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]

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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.

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  • 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?!

  • Jeanbaptiste 2022 Tesla model 3 performance ~35000 miles tires - ~$1000ish. Several cabin filters ~$50
  • El scotto No rag-top, no rag-top(s) = not a prestigious car brand. Think it through. All of the high-end Germans and Lexus have rag-tops. Corvette is really its own brand.World-leading engines. AMG, M, S and well Lexus is third-world tough. GM makes one of the best V-8s in the world in Bowling Green. But nooooo, noooo, we're GM only Corvettes get Corvette engines. Balderdash! I say. Put Corvette engines in the top-tier Cadillacs. I know GM could make a world-class 3.5 liter V-6 but they don't or won't. In the interior everything that gets touched, including your butt, has to feel good. No exceptions.Some think that those who pay above MSRP and brag about it are idiots. Go the opposite direction, and offer an extended 10-year 100,000-mile factory warranty. At a reasonable price. That's Acura's current business model.
  • Carrera 2014 Toyota Corolla with 192,000 miles bought new. Oil changes every 5,000 miles, 1 coolant flush, and a bunch of air filters and in cabin air filters, and wipers. On my 4th set of tires.Original brake pads ( manual transmission), original spark plugs. Nothing else...it's a Toyota. Did most of oil changes either free at Toyota or myself. Also 3 batteries.2022 Acura TLX A-Spec AWD 13,000 miles now but bought new.Two oil changes...2006 Hyundai Elantra gifted from a colleague with 318,000 when I got it, and 335,000 now. It needed some TLC. A set of cheap Chinese tires ($275), AC compressor, evaporator, expansion valve package ( $290) , two TYC headlights $120, one battery ( $95), two oil changes, air filters, Denso alternator ( $185), coolant, and labor for AC job ( $200).
  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
  • Mike-NB2 2019 Ranger - 30,000 miles / 50,000 km. Nothing but oil changes. Original tires are being replaced a week from Wednesday. (Not all that mileage is on the original A/S tires. I put dedicated winter rims/tires on it every winter.)2024 - Golf R - 1700 miles / 2800 km. Not really broken in yet. Nothing but gas in the tank.
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