I've been a car nut for as long as I can remember. So it was no question that I was going to offer some insight on the relationship between cars and information graphics. Information graphics and cars go together like pancakes and maple syrup. When seeking details and comparisons of any given vehicle and its performance or features, there is a ton of information that goes into such details. However, unless you're reading a brochure on a brand new Audi, the automotive industry has had its history of poor graphics in terms of visual information design. I think its ironic how some companies can design beautiful performance parts and built state of the art machines, but they can't give us some visually pleasing information about the muffler I just bought. If you ever try reading an after market auto manual, you'll know what I'm talking about.
The illustration above is a graph based on a before and after performance details of an after market exhaust system. Magnaflow, one of the leading manufacturers in after market exhaust system and automotive performance parts, is depicting in the illustration above, the performance details of a Corvette ZO6. Now the thing about the automotive industry is that they sell everything assuming that the average consumer knows what "hp" and "lb. ft" mean and that they build engines from scratch on their spare time. I bet some folks are looking at this and don't know what they're staring at because they have no idea what some of the information means. Of course, that is the first thing thats wrong with this chart.
Chart junk is also relevant in many information graphics in the automotive industry, and did I mention the horrible typography? In terms of the illustration above, there are few more rounds of development that it can undergo. Do you all have any suggestions?
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