by Robert Lewis (02 Mar 04)

The Volvo YCC launched today at the Geneva Show makes it clear why car design shouldn’t be an all-male pursuit. People of that gender just aren’t commonsense enough to come up with some of the ideas incorporated in what is, in its longer-winded form, Your Concept Car.

Volvo appointed a female project management team to progress the YCC, the idea for which arose in 2001, when American marketing expert Marti Barletta ran a series of workshops at Volvo and came up with the claim that, "If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men."

Well, the YCC isn’t just a striking design study with Volvo styling cues front and rear, and gullwing doors with a two-piece action, the main section opening upwards and the lower part hinging down. It also has some very ingenious interior and equipment features.

For example, the design team wondered why, when the only time many car owners open the engine compartment is to fill up with windscreen washer fluid, it should be necessary to fumble about with a catch, heave up an often heavy metal bonnet and reach into the sometimes grubby area underneath, just to get at the filler.

So  - and it’s another of those "Why on earth didn’t I think of that?" moments - on the YCC the filler cap for the washer reservoir is on the outside of the bodywork near the driver’s door, alongside the fuel filler. Brilliant idea, logical and utterly simple - once you’ve had it in the first place.

Cogito Ergo Comfortable

That’s only the beginning, however. The designers came up with the idea of Ergovision, which Volvo is in the process of patenting. It takes the idea of "memory" adjustment of the steering wheel and driver’s seat away beyond where it is today.

With Ergovision, you would order your new Volvo and then have your body scanned at the dealership. Your physical proportions - height, length of leg, length of arm and so on - would be digitally stored in the car’s ignition key. When you get into the car and prepare to start the engine, the seat, steering wheel, pedals, head restraint and seat belt will be adjusted automatically to suit your "personalised driving position".

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