Tag Archives | Volvo

Detroit 2011: Volvo C30 Electric Safely Crashes Stage

By on January 11, 2011 in News

By Kevin Miller

Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles virtually littered the floor of Cobo hall this year. It seems as though near as many vehicles have an SAE J1772 charging port as have a standard gasoline fuel filler. Show stands on the main floor and the basement of Cobo featured a variety of EV charging equipment. Into this environment, Volvo injected their focus on safety. In combination with the battery supplier ENER1, Volvo showed a C30 Electric which had been subjected to a 40 MPH frontal offset collision.

In C30 models with internal combustion engines, the engine forms a part of the crash-absorbing structure at the front of the car. Because the C30 Electric has a much smaller electric drive unit, with a relatively heavy load of batteries located farther back in the car, additional structural members were added to the front of the vehicle to provide occupant protection in a collision. Continue Reading →

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Review: 2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD

By on December 16, 2010 in Reviews

By Kevin Miller

I am no stranger to 300 HP, midsized Volvos. As the original owner of a 2004 Volvo V70R, I’ve watched the development of the S60’s second generation with great interest. As the original S60 remained in production long past its sell-by date, Volvo needed a replacement that could continue the original car’s’s style, while improving on rear seat room and the original S60’s now-antiquated in-car electronics.

Volvo has launched the S60 with a marketing campaign referring to the car as the Naughty Volvo. While the new S60 T6 AWD does not carry the R moniker, it probably could. Rated 300 HP, with a smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transaxle, the car does a much better job of smoothly transferring power to the ground than the R-series cars ever did, and Volvo’s latest-generation AWD system makes the car feel less front-heavy than one would be expect, given the car’s front-drive-based foundation. Unfortunately, neither a manual transmission nor the V60 wagon version of the vehicle are destined for the US market.

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First Drives: 2011 S60, Mazda2, Juke, Optima, and Grand Cherokee

By on October 20, 2010 in Features

By George Straton

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a day at a media event outside Chicago where I was able to play the automotive version of musical chairs. Over six grueling hours, I and a few dozen other media members were able to get some seat time in 30 or so newer automotive models. The following is the result of the time spent with several new-for-model year 2011 offerings which we think will have some sort of impact in the marketplace.

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Paris Show Preview: Volvo S60 and V60 R-Design

By on September 21, 2010 in News

By Kevin Miller

Volvo today announced R-Design packages for their new S60 and V60 sedan and wagon, that will make their debut at the Paris Auto Show at the end of this month. The S60 is already on sale in Europe, and is hitting US Volvo dealerships this month, in the T6 launch trim with 300 HP from a 3.0 liter inline 6 and AWD, delivered through a 6-speed Geartronic automatic transmission. Other powertrains will become available sometime after the initial launch of T6 models, but no manual transmission is planned for any S60 models in the US.

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The Naughty Volvo Goes on Tour

By on August 3, 2010 in News

By Kevin Miller

For a reason I cannot comprehend, Volvo is marketing their new S60 sedan as “The Naughty Volvo”. In an attempt to build enthusiasm for the car among loyal Volvo customers ahead of the on-sale date, Volvo has literally taken their show on the road, with the Naughty Volvo Tour.

Being held at Volvo retailers across the nation, the Naughty Volvo Tour (hereafter, NVT) is a road show featuring two S60 sedans, plus a bunch of interactive displays which are set up in a showroom with catered hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks. I was recently able to attend the NVT at a Seattle-area retailer, which gave me a chance to check out the new S60 without the throngs of people who were surrounding it at recent international auto shows.

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Volvo Pegs the Naughtymeter

By on July 30, 2010 in Editorials, News

By Charles Krome

A recent study in cultural anthropology sought to evaluate human behavior in five different European capitals to determine which city was the “naughtiest.”  The outcome was announced on July 28 and, unsurprisingly, the winner was Paris. More surprising: The whole thing was actually part of a Volvo marketing campaign.  For the full version of the lead photo in this story, click here.

Yep, those wacky Swedes are still at it.

In my very first piece for Autosavant, I took a look at how Volvo is trying to widen its appeal by developing unexpected marketing campaigns aimed at attracting new customers. In that story, I mentioned the automaker’s efforts to reach the much-coveted vampire segment through some nifty product placement work in the latest “Twilight” movie.

