Ford Debuts Luxury Gasoline Perfume For EV Drivers Who Miss The Scent
Image via Ford
Flashy car concepts revealed by automakers say it all: EVs are the future. However, just as dialup tones died with the advent of Wi-Fi, the scent of gasoline will become a thing of the past when drivers go electric.
The difference is people are going to miss that fossil fuel fragrance, according to a survey commissioned by Ford. The company, which is transitioning to an all-electric lineup, claims that “one in five drivers said the smell of petrol is what they’d miss most when swapping to an electric vehicle,” and that 70% of drivers said they’d miss the familiar scent to a certain degree. On top of that, it learned that the gasoline smell is just as loved as the aroma of new books, and that it’s even more popular than those of wine and cheese.
So to help drivers let go of the past while embracing the nostalgia, Ford teamed up with fragrance house Olfiction to create the ‘Mach-Eau’ (pronounced “macho”) perfume, named after the electric Mustang Mach-E, to retain the feel of whiffing gasoline.
In a bottle modeled after the familiar gas pump, Mach-Eau evokes hints of gasoline but doesn’t completely smell like motor fuels. The fragrance label’s founder Pia Long, an Associate Perfumer in the British Society of Perfumers, examined chemicals found in car interiors, engines, and gas, and incorporated two of them into the concoction. They were benzaldehyde, an almond-like scent emitted in car interiors, and para-cresol, the source of the rubbery scent in car tires.
The chemicals were blended with perfumy ingredients to create an actually pleasant fragrance—because, news flash, most people don’t want to smell like they’ve been drenched in car fuels. These include blue ginger, lavender, geranium and sandalwood for “metallic, smoky and further rubbery accents.” For a recognizable Ford note, an “‘animal’ element” was added to give “an impression of horses to underline the Mustang heritage.”
Mach-Eau isn’t for sale, though. It was presented at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in an olfactory bid to encourage drivers to move on to EVs, as well as help shake off reservations they may have about transitioning from traditional models.
Image via Ford
[via Yanko Design, images via Ford]
Also check out these recent news
