Many cars now come with “Sport Mode” or “Track Mode” or some other name implying that your car will go faster with the press of a button. They might also feature “Eco Mode” or some other name implying it will use less fuel with the touch of a button. So how do these settings work? Well they don’t, or at least they don’t in the majority of cars - let’s dive in:
For clarity we’re only going to talk about internal combustion (gas) cars. For an engine to produce power it needs air and fuel, which it then ignites, forcing the piston down and producing power. Since the fuel injectors paired with an engine can pump much more fuel than an engine can consume, the maximum amount of power an engine can produce is determined by how much air it can suck into the engine. This is because of something called stoichiometric efficiency, which states that you need approximately 14.7 parts air to one part gasoline to consume all the gasoline and air during combustion. Adding more gas than this 14.7:1 ratio will mean there won’t be enough air to burn all the gas and the excess will exit the engine unburned.
So how much power the engine creates is determined by how much air is allowed into the engine, this is where something called a throttle body comes in. As you press down on the gas pedal you open a little door in the throttle body allowing more air into the engine. A sensor positioned after the throttle body senses how much air is passing by and injects the appropriate amount of fuel. When you press your foot to the floor the throttle body is fully open and you’re letting in as much air as you can into the engine. Because you’re letting in as much air as possible, that’s as much power the engine can make.
So if that’s as much power your engine can make, how does “Sport Mode” work? Well it has to do with what’s called an electronic throttle body.
In older cars (and some modern cars) the gas pedal opens the door in the throttle body via a cable. As you step on the gas pedal it pulls the cable which opens the door in the throttle body. But most modern cars have transitioned to an electronic throttle body, where a sensor sees the position of the gas pedal and a small electric motor opens the throttle body accordingly. This is beneficial for a few reasons, one example is that the car can snap the throttle closed for a split second during a shift (this is why modern automatic cars have smoother shifts). But it also allows different modes.
With a cable based throttle body you're stuck with a linear progression. Press the gas pedal 25% down and the throttle body opens 25%, press it down 75% and the throttle body opens 75%. But because an electronic throttle body is controlled by a computer, it can have different curves. With a few lines of code all of a sudden when you press down the gas pedal 25% the throttle body opens 50% for “Sport Mode”. Or you can press the gas pedal down 50% and the throttle body will only open 25% in “Eco Mode”.
In any mode if you jam the gas pedal to the floor the throttle body fully opens making the maximum amount of power the engine can make. But your car will feel a lot more powerful if you only step on the gas pedal 25% and the throttle opens 50%. The car isn’t faster or more powerful, it’s just perception - it feels more powerful. You just turned your car into a sports car with the push of a button, or at least it feels like you did.
People pay a lot more money for a car with a “Sport Mode” or “Track Mode” or whatever the car company wants to call it. And yes maybe in some way car companies are praying upon consumers' ignorance of how cars work, but perception is reality. If your car feels faster and more responsive when you push a button, that’s enough for most people - and all it took was a few lines of code.
As a designer or brand owner you can apply this to your products. What simple, low cost, low effort changes can you make to your product that will enhance customer experience? Is there a feature you’ve already added, like an electronic throttle body, that can pull double duty?
Think of Apple adding an LED flash to the camera on the iPhone 4, which they later realized (after three years) could also function as a flashlight with just a bit of code in an IOS update. Or Patagonia sizing the internal chest pocket on their Nano Puff Hoodie to function as a stuff sack for the jacket itself. Both cases are product features that were implemented for another reason, but pull double duty and add real functionality for the consumer at almost no added cost.
So what can you do with your product? Can you make your packaging handy in some way? Add a hang loop in a key spot? Use reflective thread for some of the topstitching on a running jacket? These little details and additions are what really elevate products in the minds of customers, and as a designer it’s your job to think of them.
Let me know if you have some good ones, or if you’d like a bit of help thinking of some ;)
