Designers, engineers, programmers, and sales and marketing specialists participate in the creation of a car. And although some are unaware, there are also those responsible for controlling the odors that are generated inside a vehicle.
That responsibility in Nissan corresponds to Ryunosuke Ino, considered a master in odors: “No one knows more about the smell of Nissan cars than him,” they say in the company.
The aromas of a car are not only identified with each brand, but they have to be well controlled since some combinations can be harmful. And, although it sounds strange, there are people in the world who do not like the smell of a new car.
Ino works at the Nissan Technical Center in Japan as a technical expert in the Vehicle Indoor Air Quality department. With 20 years in the company, she today leads a team in charge of analyzing and authorizing the materials used in the brand’s vehicles.
While some engineers look at liners from the point of view of aesthetics or durability, Ino and her team make them based on the odors they generate.
“Smell is an important factor in a comfortable experience with the car” explained this specialist, which is why he clarifies that “passengers smell the closest depending on where they are in a vehicle, so it is important that we experiment from all seating”.
The sense of smell is surprisingly strong and can recognize hundreds of thousands of different smells, they describe from the Japanese brand.
Smells travel through the body’s olfactory neural tracts to centers in the brain that focus on memory and emotion, such as the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. That’s why the smell of a car can trigger strong memories.
Studies conducted also show that people trust their eyes more, but they can pick up a whole host of different scents that also leave a lasting impression. For Ino, it’s not just the first impression that’s critical, but how we perceive odors inside the cabin during the journey.
“First, I try to identify where the smell is coming from,” Ino says. “I try to locate and evaluate it from the perspective of the user of the vehicle, such as accessing the glove box or using the sun visor mirror.”
During a vehicle’s interior VOC testing process, which typically takes three days, Ino and her team of odor experts sniff headrests, dashboards, mirrors, glove boxes, sun visors, seats, headliner, cup holders. , carpets and any component with measurable odor.
The checks are typically done for three to five minutes to ensure proper assessment before the nose adjusts to the indoor odor. If something is not up to standard, checks are repeated to determine the cause and corrective action.
Seats that use the same materials are evaluated on an individual basis, as they may come from different vendors with unique production processes.
Ino’s team aims to ensure that all occupants enjoy a pleasant cabin environment, so the work extends to parts suppliers who make the fabrics, adhesives and polymers used in the vehicles.
Air circulation and exposure to sunlight are crucial factors affecting car odor, so the team uses a special environmentally sealed, heat and humidity controlled test room with a lighting system that simulates light. intense sun.
After running the checks, Ino must recalibrate her own body to normalize her sensitivity to all scents. He and his team each have their own personal way of doing that reset.
“Some experts have their own way of arriving at a baseline, like smelling coffee beans, to calibrate. In my case, I reset my nose by sniffing my arm near my elbow. This is familiar, so it prepares me to detect new scents.”
Ino and her team wear the same uniform worn by other Nissan employees but washed without detergent, making sure their olfactory impressions are clean and uninfluenced.
In any case, this golden-nosed man prepares himself whenever he has to test his skill: “The day before a check-up, I try not to eat dishes with garlic and strong-smelling foods.”
