The 2014 Chevrolet Impala Gets Personal

Industry-first personalization lets buyers change look and feel of infotainment system

LOS ANGELES – Feeling a bit suburban soccer mom, urban hipster, fast and furious or something in between? The 2014 Chevrolet Impala’s next-generation MyLink system gives owners the ability to change the personality of the Impala’s interior by reconfiguring the instrument cluster and center stack graphics with a single button push.

Personalization is common with many of today’s technologies. Downloadable “skins” or themes can enhance interaction.

“People are able to modify the look and feel of their smartphones and computers; now they can do that with their car, too,” said Matt Fuligni, design manager, Chevrolet User Experience.
Fuligni said designers drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including smartphone icons and even the television graphics that display the scores on football games.

Using consumer research, including interviews and online voting, MyLink designers developed four specific graphic appearances designed to appeal to the distinctive personalities of Chevrolet customer groups. They include:

• Contemporary – Clean, simple interface that’s not overly colorful or busy, geared to busy moms and families.
• Edge – Youth-oriented, dynamic feel with vibrant colors and pop culture-inspired icons.
• Velocity – Sleek, with carbon fiber background appearance and glowing neon, aimed at driving enthusiasts.
• Main Street – An all-around, crowd-pleasing design using primary colors; a typical customer may drive a truck and use it as a high-tech mobile office.

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Customers simply use the Settings menu to personalize their Impala, which goes on sale next spring.
MyLink also allows users to edit the main home screen by dragging icons to a different page or dock them to the top of the screen for easy access from any screen.

“There is such a high level of attention, consistency and level of detail in the graphics on the cluster and center stack displays that they’ve become nearly as important to the overall interior look and feel as color and trim,” said Fuligni. “We can’t design a custom Impala interior for every customer, but we can give them the next best thing.”

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.