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Saab’s Female Reference Group makes a difference
Tight skirts are part of the input when new Saabs are being developed.
Female views and values count for plenty when Saab is styling and developing new models.
Behind this is Saab’s Female Reference Group – ten women aged between 25 and 55 and holding down both administrative and technical jobs at Saab headquarters in Sweden.
The Female Reference Group has been in existence for two years. One of the initiatives behind it came from Saab’s Vice President, Technical Development, Lars Olsson.
"Women have quite a major role in the choice of family car. That’s why we think it’s important for women to have their due say in the development of our new models," says Olsson.
"In the two years of the Female Reference Group a string of good points and contributions have been made which we’re trying to incorporate into our coming car projects."
Lill Melander, the Female in charge of the Reference Group, is ready to testify that there are differences between men and women when it comes to cars.
"Basically men and women have the same needs – that’s true, but there are physical differences that you have to allow for. There was a time when women contented themselves with smaller and inferior cars compared with men, but those days are past," she says.
"Once behind the wheel it’s largely a matter of purely functional points. The clutch pedal mustn't be too stiff, the steering must work without excessive force, and the same applies to backrests, which must be easy to adjust."
Other female views on the car concern the design of the jack and its points of attachment. And women would like to see front seats that are better suited to their normally slimmer bodies. Lateral support may sometimes feel insufficient, especially in cars with leather seats.
Very much a female observation on the design of the car is that it must be easily driven by a woman wearing a tight skirt. Broad door sills can make it next to impossible for her just to get into the car. It’s even worse if the pedals are too far apart, because that can make it difficult to switch promptly from accelerator to brake.
The members of the Female Reference Group spend quite a lot of time driving cars and putting their views down on paper after the test runs.
"That gives us something to go on during the discussions we have with the project groups," says Lill Melander.
"We noticed quite early on that our views were getting a hearing. Our aim is to make ourselves a recognised group whose opinions are sought after, factored in and made to count in the process of developing new cars, from the first stroke of the pencil to the finished vehicle."
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