confining,” says SYNus interior designer Joe Baker, “the most flexible creative space is one with nothing in it.” His main source of inspiration came from a photo of a Verner Panton lounge of the sixties. Thus the symmetrical shape of the SYNus’s front seat backs which are mounted independently on rails, allowing them to slide from back to front independent of the cushion. Thereby the front seat occupants can face rearward forming a conversation pit. The backs of the rear seats are covered with memory foam and can fold flat providing the rearward facing front seat passengers with footrests and an unrestricted view of the LCD screen at the back. Or the occupants can forsake the seats altogether and just ‘hang’, leaning up against more memory foam at the side back walls.

The unconventional aspect of the Ford Fairlane interior is the airplane-inspired seating concept. In the front ‘cockpit’ minimal sporty seats are sculpted to support the driver. Larger, club-type seats allow the passengers in ‘First Class’, the second row, to experience a more relaxing living room type environment that emphasizes the vehicle’s upscale aspirations. These seats are unique, offering reclining angles similar to those in business class and storage with four separate bins including one in each armrest.

The third row zone, denoted as business class but more a combination economy class and cargo hold, was designed with maximum utility and flexibility in mind. Where the back of the front seats are covered in wicker to accentuate the living room feel, the backs of the second and third row seats are covered in stainless steel for the purely functional aspect of providing a spacious load floor when folded.