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Don’t you love stepping into a new car and getting a whiff of that glorious new car smell?
It’s no coincidence. It’s actually someones job to smell the cars, and ensure the scent is up to standard.
Ryunosuke Ino is known by many names, “The Nose of Nissan” is one, “Smellmaster” is the other. It’s his job to smell each car at the Nissan Technical Centre in Atsugi.
He evaluates the scent of cars in a sealed laboratory with special lighting equipment that controls temperature and humidity. This is because weather and sunlight conditions can hugely impact the smell of the vehicle, according to Nissan.
The Smellmaster ensures that all materials, adhesives, and paints meet Nissan’s standards, to create a comfortable environment inside the car at all times.
But the job is no walk in the park. The Smellmaster is tasked with sniffing every single aspect of the cars cabin. This includes the steering wheel, sun visors, glove box, dashboard, seats and upholstery, headrests, cup holders, door handle, floor mats and carpets.
“Smell is an important factor in spending time comfortably in the car, and Nissan is very particular about it. Normally, customers feel the smell closest to where they are sitting. It’s important to check the odour in every seat”.
Nissan believes that humans can perceive hundreds of thousands of odours. Odour is sent to the part of the brain which controls memory and emotions. The smell of a car can have a huge association with memory, and impact on the way you feel.
Keyword: This guy will smell your car, and you'll pay for the privilege