It seems the image of the driving damsel in distress is finally on its way out, now that the men in charge of everything have decided to patronize, er, cater to the fairer sex.

Take, for example, insurance. It's so hard and confusing. If only a major insurance company would start a division with a snappy name and a pink logo to make things all better. If you happen to live in the UK, Esure is way ahead of you with their specialized outfit Sheila's Wheels. The company has an entirely female management staff and offers special coverage for stolen purses, which will surely come in handy when you wrap your pink convertible around a telephone pole.

But what about the car itself? Like the SAT's, standard automobiles have always been so female-unfriendly. That is, if you're the chick from The Princess and the Pea. But now Volvo has come out with a concept car designed by their female employees for their female customers. The
Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car) features gull wing doors for easy skirt entry and no hood (to avoid all those problems that come from chicks trying to change their own oil and whatnot).

And how about women who just don't like to drive alone? There's always the threat of getting carjacked, not to mention looking silly as you speed along reciting your grocery list to yourself. So now - you guessed it - another British company has come along with a ridiculous solution to both problems. Surely a blow-up man who lives in the glove box is the answer! OK, so maybe he looks more like a giant circus peanut than a real man - and you would look ten times crazier talking to "him" - but these are small concerns when we're talking about safety, people.

As for us Angelenos, this guy might actually come in handy for the carpool lane, but he needs some work if he'll ever be our version of the Real Doll.


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