The Volvo Your Concept Car ( YCC ) , like all concept car , provides the car maker with a worthful examination ground to agitate the limit point of new railway car designs . While the designing of the YCC is filled with frontward - looking ideas , the most innovative expression of the railcar is not the pattern , but who design it – an all - woman design team .
Unveiled at the 2004 Geneva Auto Show , the YCC is the first concept elevator car to be design from start to land up by a squad compose exclusively of women . adult female are a growing market for the Swedish auto Creator . According to Volvo , 54 pct of its U.S. buyers are women , and its distaff customer al-Qa’ida in Europe is growing . With women identified as a key grocery , Volvo reach the draft pencil over to those who best know what women want from their cars .
In this clause , we ’ll take a tone inside Volvo ’s newest concept railcar , and see what these contrive women produced .
The YCC is a two - door sports coupe and is tame by some concept car standards ( see theToyota PMfor a more radical concept vehicle ) . In late year , Volvo has been rounding off and softening its traditionally boxier design . The YCC continues that trend , and is not far removed from a output excogitation . While not yet quick for production , some of its conception chemical element could soon be adopted in current models .
The front end is lower than a traditional Volvo and the fenders are in sight for better road vision . Additionally , the rear window extend to the extremities of the railroad car , and the tail end end slants back slightly more than the Volvo S series models . Together , these element allow the driver to see all four corners of the automobile ’s exterior .
" We wanted to create a beautiful car , " says Anna Rosén . " Not brutal , but bad . "
Most spectacular when looking at the car from the front is that it does n’t have a hood . The blueprint team determined that their target audience does n’t necessitate to look under the hood . The front section of the anatomy can be lifted in a garage , but it does not open like a traditional tough .
There are twocapless glob - valve filling point , like those of aracing car , that reserve the gadget driver to addgasolineandwindshield washerfluid . These capless filling point eliminate the need for caps or latches , which were identified as nuisances by most female driver .
Another extremist constituent are thegull - wing passenger door , which are intended to allow the YCC prosperous entry . The doors lift up overhead like the rearward door of a hatchback door . These doors are intended to comfort entrance into the back ass .
Additional exterior feature include anEasy - Clean paintthat bear much like the coating on a non - stick cookery genus Pan . Dirt does n’t cling to it as easily , and it lave off with very minuscule effort . The car also featuresrun - flat tire , so that it can be driven a good distance after a puncture .
Now , let ’s launch the YCC ’s chump - annexe driver - side door and step indoors to attend at the Interior Department .
The "Your Concept Car" Interior
YCC designers describe the car ’s interior as more living room than cockpit , full with modern furnishing cloth . The interior purpose pinch at the role women played in the cockpit with the ponytail notch in the headrest , the additional thought for storage , and interchangeable butt covers and carpeting fabrics .
" have ’s bring the life elbow room into the car , " said Maria Uggla , Color and Trim interior decorator . " Let ’s use material , not obscured by coats of glistening enamel . "
The interior design of the car is adjustable . The seat pads can be exchanged for different colors and fabrics , including leather , linen , woolen bouclé ( a knit fabric ) , or a shimmer icteric - green embroidered seat pad . The carpet can also be swapped out for different styles . The mind of convertible carpet and derriere pads is to give owners options when they are tired of appear at the same material or if the fabric becomes raddled . Changing the Department of the Interior ease up owner a sense of a novel car . These exchangeable bum book binding and rug are also washable .
Space and memory are maximized throughout the YCC interior . Thegear shifter , ordinarily pose between the driver and passenger posterior , is locate on thesteeringcolumn , and the parkingbrakeis electronic and structured further increase interior distance .
With the gear shifter and parking Pteridium aquilinum out of the way , the center console in the YCC furnish significantly more computer storage . The console is dissever into three compartments . A shallow compartment is available for keys , peregrine phones , coins , and other small items . Slide back this top compartment to reveal a large compartment for a handbag . Yet another compartment is available for a notebook reckoner . The plaza console also feature a tank and a wastebasket .
Moving from front seat to back seat , movie house - dash arse in the back can be pen up up to tolerate more space for baggage and other cargo . Designers found that drivers utilize their back seats more often for cargo than for passengers . When there are passengers , they put the seat down as they enter .
Power and Handling
The YCC is power by a low-spirited - emission 215 hp , five - cylinderPartial Low Emission Vehicle(PZEV ) engine with anIntegrated Starter - Generator(ISG ) , which allows the car to fit the problematic emission standard in state like California . The ISG prevents unnecessary idling because the engine snub off when stopped at a crimson Inner Light . The cable car comes to animation again as soon as you press the catalyst .
The car features a 6 - speedPowershiftgearbox with a fullyautomatic transmissionmode . you could also choosemanualshift by using the gear controls on thesteeringcolumn . Powershift means that the motorcar has a dual wet - clutchtransmission system , which assure that the elevator car shifts gears at the right rpm for smooth drive and lowfuelconsumption .
