Ten Features that Redefine Automotive Luxury

The handcrafted extravagance and sumptuous, expensive materials that once set luxury vehicles apart are giving way to a new breed of amenities. Luxury is going electronic.

Superior craftsmanship and materials, such as rare woods, high-end leathers and chrome accents, still rank high on consumers’ wish lists and continue to define luxury vehicles, but the convenience and pervasiveness of consumer electronics and computer-driven innovations is prompting manufacturers to focus on new technology to create a luxurious experience.

Compounding this is the fact that now even the most basic cars include amenities once reserved for high-end vehicles. Power windows, heated seats and navigation systems are becoming common in the mass market. As a result, a new spate of exclusive high-tech amenities is now taking hold.

“The automotive marketplace is in a state of transition,” says Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates. “Two years ago, navigation started being introduced into the compact market.”

The Human-Machine Interface

As more technology is added to every vehicle and drivers bring various portable electronic devices with them, automakers are focusing on creating centralized systems to control it all without overwhelming the driver. The buzzword for this is the “human-machine interface,” or HMI. “The industry has become sophisticated and craftsmanship has become a given. The next frontier is HMI,” says Mike Warsaw, vice president of industrial design and marketing for Johnson Controls, a parts supplier to major automotive manufacturers that helps develop new technology on vehicles. “It’s about having all of your technology working seamlessly and achieving a level of harmony within your vehicle.”

HMI streamlines the control of and interaction with consumer electronics such as mobile phones, portable audio players, USB memory sticks and navigation into a single gateway inside the vehicle.

“I think generally luxury buyers want to have the latest and greatest,” says John Howell, product director for Cadillac. “It’s important for them to be on the leading edge. The cutting edge is being able to use various consumer electronics. We can’t change or innovate cars fast enough.” Offering a cohesive control system for multiple features is one way carmakers are trying to stay ahead of innovations in aftermarket and consumer electronics.

Each luxury manufacturer touts a different sort of HMI hub for climate control, navigation, audio, DVD and mobile phone systems. For example, BMW has iDrive, Audi has Multi-Media Interface and Mercedes-Benz has Command. Each one integrates the disparate vehicle systems differently and with varying degrees of success. BMW with its iDrive has sought to reduce controls to one main knob that manipulates menus on a screen. Acura, Infiniti and Lexus take a different approach with myriad buttons, switches and knobs for every conceivable function. Audi and Mercedes-Benz blend a large knob with multiple dedicated controls.

All of these HMI systems do have something in common: They’re still only found on luxury vehicles.

Gadgets Galore

The gadgets that HMI systems command are proving appealing to consumers. The New Vehicle Experience Study conducted by Strategic Vision, an independent automotive research firm, found that among 47,000 owners of 2007 model year vehicles surveyed, the latest luxury-oriented gadgets, such as heated and cooled seats, keyless start and premium audio systems, ranked in the top 20 most important features, just behind more commonplace items like anti-lock brakes, leather and power seats.

“To be luxury it has to do something useful,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision. “These people are looking for things that make driving safe or fun.”

Laptop-like capabilities such as onboard hard drives to download MP3 music files are among the latest innovations. “You can take the CDs and burn them with up to four gigabytes of information on the new 2008 C-Class,” says Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Rob Moran. “It’s the first car that we have that has it. I think people are getting more sophisticated in their choices.” Chrysler and Mitsubishi already offer hard-drive storage capabilities on certain models.

Form and Function

Another emerging trend in automotive luxury is a heightened sense of ambiance, illustrated by the demand for high-end audio systems and interior LED lighting that makes the car feel more like a home setting. Lexus spokesperson Greg Thome says that this trend drove the company’s partnership with the high-end audio firm Mark Levinson. “For some people, the sound system they listen to in their car is more important than the sound system in their home,” Thome says.

While luxurious materials remain important, the composition of these textiles is expected to change along with consumer tastes for comfort and design. “Leathers in general are at the top of the list,” says Cadillac product director Howell, but adds that new materials are emerging. “You’re going to see more organic and sustainable things like bamboo.” Howell also mentions a new type of synthetic leather called "protein vinyl" that will make its way to vehicles. "Essentially, it’s a material that uses a certain amount of animal material ground up and mixed in with non-organic material so that you get a hybrid material that’s somewhere between leather and vinyl," he says.

Technology also plays a key role in the demand for more practical features that affect ride quality and safety by responding automatically to driving conditions. Adaptive cruise control and headlights are increasingly in demand.

Go to the slideshow to read about ten of the latest features favored by luxury carmakers that are expected to be top draws in 2008 and beyond.

Matthew de Paula contributed to this article.