Designer: Dump Archaic Automotive Terms

Cars and trucks are designed to last 15 or 20 years in the marketplace. Yet consumer electronics such as cell phones and MP3 players become obsolete in a year or two. So, how do you make automotive interiors that can integrate with such devices year after year?

Auto makers worldwide are struggling with this issue, but Mark Dziersk, a renowned design consultant who is not an industry insider, has a suggestion: Get rid of the archaic terminology.

Speaking at an industry seminar organized by Siemens VDO Automotive, Dziersk, senior vice president-design for Herbst LaZar Bell Inc., suggests that if auto makers want to be perceived as innovators and merge into the world of iPods, BlackBerrys and Razr phones, they should stop using terminology from the days of the horseless carriage, such as “glove box.”

It may be a comfortable term for auto industry lifers, but to outsiders, Ziersk says it just sounds silly.