In the next section , we ’ll look at some of the more unequalled technologies of the YCC .
Convenient Technology
Cars will presently have embedded engineering to make them easy to operate . The YCC features several of these advanced technologies , which turn on the car to correct to your body eccentric , assist with parallel parking , and open your motorcar by sensing your comportment near it . get ’s take a look at these new technologies .
Ergovision
When you buy a YCC , your consistency is scanned at the dealership . Your proportion ( height , leg length , and subdivision length ) are used to define a customized driving position . This information is stored in yourdigital samara . When you infix the cay on the center console , the bum , steering wheel , pedal , driver ’s nates , oral sex constraint andseat beltadjust automatically to give you the line - of - pot best suited for you . you’re able to change the custom circumstance , using the car ’s computer system and then make unnecessary the new options on your key .
Autopark
Parallel parking assistance is a two - leg scheme . Press the parking assistance button to settle if there ’s enough room between two cars . Sensors appraise the outer space . If there is enough space , entreat the Autopark clit again . The car then helps you maneuver into the parking blank , but you insure the catalyst , brakes , and pitch gear lever . Toyota reveal a standardized technology in its 2003 Prius . chink outHow ego - parking Cars Workto memorise more about the engineering .
Auto-Open
If you have a mint of bags to acquit to the car , press the Auto - Open button on your central ring prior to pick up the purse . As you stand by either rear wheel , the tight side door automatically opens . If you stand forthwith behind the car , the luggage compartment open up .
Now let ’s reach out to the women responsible for for designing the YCC .
Designing Women
As early as the 1980s , Volvo formed a women ’s reference book radical compose of female employee . This chemical group was called upon to quiz and assess new framework at an early stage of development . to boot , a charwoman ’s centering grouping was convened in California for the development of the XC90 SUV , which was launch in 2002 .
The theme for an all - female design squad responsible for all decisions in evolve a concept cable car was originate in the dip of 2001 . In June 2002 , a belittled group of female Volvo employee delivered the construct and pre - sketches to Hans - Olov Olsson , Volvo President and CEO , and the executive management squad , who gave the task a green light at the terminal of that same year .
For Volvo , and the car industriousness , the YCC projection marked a Modern way of thinking . Men typically overlook the motorcar diligence , and the YCC was the first project to employ a plan squad on which charwoman made all of the developing decisions .
" Of of course , we ’re not doing anything that man could n’t do - we ’re all master in the car industriousness , " said Maria Widell Christiansen , Design Manager of the YCC projection .
However , this project was historic in its all - distaff attack . Let ’s take a closer facial expression at the team .
Camilla Palmertz, Project Manager
Palmertz joined Volvo in 1995 , and her positions with the ship’s company have admit responsibility for the biomechanical aspects ofcrash - testanalysis . Projects she has work on include the inflatable curtain safety organisation and the development of a pregnant crash - test dumbbell .
Eva-Lisa Andersson, Project Manager
Andersson has been with Volvo since 1995 , and was the carbon monoxide - managing director of the YCC labor , along with Palmertz . Prior to figure out on the YCC , she was the project director for a concept example that is still in maturation .
Elna Holmberg, Technical Project Manager
Dr. Holmberg was responsible for the technical growing of the YCC . antecedently , she had worked on aeromechanics and chassis development for new Volvo model .
Maria Widell Christiansen, Design Manager
Christiansen joined Volvo in 1986 , and managed the overall administrative province for the YCC aim team of 25 hoi polloi .
Tatiana Butovitsch Temm, Communications Manager
Temm has been with Volvo since 1989 , and has previously crop in the safety communication department . For the YCC project , Temm co-ordinated communications within the project . She ’s also tasked with assure that the world run into the YCC .
Lena Ekelund, Deputy Technical Project Manager
Ekelund joined Volvo in 1986 , working as a blueprint engineer and undertaking manager . For the YCC , she was responsible for assisting in the technical side of the undertaking and for coordinating the design engineering squad with Holmberg .
Anna Rosén, Exterior Designer
A relative newcomer to Volvo , Rosén joined the company in 2002 , work with the Volvo conception scheme prior to join the YCC project . On this project , she was creditworthy for the YCC ’s exterior plan
Cynthia Charwick, Interior Designer
Charwick started at Volvo in 1981 , and has exercise on upcountry designs of construct and production good example . She used that experience to design the YCC ’s interior .
Maria Uggla, Color and Trim Designer
Uggla began work at Volvo in 2001 , and designed the colour and trim for the newfangled Volvo S40 model and the V50 . She also has worked on purpose and trim for other concept models in development .
For more information on the YCC and related topics , check out the links on the next page .
