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Volvo Cars and Art Center College of Design Present First-Ever Car Designed by Women

SEPT. 19 MEDIA ALERT/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Volvo's 'Your Concept Car' at Art Center's South Campus Monday, September 19

  WHAT:      Volvo and Art Center College of Design will unveil to the West
             Coast "Your Concept Car" (YCC): the first car in the more than
             100 years of auto manufacturing designed and developed almost
             exclusively by women.

             Designed with the needs of everyone in mind, the sleek, sporty
             car features dozens of design elements and innovations not
             typically found in cars designed by men, including no gas cap,
             no hood, headrests for ponytails, gull wing doors, improved
             storage solutions and new sight lines for drivers.

             The historic car has been touring the world and will make its
             one-time West Coast appearance at Art Center College of Design
             in Pasadena.

  WHEN:      Public viewing of car: Monday, Sept. 19, 8 a.m. -- 10 p.m.
             Presentations to students: Monday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m. and
             1:30 p.m. (session times are tentative)
             Media invited to attend any time Monday

  WHERE:     Art Center College of Design
             South Campus
             950 South Raymond Ave.
             Pasadena, CA 91105

  WHO:       Presented by a team of women engineers, designers, marketers
             and managers at Volvo who initiated, designed and developed the
             car -- including Anna Rosen, Exterior Designer and alumna of
             Art Center.  Members of Art Center from a variety of design
             disciplines also will be on-hand to discuss the car.

  WHY:       Women purchase about half of all new cars and influence the
             vast majority of all car sales; yet, for a century, men have
             made most of the decisions in the design, development and
             production of a car, until now.

  FEATURES:  The YCC features innovative storage solutions throughout --
             accommodating carry-ons similar to an airplane (i.e., laptop
             bags, briefcases, handbags, etc.), low maintenance features
             precipitating a no open hood, no gas cap refueling and theater-
             style rear seats allowing greater storage capacity.

             Among other of its many premium features: easy-clean paint;
             numerous exchangeable seat covers of various colors and
             materials (linen, leather, felt, etc.); gull-wing doors that
             make it easier to load and unload larger items; computerized
             assistance for parallel parking; and improved sight lines via
             Volvo's own Ergovision concept -- whereby at the point of
             purchase, retailers conduct a body scan of the driver measuring
             height and length of arms and legs. The data is stored in the
             vehicle's key, and the car recommends a seat position for the
             driver that provides her or him an optimal line of vision and
             reach.  The car also electronically notifies the owner's chosen
             service center when maintenance is due, and the service
             technician contacts the owner to book the appointment.  And the
             YCC comes with an environmentally sensitive, yet powerful 215
             bhp, PZEV engine.

  CONTACT:   For Volvo:
             Eric Davis, 612.372.6447
             eric@habermaninc.com
   
   For Art Center:
   Christine Hanson, 626.396.2394 (o) or 323.578.4834 (c)
   christine.hanson@artcenter.edu
   
   For photos and more information on the YCC and the designers:
   www.volvocars-pr.com.

PRNewswire -- Sept. 6