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Geely’s Volvo Purchase Expected to Close This Week

By on July 29, 2010 in News

By Chris Haak

Alan Mulally’s “One Ford” strategy is now nearly complete.  After several years of unwinding the Jacques Nasser-era purchases of European luxury brands (first Aston Martin, then Jaguar and Land Rover), the final step is completion of the transaction to sell Sweden’s Volvo to China’s Geely.  And with the approval of China’s powerful Ministry of Commerce, the Volvo deal is expected to close this week.

With the impending closure of Mercury and last year’s divestiture of a controlling stake in Mazda, Ford Motor Company’s portfolio of brands have now shrunk from eight (Mazda, Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury) to just two (Ford and Lincoln).  Too, the removal of regional fiefdoms in Ford’s global structure means that European Fords, Australian Fords, American Fords, and Asian Fords will be more alike than ever before.  Take the 2011 Fiesta, the 2012 Focus, the 2010 Transit Connect, or the upcoming C-Max minivan, for example.

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Volvo in the Twilight Zone

By on July 5, 2010 in Editorials, News

By Charles Krome

I’m not going to waste too much time (or bandwidth) on introductions, but here’s one important tidbit about life in the Krome lane: During my formative years in the early 1970s, my father had a passion for British roadsters, a sickness that culminated in his Lotus Elan.

Dad would drop the top on the bright-yellow Lotus—sporting a thick racing stripe down the hood in British Racing Green, of course—stuff my brother and me into the spaces behind the front seats and take to the highway. There, my bro and I would stand up and wave our arms around in the car’s slipstream while dad terrorized other motorists at 100 mph or so.

Needless to say, I had my hopes set pretty high during the long countdown to my 16th birthday. I was thinking MGB or maybe a Midget—but it turns out my father was thinking Volvo. A 1970-ish Volvo 142 to be exact.

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Volvo’s Identity Crisis

By on March 29, 2010 in Editorials, News

By Kevin Miller

On Sunday, a press conference was held at Volvo’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, announcing that Ford has entered into an agreement to sell Volvo Car Corporation and related assets to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited. The release states that the sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The purchase price of $1.8 billion will be paid to Ford primarily in cash at the time of closing.

“Volvo is a great brand with an excellent product lineup. This agreement provides a solid foundation for Volvo to continue to build its business under Geely’s ownership,” said Alan Mulally, Ford’s president and CEO. “At the same time, the sale of Volvo will allow us to further sharpen our focus on building the Ford brand around the world.”

Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars, added, “The Volvo management team fully endorses Ford’s sale of Volvo Cars to Geely. We believe this is the right outcome for the business, and will provide Volvo Cars with the necessary resources, including the capital investment, to strengthen the business and to continue to move it forward in the future. Continue Reading →

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Falling Out of Love With Your Car

By on February 19, 2010 in Features

By Kevin Miller

02.19.2010

2004 Volvo V70RPeople who drive appliance-type cars solely to get from point A to point B may not get this, but some of us have a lot of emotion and passion wrapped up in our choice of vehicles. Since I have been old enough to buy nice cars, I’ve been a Saab driver. A combination of my Swedish heritage, and the cars’ highly-engineered systems have always attracted me to them.

That being said, in 2004 I was looking for a car to replace my nine year old 900 hatch. Having gotten married and started planning for a family, a four-door car made sense. With my family planning to relocate to Eastern Washington, which would necessitate regular drives through snowy mountain passes, I wanted a vehicle with all-wheel drive, which Saab didn’t offer at the time. Appreciating sporty performance and handling, the ever-popular SUV wasn’t on my shopping list, but I still wanted utility. When I read in late 2003 of the 2004 Volvo V70R, I thought it sounded perfect. With 300 HP from a turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual transmission delivering power to all four wheels, and a lower, electronically controlled suspension system, I felt the V70R offered the perfect blend of sport and utility, while staying true to my Swedish car-loving roots. Besides that, I thought it looked hot; very sporty and capable, but at the same time restrained in the same way as so many other Scandinavian products are.

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