IT SEEMS that men are becoming a dying breed when it comes to car purchases, writes Alyson Marlow.

Latest research reveals that 80 per cent of car purchases are influenced by women and research this week suggests that men are set to take a further back seat with the launch of a new range of car brochures for children.

The increasing influence of women on the motoring industry is evident from Volvo and its YCC project, the first in the world to be developed by an all-female Volvo team.

On display in London at the Islington Design Centre, it focuses on the kind of things women want in a car.

While performance, prestige and style are still important, more practical items such as storage, easy maintenance, flexibility, good visibility and safety are now high on the priority list for the female customer.

So the team created a car that includes features such as gull wing doors for easier access and a combination of ergonomics and vision that recommends a seating position for each driver to ensure optimum vision while all controls are still within comfortable reach.

The car also has a personalised interior where you can change the carpets and seating, and smart storage to cater for everything from a laptop to mobile phones something all cars should have.

And for easy maintenance, there is easy-clean paint, run-flat tyres, exterior fillers for screen wash and self-diagnostics to book servicing.

Meanwhile, for younger customers, there is a new range of car literature from Honda, which says that research shows that almost two out of three British children aged between ten-15 would like more of a say when it comes to choosing the family car.

With this in mind, Honda has commissioned its first kiddies' car brochure to coincide with the launch of the FR-V, which targets young families with kids.

With brands becoming cool' or boring' in the eyes of children at a very early age, Honda believes it is important to talk to them on their level and allow them to form their own opinions. Half of the brochure is for children aged four to seven while eight to ten-year-olds are catered for on the reverse side. Billed the FR-V fun zone', the junior brochure includes information about Honda's new model, plus games, competitions and puzzles. The young' section includes a join-the-dots picture of the FR-V, plus a look-and-see game to play in the car while older kids get a crossword and a jokes page.