This Volvo Is Not a Guy Thing

摘要

Burning rubber. roar-ing engines. Grease and gas. Cars are a guy thing, right? The industry sure seems to thinks so. Auto ads tend to emphasize big, fast models, usually driven by a man―with a woman at his side, if at all―over user-friendly touches such as er-gonomic seats. If s no surprise the crowd that designs, develops, builds, and sells autos remains a boys' club. Yet on the other side of the sales desk, women sway a disproportionate share of car sales. According to industry studies, women purchase about two-thirds of vehicles and influence 80% of all sales. It's this gender gap that Volvo is trying to bridge with a concept car unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show on Mar. 2. Shaped by all-female focus groups drawn from Volvo's work- force, the two-door hatchback was created by an all-woman management team. Dubbed Your Concept Car, or YCC, the resulting show car cost some $3 million to design and build and is packed with thoughtful design twists that attracted a big, spirited crowd in Geneva. "We found that by meeting women's expectations, we exceeded those of most men," said Hans-Olov Olsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, a unit of Ford Motor Co.