From Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — Amy Ng, 27, of Farmington Hills, Mich., wants a place to keep her purse in her car so it doesn’t flop around on the passenger seat.

Sophia Modelski, 47, of Metamora, Mich., wants the equivalent of a belt clip for her cell phone in the car, preferably near the stereo.

Kitty Adler, 45, of Waterford, Mich., wishes she had vanity mirrors in the back seat so her daughters wouldn’t fight for the front seat to put on their makeup.

These are simple solutions to problems that divert minds and eyes off the road and they came from female drivers and women in the auto industry at a breakfast Tuesday that featured a car designed by women. Women make about 48 percent of the car-buying decisions in this country, and among couples women have as much influence in buying a vehicle as men, according to CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore.

And still there isn’t a place to put a handbag in most cars and sport-utility vehicles.

That is why Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo unit created a concept car designed by and for women, which debuted last year at the auto show in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dubbed the YCC, Your Concept Car, the gull-winged two-door sedan includes a large console with room for a handbag under a set of compartments for keys, coins and a cell phone. The YCC has adjustable pedals, a specially shaped heel support bar under those pedals, a capless fuel point on the side of the car and a spot next to that to refill windshield washer fluid.

The four-seater also features sensors that help direct drivers while parallel parking and a line of seat covers and floor mats that can be washed and dry-cleaned.

There is also a split in the headrest to fit a ponytail, so those drivers with their hair up don’t have to lean forward while driving.

“It should be your choice how you want to drive your car. The car should be there for you. Not the other way around,” Lena Ekelund, deputy technical manager for the YCC, told a crowd of more than 100 women, mainly from the auto industry at a the Courtyard Marriott in Detroit.

The YCC, a $3.5-million project, is only a concept car and won’t be built. But some of its features could make it into production vehicles such as added storage room for umbrellas, a flashlight and a first aid kit and washable floor mats and seat covers.

Surveys about what YCC features drivers want to see in their cars were part of the breakfast speech, sponsored by the Automotive Women’s Alliance.

Volvo is also patenting a concept called Ergovision, which designs a seating arrangement for a driver through a computerized body scan taken at a dealership. Automakers already use in-house test drivers and external focus groups to find out what women expect in their vehicles, but projects like Ekelund’s make that goal more of a priority. “We’re getting better at verbalizing what we want,” Ekelund said.

Those who attended Ekelund’s speech suggested plenty of ways to tweak their cars.

“I want the cup holder to be hot and cold,” said Judith Graham, a senior manager of governance at DaimlerChrysler AG, so coffee stays hot and iced tea stays cold in the car.

Jody Lannoo, program manager for corporate development at Collins & Aikman Corp., wants her cell phone to connect with her stereo, like a speakerphone.

Ekelund said tailoring a car to meet the needs of women shouldn’t repel male car buyers.

“This is a bold statement. If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men. And it’s true.”

Copyright 2004 Detroit Free Press. All Rights Reserved.

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