Back in 2004, Volvo undertook what it claimed was a first in more than 100 years of the car industry: a concept vehicle conceived and designed entirely by women. It was called Your Concept Car (YCC).
Inspired by data that showed women purchased 65 per cent of new cars and influenced 80 per cent of buying decisions, Volvo decided to “challenge traditional business methods” and hopefully come up with something cool and relevant.
More than 120 Volvo employees contributed to the project. All final decisions were made by women.
In hindsight, YCC was a win all-round, because it turned out women who liked cars were keen on pretty much the same things as anybody who liked cars: YCC was a sleek coupe with gullwing doors, a grunty 160kW five-cylinder mild-hybrid engine and extended service intervals; the car could contact the dealer and alert the driver when the work was due (similar to today’s connected-car services).
Other design innovations included a sealed engine bay (technicians had to remove the front of the car for servicing), washer fluid/petrol fillers with no caps (Ford actually introduced this feature in 2008), and a point-of-sale concept where the buyer’s body was digitally scanned and their optimum seating-position stored in the key.
Despite the coupe-like profile, clever comfort/convenience solutions were a priority. The gullwing doors could open automatically when the driver approached, there were multiple spaces for “handbags” or other personal items and the rear-seat squabs could flip-up like theatre chairs to allow easy access for taller items without having to open the boot – a feature similar to Honda’s Magic Seat, introduced for the Jazz in 2001.
Interior trims could be swapped out with a choice of different fabrics and the head restraints even had indentations to accommodate pony tails. Male or female.
YCC was never supposed to be just about women, of course. “We can concentrate on the fast-growing group of women customers without losing the men,” said Volvo’s US boss Vic Doolan at the time. It still looks pretty swish today.
