Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg is one of Sweden’s most renowned textile and carpet designers.

The Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car) is celebrating its first birthday in March 2005. And for a one-year-old it is exceptionally well travelled.

Automotive News Europe, the most prestigious magazine in the automotive world, has named the nine women behind Volvo Cars' concept car YCC Women of the year. The headline reads: the women that changed Volvo.

The idea of an all-woman team making all the decisions in the development of a new concept car arose at Volvo in the autumn of 2001. Visiting Volvo at the time for a series of workshops was Marti Barletta, an American expert on female consumer patterns. She claimed: "If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men".

The YCC is a car of many contrasts. It is functional and user friendly, yet sporty and emotional. Its exterior styling strikes a balance between all these qualities. That is why the YCC has:

The YCC was designed to suit the individual. You choose the information and settings you want. You choose how you like the interior to look and how high you like to ride. Some of the interior benefits in the YCC are:

The female perspective was at the core of the YCC project from the outset and that was exactly the way Volvo Car Corporation wanted it to be. A concept car project started, inspired and managed by women. One in which women always had the final say.

At Volvo Car Corporation, an all-women team is developing a concept car that goes under the internal working name of Your Concept Car. The finished product will be revealed 2004.

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.