There are two major themes that characterize the technological advances seen in the car during the '80s. One is the improved functional performance of the various units making up the car, which has been achieved through the application of advanced control technology. The other is the pursuit of performance in each vehicle unit which matches the sensibilities of the occupants.
In future vehicles envisioned for the '90s, all of the individually enhanced units will be integrated into a total vehicle system. The basic viewpoint for fusing the different units together will be found in “human sciences.” Instead of merely combining the various units to achieve multiple benefits, the entire vehicle will be engineered to suit the occupants' total sensibilities. In addition, the vehicle concept will be treated in terms of its total relationship with social activities and individual lifestyles.
The newly released Nissan ARC-X embodies this near-future vision of the car. The technologies featured in the ARC-X are backed by human-oriented software, which has been developed around human sensibilities and human engineering. In addition, all vehicle functions have been integrated at the highest levels of performance.