Volvo is wowing auto-show audiences with what it says is the world’s first car exclusively designed and developed by women. The vehicle, called “Your Concept Car,” has no hood, no gas cap, dirt-repelling paint, many small compartments (for change, umbrellas, phones, etc.), an electronic parking-assistance mechanism, new sight lines and more. It even calls the service center on its own when it needs maintenance. The car may never be mass produced, but it generates plenty of goodwill for Volvo. The idea for the car began three years ago, after a group of women, including engineers, designers and marketers, at Volvo headquarters in Sweden attended a seminar that focused on how to better cater to women customers.

—Posted by Tim Nudd