This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Michael Cote. Original Post: That Cadilac Smell... Feed Title: Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc. Feed URL: https://cote.io/feed/ Feed Description: Using Java to get to the ideal state. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Michael Cote Latest Posts From Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc.

General Motors recently revealed that its Cadillac division had engineered a scent for its vehicles and had been processing it into the leather seats. The scent — sort of sweet, sort of subliminal — was created in a lab, was picked by focus groups and is now the aroma of every new Cadillac put on the road.

It even has a name. Nuance.

"You pay the extra money for leather, you don't want it to smell like lighter fluid," said James T. Embach, G.M.'s manager for advanced features. "You want it to smell like a Gucci bag."

Just yesterday, at the car show, Kinman and I were sitting in a Deville and both said, "yup, smells like a Cadilac."

And, maybe soon to come:

The new-car smell need not stop at leather, however. "We believe there is growth potential in people wanting to be in this big burly S.U.V. with rich walnut and they want it to smell like wood," said Jeff Rose, senior vice president at Collins & Aikman.

Wood perfume would be needed, he explained, because wood parts are so heavily lacquered that they "don't even smell like wood."