The Neanderthals never died out: they merely shifted to the segment of the advertising industry that dreams up car ads.

That’s the only way I can explain ads that offend half of their potential audience, like Maruti’s disgustingly sexist plug for the Zen as the “predator” car, still running despite frequent protests. (The ad features a woman fleeing from a menacing stalker — the “predator” Zen — down dark, deserted, dangerous streets. To anyone who’s female, drives in Delhi, and worries about being dragged out of her car and assaulted, as several women were in just the last year, the Zen ad goes way beyond being merely offensive).

This week, Jaguar drew protests when it sent out mailers in a teaser campaign for their new sports car. “So, what might drive you wild? Could it be the touch of skin on your fingertips? A long, honed body? Firm sensuous curves? A deep, responsive purr? ... I think I have the perfect match for you. I’ll send you a photograph next week.” Jaguar’s copywriting team worked hard on suggestive lines that would appeal to both sexes, but it drew flak anyway from people who wondered why a luxury automaker was trying to emulate the tone of the creepiest spammers online.

Maruti and Jaguar have little in common, except that they’re stuck in the old paradigm: sell cars as sexy beasts; assume your audience is not only male, but Neanderthal, unevolved male. (If men aren’t irritated by the Zen ad’s assumption that they’re leering predators with rape in their hearts, they should be.)

Volvo, in contrast, is trying hard to change — despite being notorious for its testosterone-laden products and campaigns in the past. As semioticians point out, the famous Volvo logo is very close to the universal symbol for the male gender.

This month, Volvo launched a concept car that’s been designed by a team of women. This is truly unusual: the only place you’ll see women in large numbers in the auto industry is as eye candy at auto shows, in the form of the skimpily clad nubile young things wiggling around the latest car models. Volvo’s change of heart is prompted by numbers: women now form 54 per cent of their customer base. And they’re demanding. “If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men,” explained Maria Uggla, the project’s colour and trim designer, speaking to news reporters.

The design team delivered, in spades. The YCC isn’t the usual malemobile repainted pink: it’s a sexy sports car that looks feminine but packs serious power. Some of its features are top-dressing, but very welcome all the same: Teflon paint (easy to clean), proper storage space for handbags, laptops, etc. created by shifting the gearbox, and a living room rather than the classic male cockpit feel. Some features are brilliant: better visibility taking the average height of women rather than the average height of men into consideration, great parallel parking features, secure hiding places for valuables set into door panels.

Since the YCC’s a concept car, you’re unlikely to be driving it soon. But it’s a first step in the right direction: at least Volvo’s figured out that they need to know what women want. Sooner or later, other car manufacturers are going to get with the programme, dial down the testosterone and hike the common sense levels up a few notches. Maybe they’ll even stop churning out Neanderthal ads, though that might be asking for too much!