Volvo’s safety philosophy is as old as the company itself. More than 70 years ago, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, the founders of Volvo, stated that
Providing all the passengers with the best possible protection in an accident is one of the cornerstones of the Volvo Cars and Ford Motor Company safety philosophy.
Stefan Jansson, a designer at the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center, Camarillo, California, describes how the shape of the Volvo SCC was created, with the aid of computers. He was the responsible exterior designer for that project.
Concept cars have always attracted attention at the world's motor shows. In the case of many manufacturers they tend to be pure design studies - futuristic but empty shells which look good on camera. The purpose of Volvo's concept cars, however, has always been to identify and try out new solutions for designs and technology that really work.