Assignment

The good news is, as long as one dreams, one can afford everything. On this subject therefore, the interior of the most expensive (2006), serial production car at the moment, should be shown here, the Bugatti Veyron W16. However, also the average consumer does not need to grieve, because the interior of the vehicles has undergone a substantial development. On the bodywork, small badges are sometimes found: 'designed by...'. Actually, this should apply to the interior creation as well, since it is here, at the manufacturers, that teams of numerous people with artistic acclaim, are at work.

Function

Actually, it is quite reasonable to chose a particular vehicle, primarily, from the seat position and the dashboard configuration, since from this point of view, you'll experience it most frequently. The remaining interior, which has incidently, become more and more roomy, is more interesting for the passengers.

One could compare the seat covers to those of the furniture in the home, however, the demands are far higher. After all, who has an armchair with snuggly fitting lateral support which requires that you approach it from the side every time you sit down?, or who folds the back-rest uncountable times forwards and backwards again? The armchairs are also not subjected to additional constant vertical movements which strain the covers, apart from sweat, moisture and perhaps chocolate crumbs which somehow, found their way onto the seats during a trip. The material should be relatively easy to clean and of course, be virtually immune to the rays of the sun. Up to now, we haven't even spoken of health compatibility at all. If all this is taken into consideration, it's not surprising, that the first impression will have a deciding influence on the decision to purchase a car. So, design is in demand, not too shocking, not too modest, since this is what the car- buyers will have to show for their money if they take someone for a drive. Sometimes buying a car starts with being taken for drive.

Buyers have also become increasingly critical when the looking at the dashboard. For a while the manufacturers tried to save money here. However, those horrible, absolutely un-padded synthetic monsters, with always the same, implied grained surface, are mega-out. The eyes want to be pampered, even if one 'only' spends 15,000 Euros on his car. The designers more often also let their hair down here, because they were prohibited from doing so with the bodywork. A good example is the new edition of the Mini. Perhaps the Smart For Four would have also been more successful if the creative appearance of a better quality dashboard had been considered. In this case, not only the seeing, but also feel and touch of the surface, is very important.

Some people try to avoid possible problems, by selecting a leather-covered interior. Leather, in some cases, smells good for a long time, however, it is quite sensitive. Its utility value actually increases more and more with age. There are, according to vehicle category, three possibilities. With cheaper cars one pays a juicy surcharge and may, at best, select the colour. What one receives mostly, are only covered seats and door- linings. High-range manufacturers offer the choice between simple extras, and several types of leather with very high class names, which cost almost twice as much. One recognises a real super-class model by the fact that one can select the covering from a multitude of presented samples and in the end is practically able to trace it back to the cow who gave up her hide, which brings us back to the above picture.

Supplement

Who actually, struck on the ridiculous idea of equipping a car, for an increased price of course, with lighter and lighter-coloured leg-room material. These vehicles can really only be driven from one red carpet to the next.