Side Stories: Female-Directed Automobiles

So last week on the drive home, we spotted a Honda Fit “She’s” out in the wild! At first, I assumed that cute little pink badge was just some tacky aftermarket sticker someone bought off Temu, but it turns out it’s 100% real. Honda dropped this special edition back in 2012 for the Japanese market, specifically aiming it at women. Under the hood, it was just a standard 1.3-liter Fit with its classic, hyper-practical "Magic Seats," but it came loaded with cosmetic tweaks like an exclusive pink paint job, heart badges, and pink interior stitching. They even threw in "skincare" tech, like 99% UV-blocking glass and a special AC system built to keep your skin moisturized. Even though it was actually designed by an all-female Honda team, the whole concept got slapped with heavy global backlash for playing into lazy gender stereotypes, and the trim was killed off pretty quickly.

As wild as that sounds, automotive history is actually packed with female-led projects—some amazing, and others that aged like milk. Take the 2004 Volvo YCC, which was designed by an all-female crew. It had brilliant touches like gull-wing doors that lowered the sills so your clothes wouldn't get dirty, headrests shaped for ponytails, hands-free auto-opening doors for when you're carrying bags, and washable, swappable seat pads. 

But then it had features that feel pretty ironic coming from an all-female team: the engine bay was completely sealed shut because the team assumed women wouldn't want to mess with mechanics, leaving maintenance alerts and repairs strictly to the "professionals." It also had run-flat tires so you'd never have to change a flat, plus capless fuel and washer fluid ports right on the outside so you wouldn't have to hunt for a lever under the dash.

This whole trend goes way back, too. In the 1950s, GM hired the "Damsels of Design"—the first official female design crew in US auto history—who came up with clever ergonomics and early retractable seatbelts for cars like the Corvette "Fancy Free." On the flipped side, Dodge gave us the 1955 "La Femme," a pink-and-white land yacht cooked up by male executives that came with a matching purse, lipstick, and umbrella stored in the back.

Thankfully, the modern era shifted focus from gimmicks to serious design powerhouses. A female duo secretly won BMW's anonymous design contest to create the sleek 2009 Z4 (Juliane Blasi on exterior, Nadya Arnaout on interior), while Michelle Christensen made history by penning the aggressive lines of the 2016 Acura NSX supercar. Add in Mimi Vandermolen, who reshaped the 1993 Ford Probe with switches meant for long fingernails and Diane Allen, who led the exterior design for the legendary Nissan 350Z and 370Z, and it’s clear women have shaped some of the coolest cars on the road.