Howzabout…

For me, the promise of the Internet has always been the way it can foster global communities in which the anonymity of the experience allows ideas to stand on their own merit, no longer limited by people’s inability to discount their preconceived notions and biases concerning the concept’s creator. On the Web it doesn’t matter if you’re a Man or Woman; Young or Old; Rich or Poor; Black or White (or anything else), if your idea is a good one it can be recognized as such. Forgive me for waxing philosophical, but this virtual, global think tank approach seems a pretty big step towards a true marketplace of ideas.

In it’s current form, Howzabout.org may seem on the surface to serve the fairly trivial mission of car improvement, but if examined a bit closer you can see that energy policy and personal safety of motorists is more often than not where an “improvement” pays off. With any luck, joining a discussion about how cars could be better will spill over into our other conversations, focusing our collective intellect and energy on how to make all manner of goods and services better as well….

Could a successful business model be developed for a company that manufactured awnings that could be suspended over individual parking spaces? I’m not sure who the market would be, but I do know the sun is the enemy of a paint job as well as the rubber and plastic parts that we use to build automobiles. I also know that capturing the sun’s non-renewable power with solar panels is a potentially huge energy policy improvement. I can image a fairly simple structure of cantilevered tubing and a fuel cell attachment that could feed that parking spot occupant’s battery cell.

This approach could be: a pay lot scenario where you are buying fuel as well as a place to leave your car; the effort of “greener” corporations to do their share to reduce emissions and employee dependence on fossil fuels; or possibly even the contribution of an individual willing to finance their own parking spot’s canopy as a contribution to the growing push towards a more environmentally responsible form of consumerism.

I was speaking to a friend about the idea of having the proposed blinds that would cover an automobile’s windows made out of some form of solar power material. We took it a step further and wondered if car manufacturers couldn’t embed a material like this in the roof of a car. That way we would each be consuming our own energy, which would at least offset the amount of fossil fuels each driver would consume.

UPDATE MAY 6, 2007
Earlier today I ran across this interesting snippet on ESPN.com in the Motorsports review of a car show:

Nissan Bevel Concept
There may be no better definition of a box on wheels than the Nissan Bevel concept – a bread van comes close, but it’s a tie at best. The wheel wells are slightly flared and the nose is pointy, but the majority of the body appears as a block rolling on 20-inch chrome wheels. Mmm, sexy. Up top is a solar panel, which comes in handy when it’s time to power up those circular saws and drills, and forward of the driver is a customizable and moveable console and gauge structure. All that, and it’s still one of the most disturbing visions we endured throughout the 2007 auto show season.

Seems like at least this one reviewer doesn’t see much value in a self-powering car. Too bad, I find it hard to conceive of a downside. Looks like I need to do some reading to get a sense for the overall reaction to this aspect of the car. If you refer back to the original Howzabout idea, you’ll see that in the open letter I address a Mr. Ghosn because he is the innovation-embracing head of Renault. What I didn’t mention was that he is also the CEO of Nissan Motors. A good sign, I should think….

The Problem
An on-board computer interface is ordinarily positioned so that only front seat riders can interact with it effectively, needlessly limiting its potential. Once a car is shut off, the powerful tool that is the navigation system is no longer of use.

The Opportunity
The explosive growth of mobile personal computer products like PDA’s has made it clear that there is a desire for the products we buy to fit into our lives rather than the other way around.

The Insight
Automobiles have an increasingly sophisticated array of computer technologies that have begun to play a greater role in the experience of both drivers and passengers. Talking GPS direction assistance, precise digital monitoring of a car’s performance and systems, and backseat DVD players and gaming systems are a few obvious examples. However, once the engine is shut off, so are these devices. Creating more interactive and flexible interfaces with car computers, and integrating traditional functionality like printers, data ports, and disc burners, goes a long way towards changing this.

The Execution
Wireless keyboards could be imbedded in seatbacks and glove boxes. The GPS navigation interface could display on screens throughout the passenger cabin. An underseat printer could create portable records of information that might be needed after arriving at a destination; digital photos could be printed out as on-the-spot memories of family outings, creating a great leave behind. A digital movie could be streamed from a laptop to the car’s A/V system via FireWire or wirelessly.

The Selling Point
Your automobile can now actually enhance your digital lifestyle rather than put it on hold. Practical applications like printing out directions, coupons and brochures (that tie into online digital mapping databases) give the traveler a greater sense of place, reducing the “outsider” feeling that you are missing out on the best any particular location has to offer. A wonderful tool for rental cars or taxi cabs.

The Incidental Benefits
Passengers would have the ability to help in navigation, which allows the driver to better concentrate on the road, enhancing safety. Being more connected to the outside world, if that is desired, would reduce the loss of potentially productive time to commuting and traffic jams.

The Problem
Most cars and trucks are vulnerable to smash-and-grab theft despite alarm systems. Items “hidden” in the glove box are especially easy pickings, and previously innocuous vehicle documents can now serve as identity theft starter kits.

The Opportunity
Integrate a fireproof compartment beneath car seats for improved protection of valuables and important documentation. Rental cars and trucks seem like ideal candidates for this feature.

The Insight
The main security risk of car ownership is the break in, especially when away from home on vacation. Would-be thieves can easily recognize travelers as flush, easy targets, and it is at these times when a loss of passports, plane tickets or cash can least be afforded.

The Execution
A high-quality, floor-mounted lock box could provide vastly superior security than a typical glove box with next to no reengineering required.

The Selling Point
No elaboration necessary: people don’t like to get ripped off.

