While the field of automotive HCI research abounds in driver-focused design and studies of driver distraction, relatively little attention has been directed to the front seat passengers. A challenge for designers and researchers is the ideation through exploration of passenger experiences and needs and the question of how to integrate them in design solutions. In this paper, we ground an ideation exercise based on results of a probing study conducted at two petrol stations. A probing package for front seat passengers was designed and distributed in cooperation with a petrol station company. Approximately 700 customers were approached randomly and 90 probe packages were handed out. 30 probing packages were returned and a segment clustering and a qualitative analysis were performed. The results gave insights into the activities and needs of front seat passengers and were then used in a design workshop together with a group of industrial designers. A set of ideas for novel interface solutions for front seat passengers were developed such as the invisible engine (look through the motor block with a display-based camera system). We further discuss the challenges and shortcomings of how to interpret and express ideas when transferring qualitative research findings into design. 1. Introduction A great deal of time is spent driving—for business (to go to work and to appointments), for leisure (to visit family, friends, or a vacation destination), and for other purposes. The number of people within the vehicle changes, depending on the purpose for the trip. The driver may be alone or accompanied by passengers. For the front seat passenger, travel time can be a time to relax, spend family time together with those in the vehicle, or to complete tasks such as using Facebook, making phone calls, browsing the web, or watching a movie. However, the front seat passengers seem to be slightly forgotten in the field of automotive research. In most studies, the role of the front seat passenger is related to the task of driving the car, for example, assisting the driver with navigation (as in, e.g., [1]). Every researcher and developer acknowledges that driving safely is crucial and designs and implements technology accordingly. Scientific research focuses on how to measure distraction in order to increase safety and on how to avoid situations that might affect safety (e.g., [2, 3]). The front seat passenger is most often regarded as additional support to the driver and the driving situation. However, drivers primarily travel in familiar areas (as reported in [4]) and
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