by xe

Created on: April 12, 2009   Last Updated: April 22, 2009

The greatest accessories for girls are lots of mirrors and pink fuzzy things, of course! Let us all see how politically incorrect we can be here. Using the word 'girls' to refer to women will get you reprimanded or fired at most self-respecting companies. Therefore, the best car accessory we can provide to female car buyers and drivers is the respect they deserve. That includes dropping the demeaning and antiquated term 'girls' in reference to women. We in the automotive industry recognized several decades ago that cars had been designed by and for men for way too long.

As the use of the term 'girls' to refer to women is both demeaning and legally questionable. I will respectfully use the proper term for the female automobile purchaser and specifier. (Unless this title is intended to actually refer to younger girl children riding in vehicles?)

Both market research and common sense reveal to us that women are different from men. Not only physically, (viva la difference!) but in terms of preference. Even the execution of the traditional dealer showroom experience creates a less-than-favorable environment for women.

Successful brands have taken great steps to correct that situation. Even the seemingly simple design of a door handle, or shifter knob can be downright hostile to a woman with even moderate-length fingernails.

While in the engineering and vehicle development areas at SATURN (Division of General Motors) during the start-up years, I once bought stick-on nails for some male engineers to apply. This was done in order to provide a training tool to them. The 1990's Chevy Corsica and Beretta shift knob was an especially glaring example of one that seemed to be intentionally designed to grab and hold a woman's fingernail during use.

One area that has been neglected by most car designers (and I use the word "car" generically, to include trucks, SUVs and cross-overs) is an area to securely retain a woman's purse. There are several caddys and hooks which are available, but between the narrowness of smaller vehicles, the large consoles with shifters, cup-holders, CD racks and the like, all competing for space; larger purses still present a stowage problem in most cars.

Demographically, women are also shorter than men, and when considering the applicability of various accessories for the range of size and stature we must take care to expose the vehicle during the early development phases to people of all sizes and shapes. 'Old School' automotive design tended to be centered on the desires and physical stature of the chief engineer and head designer. Once again, in most instances that serious process flaw has been eliminated.

Women also have preferences (statistically speaking) for how often intermittent wipers wipe (women prefer to clear the windshield more often than men) and how much storage is within easy reach of the driver (fewer pockets and more things normally in the purse). We cannot fail to mention the issues related to how shoulder belts fit across the upper torso.

Again, the key to this topic is to recognize that women specify the purchase of the majority of vehicles in the United States of America, and to treat them with the respect that they deserve.

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