Jesus take the wheel

cars: performance, safety, and value, to get the seven design themes that guided designers and engineers working on the Element. Several different activities were then conducted simultaneously. Designers sketched several new versions of a bold new exterior appearance. Meanwhile, engineers worked on building in adaptability, focusing on fold-away seats that provided plenty of cargo or sleeping space when folded. Side doors were attached in such as way as to permit easier entry and exit, and the tailgate was also redesigned in a “clamshell” shape to improve access. A removable moon roof would allow the user to carry a tall piece of furniture vertically, with the top part sticking out. Armed with sketches of their progress so far, team members (both engineers and marketers) visited several universities and met with male students at frat houses. After obtaining feedback, they made adjustments and were able to achieve many “quick-turn” improvements. To get top management support for the Element, the product team invited Honda executives to San Onofre Surf Beach in California, together with several Gen Y university students, for a weekend camping trip. The group discussed Gen Y lifestyle as well as car issues. The team felt that top management would support the project if they “lived the life” of the target user. It worked. The top executives were convinced of the value of the Element to the Honda car line, and the project got approval. A launch date of late 2003 was chosen. Once the project was approved, stylists updated their sketches, quarter-size clay models were built, and eventually full-size prototypes were created and submitted to top executives for approval. At the same time, a user group of 30 men in the target age group, all living near Honda’s Design Center in Torrance, California, was selected. They also reviewed sketches and prototypes, and gradually a design that this group found really interesting was fi nalized. Here is where Honda’s platform experience