Can Millennials build a car that Millennials will actually buy?
We've spilled a lot of virtual ink discussing Generation Y (aka Millennials) and their love/hate relationship with cars. Among the findings in recent years:
- Millennials .
- Millennials aren't buying cars, but their parents are probably聽.
- Millennials .
- Millennials aren't driving as much as they should be, and .
Understandably, these doom-and-gloom predictions have automakers worried . Some are planning for a future filled with . Others insist that, no, , just give them time and they'll come around. The latter have occasionally attempted to create cars just for Millennials, .
And so, the younguns have taken matters into their own hands. According to , a team of grad-student engineers at Clemson University recently pulled the wraps off a long-awaited new car, built as a concept for Mazda.
Dubbed "Deep Orange 3", the vehicle looks like many other concepts at auto shows, right down to the itsy-bitsy, would-never-get-approved side-view mirrors and the lack of door handles. But there is something fairly unique about the car: it's a six-seater.
Apparently, Millennial drivers want to carry around exactly six people -- not five, like you could fit in a sedan, and not seven, which would require an SUV or minivan. They want seats for six. (Related prediction: triple-dating will be a thing in the future.)
To make that happen, they've designed a car that seats three folks up front and three in the back. (What that does for dating, we can't say.) Rather than including a bench up front to accommodate a third person, the team dropped a bucket seat right in the middle of the row.
Inelegant? Maybe. Awkward? Probably so. But remember, people said the same thing about texting when it debuted, and look at that awesome technology now, right Mr. Weiner?
You can see some stills of the Deep Orange 3 in the short clip embedded above. For additional details, you'll have to , which for reasons we can't explain, isn't embeddable.聽
We fully applaud the Clemson team's work, even if it's not yet perfect. How about you? What constructive criticism would you offer? Is the Deep Orange 3 on the mark, or is it another case of ? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[h/t ]
