Chrysler at CES: Synthesis Concept Demonstrates Future Interior Design

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

If you were hoping that Chrysler would show off a new model at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, well we've got disappointing news for you.


Chrysler is instead showing off a two-seat interior concept called Synthesis.

The press release is buzzword-heavy, with the phrase "Harmony in Motion" being highlighted. Translated into plain English, Chrysler is using the Synthesis concept to show how its future interior designs will be representative of harmony throughout the entire car-buying and ownership process.

Yeah, we're rolling our eyes, too. At least at the marketing speak -- there is newsworthy stuff here.

Basically, Chrysler will get to be the first Stellantis brand to get a new type of interior design, one that Stellantis says is sustainable and also will use "Smart Cockpit" and "AutoDrive" tech.

“For nearly 100 years, Chrysler has created ingenious products and technologies for mainstream customers, and Chrysler will continue that legacy of innovation as the first to launch the STLA Smart Cockpit in North America. The Chrysler Synthesis shown at CES 2023 represents the future of Chrysler brand design, technology, and customer experience, by introducing customer-centric design and intuitive, seamlessly connected technology for real life,” said Chris Feuell, Chrysler brand CEO – Stellantis, in a statement. “Chrysler is focused on delivering ‘Harmony In Motion’ for every aspect of the customer experience with the product, technology, purchase and ownership experiences, resulting in harmony with the planet, our products and services and customer experiences.”

Chrysler/Stellantis does take the opportunity to remind us that the brand plans to have its first EV ready for 2025 and that it plans to have its lineup be all-electric by 2028. Also, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares will give the keynote speech at CES on Thursday.

The release is heavier on buzzwords than specifics, at least at first, but we assume "connected technology" refers to smartphone-type tech such as apps and "AutoDrive" refers to autonomous driving tech.

We appear to assume correctly, as part of the showcase is a 37.2-inch infotainment screen. The system can learn drivers' preferences over time and thus change the UX, and over-the-air updates are available.

"Connected" also means that the system has a virtual personal assistant -- think Siri -- that can do things like sync calendars, automatically update, allow drivers to focus on other tasks if the car is being driven autonomously, find parking and charging options, and help people shop via e-commerce.

As usual, those are just concept-car promises, meaning they should be taken with a decent-size helping of salt until production versions exist.

As for "AutoDrive", it refers to Level 3 self-driving.

The interior is chrome-free, and sustainable materials, according to Chrysler, include vegetable-tanned seats and a recycled melange heather instrument panel, which is built from 100 percent post-industrial and ocean plastics. Another key item is "responsibly sourced" walnut flooring. There's also LED lighting.

If you're at CES this week, you can check it out.

[Image: Chrysler]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 8 comments
  • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Jan 05, 2023

    "its future interior designs will be representative of harmony throughout the entire car-buying and ownership process"

    So we will sit in the vehicle to run through the four-square?

    • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Jan 05, 2023

      Section 6 of this article might be worth a read. But then again it is 16 years old and probably doesn't reflect anything happening in 2023; sorry for wasting your time.


  • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Jan 05, 2023

    I actually felt physically ill after reading that load of bovine fecal material!


    A holder of a marketing degree or someone who cleans out a pig pen: which one shovels more..you know..in a year?!

  • Olivehead The Honda Civic wins on looks and interior material quality and style. The Civic looks like a scaled down "real" car (i.e., midsize) while the Corolla never lets you forget what it is-a compact car, harkening back to the Tercel, etc. No comparision either in the interior materials of the Civic (a notch below Acura level) and general layout. There too, the Corolla comes off as a compact runabout. The Civic hatchback is especially cool.
  • Mike Beranek While the product may appear to be "better", only time will tell. The American automotive environment can chew a car up and spit it out. Will these Chinese EVs survive like a quarter-century old Cavalier, or will they turn out like VinFast's "cars"?
  • Mike Beranek This police vehicle will be perfect for when the State of Florida starts tracking every pregnancy.
  • Dave M. The Highlander hybrid, a larger, heavier vehicle, gets better mpgs. Why? Also, missed opportunity - if Toyota had made this a hatchback, they could have scooped up the "want a Tesla S but not ready for a full EV" crowd, however small or large they may be....
  • TheMrFreeze Difficult call...the more the mainstream automakers discontinue their more affordable models and only sell crazy overpriced EVs and trucks, the more appealing the idea of letting in cheap imported cars becomes with the buying public. If the government is going to impose tariffs on Chinese vehicles, at the same time they need to be getting with the Big 3 and telling them to fill the void with affordable models and not use the tariff as an excuse to simply raise prices. Otherwise, public pressure could see the tariffs withdrawn.I seem to recall the last administration put a 25% tariff on Chinese steel, at which point the US manufacturers immediately used the opportunity to raise their prices 25%...that needs to not happen.
Next