Concept Car Premium Attitude by Faurecia

Clever heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions come in various forms in the Premium Attitude vehicle. The key innovation is the adoption of airflow technology pioneered in the aircraft industry. Faurecia's “smart air vent” system uses an onion-shaped body for optimal air swirl delivery – where the airflow follows the shape, known as the Coanda effect.
It also results in lower noise levels and is believed to be the first time such a technique has been used in an automotive interior.
Faurecia went further by integrating the user controls for the two outer air vents directly around where the air comes out, rather than in the center of the instrument panel. It is neat, intuitive and very logical too.

In the center of the instrument panel you do not see any additional air vents at all. The directional louvers remain – and can still be controlled from manual switches – but they are completely covered up by a grille featuring an abstract design pattern echoed in the interior loudspeaker covers and also on the front exterior grille for continuity (the latter area is another specialty of Faurecia's). This cover's design may have an aesthetic touch but its placement has definite durability benefits.
Air vents with exposed louvers tend to look and feel cheap – and can break – as they are often very flimsy compared to other interior components on premium cars. Covering them up thus makes functional sense. From an economical point of view, it is possible to standardize these non-visible parts, while offering greater differentiation to the automakers' design and engineering teams.

In yet another take on conventional automotive HVAC wisdom, “rear seat-housed air vent” units are integrated in the top of the seatbacks – where the chrome strip meets the thin wood panel – for the benefi t of rear passengers.

Of these technologies, the “invisible” air vents and coanda effect HVAC systems are completely validated; only the seat-housed vents would need additional development time from a seat integration perspective.