For longer drives, Kolpasky explains, Juno gets a state-of-the-art entertainment system with video games and DVD systems that have directional sound so that only the person directly under the speaker can hear it. This is a breakthrough for any adult who's ever listened to the same simple song 28 times in a row and wanted to run screaming from the vehicle.
Lap tables are also included, Kolpasky says, and storage spaces for toys.
The working premise here is quite plain, Kolpasky says: ''When children are entertained and engaged, the trip goes much smoother and is less stressful on the driver. Mom or Dad can concentrate on the traffic and not on answering, 'When are we going to get there?' questions or intervening in the usual 'Johnny touched me' squabbles.''
Kolpasky says the whole squabbling issue has been addressed by ''creating two zones in the back, one for each kid.''
While all of the aforementioned features will be appreciated by the kids and parents, it's likely that the parents will be more impressed with two storage bins in the floor -- one to keep things hot and one to keep things (like food and medicines) cold -- and the fact that the rear can pretty much be hosed down for cleaning purposes.
Lots of decisions are still to be made about this vehicle, but Kolpasky and his team know certain directions it has to take. The storage spaces have to be plentiful and flexible, and you have to keep your eye on the small touches, such as designing cupholders to hold bottles of formula.
What else might be included in such a family-oriented vehicle could be decided by those endless rows of visitors to the Innoventions display, since GM is making a real effort to ask them.
The part of the Juno exercise that's not so clear is how any future vehicle will be made sporty. Certainly its smaller size will help with that, but there may be other things that GM can do. Indeed, the corporation has had some success selling sporty people-haulers in the UK, and have just released a second sporty variation on the Vauxhall Zafira minivan.
This is not a project that will turn up in GM dealerships any time soon, so it's sort of a family vehicle for people who don't yet have families. Whatever comes of this exercise, Kolpasky thinks the parents of young children would find it appealing because ''You could get your family there and not spend as much.''
