Triepsyn
Apr-26th-04, 1:05 pm
<center>A Car by Women: No Pink, but Headrest Fits a Ponytail</center>
By RICHARD FEAST
Published: March 29, 2004
Geneva -- The Volvo Y.C.C. will be the public relations coup of the New York International Auto Show next month if its debut at the recent Geneva show is any guide. The reason is easy to understand. For an old-fashioned metal-bashing industry dominated by men, any car created entirely by women is bound to be of special interest.
Executives of Volvo's rivals sniped that excluding men from the design amounted to discrimination, but the Swedish automaker insists that the Y.C.C. makes good business sense.
The role of women in society is a matter of considerable public debate in Sweden. Despite the country's egalitarian reputation, its large industrial groups have virtually no women on their management boards. Yet, a fifth of the Volvo Car Corporation's 27,000 employees worldwide are women, the company says, including nearly a quarter of its research-and-development personnel.
"We are part of a car industry dominated by men, wanting to attract a growing number of women buyers," said Hans-Olov Olsson, president of Volvo.
The idea behind Y.C.C. - short for Your Concept Car - sprang from a women's advisory committee created at Volvo in the fall of 2001. A year later, the committee was given approval for a team of nine women to design and build a concept car to be unveiled at the 2004 Geneva auto show.
"If you expected good old Volvo to bring you a boxy car in pink with lots of child safety seats, you'd be wrong," Mr. Olsson said.
The team came up with a coupe with two gullwing doors and some clever ideas on visibility, simplicity and practicality. The car will not be sold in this form, but Henrik Otto, Volvo's design director, said some aspects of it will go into cars that reach consumers.
Some features could be seen as clichés about female expectations and tastes: a sealed hood that can be removed only at the dealership, an electronic self-parking device, flowery seat covers and hollowed-out headrests that accommodate ponytails.
But Volvo rejects the criticism, pointing out that automatic parking and sealed engine compartments are being tested by other automakers. Mr. Olsson quoted Marti Barletta, an American marketing expert on women's buying patterns: "If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men."
The Y.C.C. project was led by Camilla Palmertz. "This is not a car just for women," she said. "This is Your Concept Car."
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccfront.500.jpg</center>
The body has an easy-to-clean surface and iridescent paint that changes color according to the light.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29ycc.500.jpg</center>
Up and under: As the Y.C.C.'s gullwing doors swing open, the sills retract under the car to aid entry and exit.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccinterior.500.jpg</center>
Blond oak trim and large windows give the interior the lightness and simplicity of a Scandinavian living room.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccteam.500a.jpg</center>
Members of the design team included Maria Widell Christiansen, seated behind the wheel, and from left, Eva-Lisa Andersson, Tatiana Butovitsch Temm, Elna Holmberg and Camilla Palmertz, who managed the project.
By RICHARD FEAST
Published: March 29, 2004
Geneva -- The Volvo Y.C.C. will be the public relations coup of the New York International Auto Show next month if its debut at the recent Geneva show is any guide. The reason is easy to understand. For an old-fashioned metal-bashing industry dominated by men, any car created entirely by women is bound to be of special interest.
Executives of Volvo's rivals sniped that excluding men from the design amounted to discrimination, but the Swedish automaker insists that the Y.C.C. makes good business sense.
The role of women in society is a matter of considerable public debate in Sweden. Despite the country's egalitarian reputation, its large industrial groups have virtually no women on their management boards. Yet, a fifth of the Volvo Car Corporation's 27,000 employees worldwide are women, the company says, including nearly a quarter of its research-and-development personnel.
"We are part of a car industry dominated by men, wanting to attract a growing number of women buyers," said Hans-Olov Olsson, president of Volvo.
The idea behind Y.C.C. - short for Your Concept Car - sprang from a women's advisory committee created at Volvo in the fall of 2001. A year later, the committee was given approval for a team of nine women to design and build a concept car to be unveiled at the 2004 Geneva auto show.
"If you expected good old Volvo to bring you a boxy car in pink with lots of child safety seats, you'd be wrong," Mr. Olsson said.
The team came up with a coupe with two gullwing doors and some clever ideas on visibility, simplicity and practicality. The car will not be sold in this form, but Henrik Otto, Volvo's design director, said some aspects of it will go into cars that reach consumers.
Some features could be seen as clichés about female expectations and tastes: a sealed hood that can be removed only at the dealership, an electronic self-parking device, flowery seat covers and hollowed-out headrests that accommodate ponytails.
But Volvo rejects the criticism, pointing out that automatic parking and sealed engine compartments are being tested by other automakers. Mr. Olsson quoted Marti Barletta, an American marketing expert on women's buying patterns: "If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men."
The Y.C.C. project was led by Camilla Palmertz. "This is not a car just for women," she said. "This is Your Concept Car."
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccfront.500.jpg</center>
The body has an easy-to-clean surface and iridescent paint that changes color according to the light.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29ycc.500.jpg</center>
Up and under: As the Y.C.C.'s gullwing doors swing open, the sills retract under the car to aid entry and exit.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccinterior.500.jpg</center>
Blond oak trim and large windows give the interior the lightness and simplicity of a Scandinavian living room.
<center>http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/03/29/automobiles/29yccteam.500a.jpg</center>
Members of the design team included Maria Widell Christiansen, seated behind the wheel, and from left, Eva-Lisa Andersson, Tatiana Butovitsch Temm, Elna Holmberg and Camilla Palmertz, who managed the project.