![\"Nissan](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/656f8c8f1265877f7dd06d92\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/WIRED-MaleCarDesign-2400x1600-72DPI-4.jpg\")
What\u2019s more, the standard characteristic of exterior car design\u2014performance\u2014has for decades anecdotally smacked of boyhood\u2019s clich\u00e9 Hot Wheels dreams. Jeremy Offer, global head of design at Volvo, says the physical product of the automobile has always been the gateway to experiencing a car. That experience, for the most part, has been about the need for speed and performance: macho-feeling haunches, power bulges, a prominent front-end grille, hood scoops, and the sleek curves of aerodynamics. \u201cIt was always a mark of engineering excellence,\u201d says Offer. \u201cIt\u2019s the Formula 1 model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If masculinity has been the overarching design standard in automotive, then uncovering its counter (femininity? androgyny?) among new drivetrain tech will require a bit of nuance. Either way, for the first time in a century, there is a giant opportunity to completely upend that standard (speed, handling, aerodynamics) and reconsider the way we think about, build, and design cars. It\u2019s complicated and, as such, Rams\u2019 notion of keeping both the essential and the poetry might get tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where Are the Female Design Heads?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Given that the majority holding C-suite spots at most of the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are men, it\u2019s no surprise cars have long been associated with a testosterone-fueled stereotype. Even crash-test dummies have historically been made with the male form in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n …the list of cars designed by women since then remains tiny. According to the Women\u2019s Automotive Network, Marilena Corvasce was the first female design lead at a major manufacturer, with the 1982 Ghia Brezza<\/a> (though it was never actually produced); Mimi Vandermolen was behind the design for the Ford Probe<\/a>; Diane Allen designed the Nissan 350Z<\/a>; and Michelle Christensen created the Acura NSX<\/a> design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, Vandermolen was trained as an interior designer and was later in charge of designing the Ford Taurus and then the Probe, specifically in that case to make driving one better for women. She\u2019s often recognized as the designer behind tactile controls, rotary dials, and digital interior control panels, and has been widely quoted<\/a> as once telling her boss: “If I can solve all the problems inherent in operating a vehicle for a woman, that’ll make it that much easier for a man to use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>And, truly, if the Hot Wheels stereotype actually does have weight, it might play into how many women pursue car design as a career once they\u2019re college-aged. \u201cMaybe just getting into car design as a career is unattractive if the subject at hand doesn\u2019t engage you,\u201d suggests Bangle, \u201cbut I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true to the point that it excludes anyone from the game. Lots of women are petrol heads, but if you go back to when the current crop of top managers was formed, what was the situation for becoming a car designer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps now, a window is opening to add more women like Christensen to design teams, and to infuse more femininity, or even androgyny, into car design. \u201cOur cars are becoming more like devices,\u201d says Offer. \u201cWe need a new way of thinking about the automotive experience.\u201d Funnily enough, while the topic feels timely, electric cars have been around since the late 1800s. Ferdinand Porsche\u2019s first car<\/a>, the Egger-Lohner Model C.2 Phaeton, was electric, and by the turn of the 19th century, the US Department of Energy estimates, one-third<\/a> of all cars were electric. They were quiet, easy to use, and perfect for local trips around town\u2014which is why they were marketed to women. One model, the 1912 Waverly Electric<\/a>, highlighted cleanliness and space (\u201cdelicate gowns not marred in this roomy electric!\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for what\u2019s next in EVs today, Offer says the objective is to \u201cexplore a level of customization and modularity in a vehicle that can flex to your own needs: shopping, camping, taking the kids to school. It\u2019s about making the vehicle adaptable whether you\u2019re a man, woman or neither.\u201d Data<\/a> from the Organisation for Economic Coordination and Development shows that, worldwide, women still do most of the heavy lifting in unpaid household chores and responsibility. Men average a touch more than 2 hours per day, while women complete a little more than 4 hours daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building design elements into cars that make sense for dogs and kids and groceries isn\u2019t sexist, or buying into a stereotype\u2014it\u2019s a nod to the invisible labor women do every day, regardless of whether they work full-time, stay home, or something in between. And, incidentally, plenty of men do that labor, too, and might appreciate a small detail that makes dealing with a car seat or traveling with a golden retriever easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Tesla](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/656f8c901ebeb99b31c32c6e\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/WIRED-MaleCarDesign-2400x1600-72DPI-3.jpg\")
An Unattractive Career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"HiPhi](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/656f8c91831be9ee528dd6e1\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/WIRED-MaleCarDesign-2400x1600-72DPI-2.jpg\")
EVs Originally for Women<\/h2>\n\n\n\n