The Incidental Benefits
Would create an optimal place for a GPS device of some sort, tucked safely away in case of an emergency. Also provides a secure place to store and carry a handgun, which conceivably could keep it out of the hands of a mischief seeking teen or a true criminal.

The Problem
A light source often comes in handy, especially after sunset, yet even the best prepared of us are sometimes left in the dark, victims to dead batteries.

The Opportunity
Develop an integrated flashlight that utilizes an energy source that charges off the car’s alternator as a standard automotive feature.

The Insight
With such a readily available source of power, there is no reason to risk losing the functionality of a potentially crucial safety device.

The Execution
Design a device that acts as a powered, portable safety kit that is always fully charged in case of an emergency.

The Selling Point
Increased motorist safety and peace of mind.

The Incidental Benefits
In this example the device is a flashlight, but having a power source that can operate independent of the automobile provides a multitude of opportunities. Some examples would include: cell phone charging, mobile GPS transponders, an electric fire starter, and strobe lights for signaling.

The Problem
Super-heated passenger cabins during hot months; very poor heat retention during the cold. “Window shopping” ops for would be thieves.

The Opportunity
Develop a window shade system that reduces the amount of heat gain/loss. Also increases privacy and protection from potentially damaging sun rays.

The Insight
Cars already have the technology in place. We call them windows.

The Execution
Incorporate in-door screens that block sunlight out, or keep warmth in. Could usefully incorporate a screen into the front windshield as well.

The Selling Point
Increased comfort most obviously, then enhanced security/privacy.

The Incidental Benefits
In emergency situations involving extreme conditions this “technology” could buy precious time for a rescue. Less strain on the heating and air conditioning systems would equate with greater fuel efficiency and longer periods between service. In the not-too-distant future these screens could actually be charging a fuel cell through use of solar-panel fabric.

Since the whole point of creating the Howzabout site is to draw the attention of the automobile manufacturing community, I figured we can up our chances by giving them more bang for the buck. Below is a list of proposed improvements and a quick explanation of each. If, upon greater reflection, it turns out one of these ideas warrants more serious attention, we can give it a more thorough treatment.

• Built-in window shades for increased sunblockage, privacy and heat retention
• Integrated flashlight that charges from the alternator for emergency situations
• Underseat, fireproof lock boxes for greater protection of valuables
• Integrated computer technologies in cars enhances a digital lifestyle

Any more car related ideas? Please submit one in a comment, and I’ll figure out a way we can display them better. (I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel here; I’d be appreciative to hear from folks with WordPress experience that have suggestions for how best to handle a growing list of additional new ideas which may take on a life of their own.) Thanks in advance for taking part in building the Howzabout community.

When trying to come up with a great idea, I find that my most outlandish concepts are those based in pure flights of fancy rather than in the more humdrum realm of reality. It may be fun to daydream about cars that drive themselves, but clearly that sort of innovation will require teams of engineers and years (if not decades) of R&D to be realized. And even if the lead time to bring an idea to life isn’t drawn out and expensive, it is well known that people are creatures of habit and that getting us to do new things is very difficult. Instead I find it is more useful to evaluate the ways in which we go about our daily lives and look for opportunities to simplify or enhance actions we already take. Ketchup in a squeeze bottle? Brilliant!

My proposed “Million Dollar” idea is the result of taking this sort of practical approach. Over the years I have witnessed some pretty pathetic moments as shivering smokers brave the elements while feeding their habit in those tiny holding areas in the alleys and breezeways outside smoke-free buildings, huddled together for warmth and emotional support. (I hate to admit it, but I know this from personal experience.) But nothing beats the contorted poses they are forced into when trying to smoke through a barely-cracked car window during a rain storm. It’s a truly sad display of the power of nicotine. And though I think my idea of a steering wheel that can be recessed into the dash to make theft all but impossible is pretty cool, this ashtray thing is probably quite a bit more feasible, dontcha think?

The most typical reaction I get when people first hear about the concept behind Howzabout.org is one of disbelief. Nearly everyone seems to think that creating a website that invites corporations to steal my concept is foolish, and they usually then inform me that they would never be dumb enough to let someone else get rich off their idea. Which has led me to the surprising revelation that everybody and their brother has a can’t miss innovation that would make them fabulously rich, if only they could find the time to work on it. But like Nathan Arizona says, “If a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump its ass a- hoppin’.”

So therein lies the rub: most of us simply won’t ever make an attempt to bring our ideas to life. The reasons are varied, but once you get past lack of conviction you usually end up at time and money (or the lack of both). What constrains an individual doesn’t necessarily constrain a business, however, so many of the obstacles between an inventive thought and its realization are removed if the appropriate people are made aware of the potential innovation. So if you really are interested in creating something new, corporations are a terrific resource. And besides, your idea can’t be stolen if you give it away first.

But it is understandable to question why someone else should profit from my insight. Don’t I want one of my ideas to hit it big and bring my family wealth and financial independence? Of course I do, but I would like to win the lottery as well, and I probably have a better chance of that panning out for me, and I don’t even play! By the time I secured some sort of patent, created a legitimate prototype and gained the audience of a decision maker that actually saw the promise of my proposed innovation, I would have made it closer to the inventor’s Promised Land than most. Yet at that point I would barely be out of the gate! Untold amounts of cash and energy would need to have been poured into the idea, and still the chances of my being ripped off outright would probably be greater than those of my securing a big pay day.

Inventors all have their involved explanations of The One That Got Away, sad stories of how their fame and fortune were unfairly taken from them. I certainly can’t blame anyone that has had that happen to them for feeling resentful and bitter, but I have to be honest, I don’t ever want to find myself commiserating with them.