The Idea Blog

I’m finishing Friedman’s Hot, Flat and Crowded during my first few days on Sanibel Island this month. It’s a natural progression from The World Is Flat to this study of what we need to be doing now.

As I was wrapping up the last few pages of the book, I coincidentally came upon this article in BusinessWeek about Ford’s plans to offer many environmentally-friendly autos by 2012, including next year what will likely be a particularly popular Fusion hybrid. Seems Ford learned through its work with Ideo that hybrid owners really get off on how efficient their cars and they can be, almost to the point of competition.

“Our big finding was that drivers interested in fuel efficiency were playing a game. They want a high score,” says Steve Bishop, IDEO’s global lead of sustainability.

“To create an interface based on the research,” the article says, “Ford worked with New York-based Smart Design, known for creating the best-selling Flip camcorder for Pure Digital Technologies (BusinessWeek, 4/17/08). In early 2007 a team of 10 Ford engineers and Smart designers went to work in the automaker’s Dearborn (Mich.) labs. The group created prototype dashboard concepts that were uploaded to Ford’s Vertex driving simulator, an auto cockpit surrounded by massive video screens, the car version of a NASA flight simulator.”

If they can survive the coming months as GM and Chrysler, perhaps, go down, Ford may be well-positioned going forward.