GM's Vice-President of Global Design, Ed Welburn expressed his interest on vehicles with timeless designs, cars that will last in the auto market. Welburn said that his company can achieve this by creating cars with simple design and bold lines like a classic tailored suit. After the showcase of the Opel Flextreme in the Frankfurt auto show, Welburn further discussed the enduring designs of GM in an interview with the autonews.com.

Here is the full grasp of the interview:
 
Will the Opel Flextreme serve as a model for the design of future Opel, and thus Saturn, products?

Absolutely. This concept shows the core of Opel from a design perspective. You have flowing surfaces. There are no parallel lines on the surface of the vehicle. Everything flows. Everything has a sweep feeling. And it's done in a very creative way. The upper kind of tapers and it has fit, which is very much part of the Opel design. The very signature headlamps are so strong. What is true for Opel is true for Saturn. That relationship is not a short-term fit for Saturn brands. This is our strategy going forward.

Can you be edgy and stand out without being garish or designing something that doesn't have staying power?

Our design has to age gracefully, not just for the vehicle but for what it does to the brand. Vehicles that don't age gracefully do a lot of damage.

A good example of getting it right is with the first-generation CTS. When it hit the market, it had a real edge to it. The public accepted it quicker than the journalists did. Sales continued to grow over time.

So often a vehicle is hot and then cools off. CTS sales continue to grow. It had a real edge, but it was a very clean design. I love strong design, bold design, but it still has to be clean. As you get the right architecture and the right proportions, you don't have to resort to all sorts of theater and makeup to make it look hot.

The Camaro design is bold, but can it stay fresh?
It's very clean, it's very contemporary and has great proportions. I think it's a somewhat timeless design. I worked closely with the team to ensure this design stays fresh in the marketplace. I am going to be watching it very closely. It has a broader potential in the marketplace than just the traditional Camaro folks.

I think it has the legs for five years, but I think there are things you can do to keep it fresh. You can't just push it out the door and say you got to come back in five years.

How long does the design process take from beginning to end?
Every program is different, and every car company starts the clock at a different place. Some car companies spend years doing research, maybe five or eight years, and then they start the clock going in the final production and it goes 18 or 24 months � when it's really a six- or seven-year program.

How do you make a vehicle look more expensive than it is priced?
We've done a lot on interiors. We had to go back to the basics of fundamental interior design and build on that and be creative. The CTS and the Enclave have interiors that look much more expensive. The customer needs to feel very comfortable and very secure in the interior. It has to be a very spacious interior.

The CTS is a good example where overall the dimensions did not change, but the interior feels much more spacious. The instrument panel was moved back four inches and lowered. The front seats are thinner; the back seats are styled to give the passengers in the rear the feeling of far more room.

How will the Volt influence design?
As we move forward in this development, there are aspects of the design that I think will become even better than the concept that we revealed. With this particular vehicle and its technology, aerodynamics are extremely important. As we continue to develop the final body shape for production, aerodynamics will have an influence on this design and in many ways make it a more appealing design. And I know that what we learn from our aero studies on that vehicle will have an influence on other trucks and vehicles.

What about Hummer? Can you do much with the design without losing that distinct Hummer flavor?
Yes.

How?
Early on, many of us thought that the design statement the H2 made would just last forever. It's an iconic design, so how would you change it at all? But we're seeing that there is room for movement to make the design fresher, and what we've got going in the studio makes the very first H2 look dated. I believe the work we're doing for Hummer really cleans it up, makes it look much more modern. But we don't lose any of that strength or the bold, rugged, off-road character that we love. In no way would we want to make it fragile. 

Hybrid technology is said to be the future of our transportation. Every automaker is launching hybrid versions of their vehicle every now and then to respond to the increasing demands of the consumers for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle gets power from a dual source, a battery pack and its fuel engine. After electric power dries up, the fuel engine kicks in therefore increasing fuel efficiency and lowering CO2 emissions. So if you are a hybrid vehicle owner, you have to really take care of your car because it's not just the average one.

From ezinearticles.com, here are some helpful tips for you:

Hybrid Car Maintenance Tips

• Batteries: Battery packs designed for hybrid vehicles are manufactured to last for the lifetime of the car. This can be as long as 150,000 to 200,000 miles and up, although warranties on batteries generally are usually between eight to ten years and vary by manufacturer.
• As more and more mechanics are learning how to properly service and repair hybrid vehicles, the less owners have to take their cars back to the dealer to be serviced. Maintenance costs for hybrid cars are generally the same as they are for other vehicles, and may even be less, as there is considerably less wear and tear on these types of engines as opposed to conventional gasoline engines.
• One of the best ways to avoid the need for having your car repaired for some reason is to have it serviced on a regular basis.
• If you don't plan on driving your hybrid car for a period of more than three months, experts recommend starting the vehicle for about a half hour every 90 days. Leaving the car dormant for more than three months may require a charge to the battery by a professional mechanic.

Energy Saving Driving Tips

• Maintain your speed: Maintaining a constant speed, without unnecessarily accelerating, allows for the most fuel efficiency. Energy is used every time you speed up, energy that's also wasted when the car slows down again.
• Slow down: It's a proven fact that the faster you go, the more aerodynamic drag there is on a car, which essentially slows it down causing the car to work harder and use more energy. Speeds at 50 mph or about 81 kph have a drag force that's half of what it would be if you were going 70 mph or 113 kph instead.
• Avoid stopping abruptly: Abruptly stopping a hybrid vehicle mostly uses power from the brakes. However, if you allow for ample braking time, it gives the electric part of the motor a chance to recover some energy while slowing the car down, energy that can then be reused.
• As with any vehicle, suddenly accelerating is a waste of energy, and a hybrid is no different. Most hybrids will stay in an all "electric mode" until the car reaches about 15 miles per hour. If you accelerate slowly from there, the car is able to stay in that energy saving mode up until as much as 30 mph, saving gasoline and saving the environment of harmful emissions.

Safety Issues

• Towing: It is generally recommended to use a tow dolly when towing a hybrid vehicle as many of them, including the Toyota Prius, require that the front wheels be off the ground. Some hybrid cars indicate that nothing should be towed behind the vehicle, although there are those that clearly state their specific towing capacity, which of course should be strictly adhered to for safety reasons.
• Several hybrid vehicles come standard with airbags, but it's always a good idea to check with the manufacturer to see if the specific types of airbags you're looking for are offered in the model you're interested in.
• Crash tests: Most hybrid cars rank rather high in safety ratings in comparison with other vehicles of a similar weight and have an impressive customer satisfaction rate as well.

Quick Facts About Hybrid Cars

• When a hybrid is stopped, the gasoline portion of the engine shuts off and the electric motor takes over.
• Hybrid cars are lighter and generally more aerodynamic than conventional cars.
• Tires on hybrids are usually stiffer and are inflated higher than tires on regular cars.