One Vision for the Future of Chrysler

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Send your design team to hang at a W Hotel. And design the whole thing from the inside out. Don't just design a car. Design an environment that makes people happy.

Small cars need to act big

No two ways about it. Americans delight in the stature, performance, and feeling of security a big car brings. That Arnold Schwarzenegger drives a Hummer and not a Ford Escort is no accident. Small in the U.S. means wimpy and weak. Chrysler can overturn that perception by creating a smaller car that acts big. Delivering that wonderful "I rule the world" feeling without compromising on fuel efficiency and handling is a worthy ambition and a great design brief.

This may also be the way to put big-car margins into the high-volume/low-margin end of the business. For inspiration, you may want to look at the world of wristwatches. The high-end stuff coming out of Switzerland these days looks seriously rough and ready, despite being small enough to fit on your wrist. Size need not dictate stature.

Develop sports cars for the gravitationally challenged

Of course, sometimes stature will dictate size, and I'm not speaking metaphorically. It's a sad reality that for many people, getting in and out of cars and driving comfortably are daily challenges. Car manufacturers have been good at adapting big passenger cars to accommodate the 60 million Americans who are overweight. But they've stopped short of creating a sports car that can comfortably accommodate a larger physique.

As a result, a whole category of cars is basically off-limits to a "growing" number of Americans. This includes boomers who have the money to spend, no need for baby seats in the back, and a desire to cling to any sporty vestige of youth. Only their girth stands in the way. Addressing this reality through innovative design might open up a new vector in passenger and driver comfort, one that would resonate with one fifth of the U.S. population.

After all, there's nothing more embarrassing than having to sell back that European roadster because you can barely swing your legs under the steering wheel.

Geoff Vuleta is CEO of Fahrenheit 212, a specialist consultancy that undertakes innovation assignments for companies including The Coca Cola Company, Warner Music Group, The Hershey Company, Procter & Gamble, Gucci Group, Diageo, and Samsung.