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Vehicle Dashboards as Modern Art

June 7, 2012 By Nadeem Muaddi

As automakers continue to push the boundaries of interior design, it’s not surprising to see the public transition from viewing the cabin as just another place to sit to a form of modern art. And why not? Most already view vehicle exteriors in this way.

Pop culture magazine Out of Order recently took a look at these emerging masterpieces – focusing specifically on the changing face of vehicle dashboards. The concept designs they highlighted range from modern to space age.

Avi Abrams, author of the piece in Out of Order, explains:

Modern dashboards are significantly more than just arrangements of knobs and dials around a steering wheel. At their best, new concept dashboards feel more like clouds of futuristic worlds, enveloping the driver and lifting him into a stratosphere of high style and impeccable taste.

Granted, some of the recent concept dashboards are so wildly bizarre that it’s hard to imagine yourself “easing into” such an environment, much less simply concentrating on driving. Other dashboards seem to be designed only to “buck the trend” and come up with something radical and shocking that rival companies have not tried yet. (Fresh concepts are expected to appear every year at different auto shows, making automotive design a highly dynamic and competitive field). And yet, there are plenty of fantastic dashboards to be found in modern concept cars to inspire and excite the most demanding of drivers. [more]

Below are six of the designs featured in Out of Order:

For more concept dashboards to be inspired by, check out Out of Order.

Filed Under: Archive, Concepts & Designs Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, Dashboard

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Geoff says

    June 7, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    I’m just waiting to see a car driven entirely by X-Box controller or a touch screen. I just know I would spend the entire time driving the Mazda (second from the bottom) thinking it waa an X-Wing, madly pushing the steering wheel with my thumbs, making ‘pew-pew’ noises.

    • Nadeem says

      June 7, 2012 at 6:28 pm

      Haha that would be awesome! With the advent of ‘augmented reality’ windshields and Google’s ‘autonomous car’, I bet it’s not too far off…

  2. Naseem Muaddi says

    June 8, 2012 at 12:23 am

    I love the first picture of the Buick. The color combination is perfect. Combining blue and white can sometimes look gaudy but this was very tastefully done.

    I like to see automakers experimenting with different colors. Nowadays everything is beige and grey, too boring.

  3. Eddie williams says

    October 5, 2014 at 6:13 am

    I want a fiberglass dash for 92 buick roadmaster

  4. Stevie mcgarity says

    January 20, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    Need a custom dashboard for a 1971 satellite ASAP

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