User-intensive cars; design contributions for more sustainable approaches to personal transportation

Social changes in Europe and increase in urban population globally may generate new opportunities to develop different forms of personal transportation and ownership models, e.g. reducing the number of cars. Different solutions have been suggested in order to reduce their environmental burden. There is currently little evidence on whether user-intensive cars are fit for purpose or overcome issues such as ownership, cleanliness, and performance under different driving styles. This paper presents initial findings from ten interviews concerning user-intensive passenger cars with industry representatives such as car designers and engineers. It identifies, mainly from a design and development point of view, the barriers and opportunities to user-intensive vehicles. This will contribute to a better understanding of the car as a user-intensive product shared by a number of consumers as opposed to the dominant model of private ownership