Will new cars have the hood welded shut?

aultl · 03-04-2004, 10:08 AM

According to this article at BBC, Volvo's new concept car for women has the hood welded shut so only a volvo mechanic can get inside. My favorite quote "The only reason to ever open the hood of a car is to fill the washer fluid."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3528757.stm

jnusaira · 03-04-2004, 10:10 AM

lmao ... i dont think i could ever see myself buying a car where i couldnt open the hood.

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 10:14 AM

This won't sell very well. The "women" who designed this car are of the upper class who never even check the oil. Bad news, your car is running low on oil and you have to take your car to an over priced volvo tech to get the oil topped off. Generally consumers are smarter than this.

hijinks21 · 03-04-2004, 10:37 AM

the sad part is people might just buy cars like this. This was on slashdot and the poster made a good comment.. people buy closed source software all the time and wait for MS to release a patch when something is broken.

Of course dealerships are ALWAYS more expensive but oh well.. it'll be interesting to see if this even happens. i know i'd never buy a car like that

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 10:40 AM

Software and cars are different things though. Most people place a much higher value on reliable transportation than reliable software.

jnusaira · 03-04-2004, 11:07 AM

well the only thng they have going for it .... is if they could CLEARLY make it reliable ... and volvo has a good brand name ..... so it oculd trick people into saying .... hey this car is SOOOOO reliable u dont even NEED to open the hood.

But seriously .... cars like the BMW .. are sooo *** hard to get into from what i understand. (ie: some have the batteries even difficult to get to) That its not like for mlany of these high end cars it even HELPS to open. That being said? how the hell would they make this? have one continuous piece of metal? seems expensive ....

kami333 · 03-04-2004, 11:25 AM

Interesting idea.

I think Toyota did something similar in Japan, they had a mostly female design team go at it. One of the first things they took out was most of the audio equipement, added more cup holders, etc.

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 11:29 AM

The problem here isn't women designing cars. The problem is that these are the wrong women designing cars. So we end up with guchi bag toteing empty headed well-to-do women who have no idea what a car needs "designing" cars. What we need are real women... but then I have no idea where to find one of those.

Confused · 03-04-2004, 11:31 AM

Does anyone else reckon that thing looks like a squashed up Maserati from the side/rear profile??

Garry

NightHunter · 03-04-2004, 12:04 PM

I would not even consider this as a car.
1) I cant stand the thought of not being able to open the hood to do a simple task as change the oil, or even top off my windshield wiper fluid or coolant.
2)A deal will charge an enormous amount to work on this car since he knows there is no other choice for the consumer. hence $100.00 oil changes
3)It's a VOLVO, what the fu@k do you think volvo has enough marketing and brain power to just stick with a traditional car and not try something as drastically stupid as this.

Maybe not, Damn europeans screwing it up again...LOL
.
anyway my 2 pennies on this subject

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 12:09 PM

I completely agree with NightHunter. Most people arn't going to like the idea, dealers will certainly take advantage of the oportunity to screw the customer, and volvo should be smarter than this... but they are not is appears.

Laidback · 03-04-2004, 12:14 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by aultl

Volvo's new concept car for women has the hood welded shut so only a volvo mechanic can get inside.

Only a Volvo mechanic with an angle grinder??

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 12:17 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Laidback

Only a Volvo mechanic with an angle grinder??

I know what you mean. Yeah, um, nobody is going to design a car with the hood "welded shut." That's just stupid engineering. Instead a one piece hood/fender assembly is more likely, much like front wheel drive drag cars.

robiewp · 03-04-2004, 12:22 PM

My guess is the whole front body comes off. I don't know what kind of impact this would have on unibody design...

"The whole front of the car is moulded in one piece which can be removed only by a Volvo mechanic."

I'd find a way into it if i ever bought one, though I will never buy one...

Cherub211 · 03-04-2004, 12:26 PM

As it is, newer volvos require a "dealer key" to turn off the "check engine light" after an oil change. I think the light turns on when you are supposed to have it changed. Stupid.

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