Per l'otto marzo, articolo di Autoweek.com
All-female Volvo gets mixed reviews; design cues could be used in future
By MARK RECHTIN | Automotive News
GENEVA -- Don't call it a chick car. Volvo Car Corp. gave a team of women the opportunity to create a concept car filled with touches that women motorists have wanted. But it also included things that men didn't realize they wanted until they saw the amenities. Called the YCC, for "Your Concept Car," the stylish Volvo coupe unveiled here was described as everything from a design curiosity to a public relations stunt. Although Volvo officials said the concept will not survive intact as a production model, many of its design cues and interior ideas could be incorporated in next-generation vehicles. "I am convinced male buyers will love this car," said Volvo CEO Hans-Olov Olsson at the vehicle's unveiling. "This is not a boxy pink family car with lots of child seats." Project manager Camilla Palmertz said that the ideas behind the car were smart and not limited in their appeal by gender. "Men saw the car and said they didn't expect this," she said. "They saw a good exterior and good interior solutions and said: 'This makes sense.' "But women saw the good exterior and liked it, then saw the good interior solutions and said: 'Finally!' " Hans Folkesson, Volvo's chief engineer, said the automaker got feedback on the team's r&d efforts from typical car owners rather than "motor freaks." "We wanted to spend money only on traditional features, roominess and ease of use," Folkesson said. "Do we need cars with 1,001 horsepower that go 350 kilometers an hour? Humans are not meant to go that fast. We spent money on the things people value." In creating the concept, Volvo opened a no-win can of political worms. In the old-boy auto industry, announcing that a car was designed by women - or for women - often has created a credibility gap. Past efforts at styling a car for women have failed. Market research truisms long have held that women gladly will buy a car made for a man, but not vice versa. At the concept unveiling, there was significant scoffing at certain design touches, such as the absence of a hood opening for the engine. If wags didn't know that women designed the car, they might conclude the feature shows Volvo's confidence in the reliability of the powertrain. But because women were involved in the design, critics quickly snubbed the look because of the stereotypical rationale that women don't care to look at engines or get their hands dirty. At the same time, clinics showed that some of the car's ostensibly feminine touches helped men as well. Asked if they had trouble parallel parking, about half of the women polled said yes, while few men did so. But when they demonstrated that skill, drivers of both sexes showed an equal measure of incompetence, Palmertz said. "One Spanish guy parked by ear, you know, smash, smash, smash," she said. Both women and men would appreciate the electronic system that allows the car to parallel park itself, she said. Should Volvo have presented the car without disclosing that women designed it? Responses varied, even within Volvo. "There are women architects, and it's not like there are houses that only women can live in," said Anna Rosen, the concept's exterior designer. "We didn't have a political agenda put into the project. It's a good project because of what it is." Folkesson said he would rather assign the best engineers and designers to a project, regardless of sex. "About 15 percent of Volvo engineers are women," he said. "But we have very few female electrical engineers, so it would either have to be a man or else a woman who is a rookie. I don't think Volvo customers would be willing to sacrifice something not working just because it was done by a woman." Shiro Nakamura, Nissan Motor's design chief, said he would not have created a team of women as the only decision makers. Nakamura is leading efforts at Nissan aimed at attracting more women employees and improving the treatment of women customers in Nissan showrooms. "The car is still dominated by the barrier of men," Nakamura said. "We judge things by the male perspective, and we may make a mistake because what a man sees and what a female sees is different. "I support what Volvo did," he added. "I just hope Volvo's female team represents something going on underneath at Volvo, that it's not just a show car, a public relations issue." A female product planner at a rival automaker, who requested anonymity, didn't think much of Volvo's effort. She said: "It shows women can mess up a car just as badly as men."