in ‘another sedan’, joey ruiter captures the nostalgic essence of driving
‘another sedan’: intimately familiar and simply nostalgic
‘A perfectly dumb car reminds us that driving is brilliant,‘ writes designer Joey Ruiter about his latest project, ‘Another Sedan,’ which takes us back to simpler times before transportation technology reached an inflection point. Today, ultra-powerful computers can process sensor data at an astonishing rate, allowing vehicles to move seamlessly without human inputs. Likewise, laser-measured shapes increasingly eschew originality in a mad hunt for fractionally better efficiency. But what is ubiquitous isn’t quite familiar. And what is effortless can’t reward like the joy of a learned skill.
That’s where ‘Another Sedan’ comes in, sporting a three-box format with a long hood and wide body – stripped of detail and stretched in proportion. Together, these features elicit a form that is both striking and intimately familiar: an instantly recognized shape that stirs up a yearning for the simple joy of driving.
all images © Logan Zillmer
“Another Sedan’ is a future view of a throwback idea. A familiar shape that conjures up memories at a glance. A ‘dumb’ vehicle that’s a vessel for your own skill, ideas, and desires. You’re not looking at a headlight detail, the shape of the wheels, the door handles… You’re observing a big presence. A huge body side. A character. We were proud of what we could purchase. We worked hard, and our labor produced a moving sculpture of metal and chrome built by our brothers. There was a pride – that now seems to be lost – in using your vehicle. A simple joy in going for a drive,’ shares the designer.
a modular, stripped-down interior driven by human skill
Ruiter describes ‘Another Sedan’ as an open platform for experiencing transport in a human-focused way. The modular interior will morph to fit any driver or passenger in any manner that suits the individual or occasion; the space is big enough, physically and ideologically, to contain even conflicting points of view.
Maneuvering that stripped-down vessel is entirely dependent on the driver. Skill, not software, is the focus of this primordial platform, with controls slimmed down to utterly essential ideas like GO, STOP, and TURN. ‘Because driving skillfully and well is a uniquely human joy that, at least today, feels under threat. But the idea of riding – comfortable, cruising, chauffeured – is also familiar,’ he adds. Moreover, the lounge-like passenger spaces offer another passive experience in the sedan’s core feature set.
‘Another Sedan’ captures an all-too familiar shape, evoking simpler times
capturing the essence of driving
The intention around the car’s rear quarters is to recapture the small luxury of a Sunday afternoon, a big bench seat, a view of the road, and nowhere to go. Cloaked in the seeming simplicity of three white boxes, it defies expectation when its occupants disembark.
Eschewing traditional doors completely, the car instead splits open from the center in a sleek, cinematic gesture that plays with the historic glamor of arrival. Here the juxtapositions are laid bare: from an anonymous box to a neck-breaker of a red carpet car. Divergent ideas that nevertheless capture some of the essential spirit of driving that, today, feel fleeting. ‘I’m fully aware that my concepts and thoughts are wrapped around complete freedom, but if we don’t have free expression, trying to think about new things, I don’t know what you’re left with. You’re fine tuning over generations,’ concludes Ruiter.
a three-box format with a long hood and wide body, stripped of details
