Clay Carpenter Design Portfolio

Car-as-the-Dealership Digital Experience

A self-serve in-vehicle sales experience designed for stationary moments, turning a connected car into an interactive showroom. It enables discovery and purchase anywhere the vehicle goes, from rentals to real-world conversations in a driveway.

Client

Ford Motor Company

Digital Experiences

ARTIST

Clay Carpenter

Product Duration

1 Week

Digital Experiences That Change How We Buy Cars

As the Innovation Lead on Ford’s Team Aspire, I ideated and prototyped new in-vehicle concepts designed for stationary moments. This concept explores how connected vehicles with large screens and Wi-Fi can help “sell themselves,” turning the car into a guided, self-serve product experience. That opens up new opportunities for discovery and conversion anywhere the vehicle goes, whether someone is renting a car on vacation or checking it out at a neighbor’s barbecue.

Cars Sell Themselves Pitch Deck

Pitch deck showcasing the digital experience vision, backed by key market and user-behavior statistics that support the opportunity. Includes ideation sketches and early UI mockups that bring the concept to life, illustrating how the experience could look, feel, and function inside the vehicle.

Digital Experience Sketch for car as a dealership

Digital Experience sketch for rental cars as a dealership

PROBLEMS

Today’s buyers are more informed than ever, and the sales climate has shifted with it. People increasingly prefer to research on their own, compare options transparently, and make decisions without pressure, especially because trust in traditional sales tactics has eroded. That dynamic is amplified for big-ticket purchases like cars, where pricing complexity, add-ons, and negotiation can make the process feel adversarial. The result is a stronger demand for experiences that feel self-directed, informative, and honest, letting customers explore confidently and engage with sales associates only when it adds real value.

Solutions

To solve for a modern buying climate that values autonomy and trust, I designed a self-guided, in-car digital buying experience that feels more like a premium tour than a sales pitch. While parked, the vehicle becomes an interactive showroom with a guided walkthrough of features, trims, and key differentiators, plus clear next steps without pressure. When the driver is ready, the experience supports a test drive within a set radius and time window, pairing real-world driving with contextual guidance so people can explore confidently and learn at their own pace. To complete the journey, the HMI can carry the process through financing, including loan or lease options, and even help initiate insurance, creating a seamless path from discovery to purchase without ever needing a traditional sales funnel.