All Entries in the "VOLVO" Category
Fender Bender Avoidance by Volvo
By Gunnar Heinrich |IMG Volvo via YouTube
“CITY SAFETY” as Volvo is calling its low-speed crash prevention system, was a long time in coming. In fact, the feature would’ve come in handy on another Volvo I drove 11 years ago.
Yours was stuck in I-95 traffic in a black over cream Volvo 850GLT sportswagon (loved that car – underpowered – but the perfect blend of handsome design, spunky sport, comfort, and utility).
It was night. Rain pelted my windshield. Cars were moving at a stop ‘n go pace of probably 5 mph. My mind wandered. My glazed gaze turned to look out the driverside win-BAM!
I hit the Jeep in front of me who decided to stay parked instead of rolling forward with the cars in front on him. Yeah, it was still my fault – I hadn’t focused on what was in front of me and as a result our handsome Swede needed a new grille.
Truth is, we’ve all been there at one point or another. And this where this City Safety feature shows promise. Operating between 2-20 mph, the system uses lasers directed out the top of the XC60′s windshield (above the rainsensor) to search for other cars.
The system promises to either lessen the impact or avoid it completely by applying full braking pressure when the system detects that an imminent collision with a large object directly ahead. When the system is activated, the brake lights are also (wisely) engaged.
Other car manufacturers – namely Mercedes-Benz and BMW – also feature various versions of the same accident avoidance system on various models. But Volvo’s making a point of actively marketing it’s own version.
This takes us one step closer to those self-operating pods us gear heads fear – but it also keeps us one step away from calling the insurance man.
Volvo S80 Stretch Limo Spied
I-Roll 80′s style.
By Gunnar Heinrich
UNLESS you’re a head of state or just heading out to a party with twenty of your closest mates, there’s no real cause for a strech limo. In fact, most self-respecting clubbers looking to splurge are much more inclined to play the old telephone booth game in the back of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
I’ve seen it happen in Miami and it sure wasn’t pretty…but maybe just a little compelling?
Anyway, someone across the Pond didn’t get the memo that stretch limos went out some time between 1997 and 1998. Nor the aspect that Volvos S80s do not elongate prettily.
Ah well, it’s prettier than a 40′ Hummer H2 on 22′s. Or an old 740 stretch for that matter.
Cheers met mijn vrienden op autoblog.nl!
Volvo S60 Concept Finds Humor & Some…
Look closer and you’ll get the joke
By Gunnar Heinrich
ADMITTEDLY Volvo has been off ADL’s radar for some time.
If you parse through the thousand some odd columns posted on Automobiles De Luxe, there may be nine that are devoted to the Swedish automaker. And that’s funny considering how many more articles focus on Saab which drinks in the same social circles.
The cause for this, dear reader, has been more or less my own resigned disenchantment with the Volvo line post 850. Volvo cast off the (1990′s) 850′s sharp looks and sporting dynamics to embrace the bloated S80 in a horrific great leap forward that destroyed the Swedish automaker’s burgeoning performance cred.
The idea might have been that you could have your safety cage and drive it fast, too.
Some exceptions exists to the no sex while driving rule at Volvo. The C70 droptop takes the S40′s handsomeness and rolls with it. The XC90, for an SUV, also casts a kind profile. But having driven all three, I can say that they’re pretty uneventful, even sleepy undertakings. Which can’t be safe.
So, disillusioned, I only recently got around to taking a closer gander at Volvo’s upcoming S60 Concept that’s set to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. I got excited.
Not because it’s pretty (it isn’t) or that it’s unique in some bold way (it’s not), but because the S60′s designer has a sense of humor and put it to good use. This Volvo comes with suicide doors.
A Volvo who’s company tag line is “Drive Safely” feature a concept even remotely risqué?
So, I read a little bit more about the man behind the plan – Steve Mattin – and discovered that his last job was at Mercedes-Benz. He’s responsible for the current S-Class; which is a significant improvement over Bruno Sacco’s last hurrah.
It’s unlikely that Mr. Mattin’s joke will make see production in the next S60. But what’s clear is that all that flame surfacing marks personality being injected back into a brand (forgive the word) that’s has forgotten the marketing buzz word of buzz words “sex”.
In his interviews Mr. Mattin euphemistically calls it “emotion” but we know what he’s driving at. Who knows? Perhaps with a little more time, money and sexual product development, this new emotion may just reep new dividends for the I-Roll people.
And that might end up putting Volvo on everyone’s radar.
[Linked: Mattin Interview | S60 Concept]
Weekend Snapshot > The Amazon Meets The Urban Jungle
Vintage Volvo Amazon advertised in Empire Red for the Big Apple.
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
What’s that plastic rectangle doing in this S80′s grille?
It’s like those thin-plastic link packages that you’ve got to break apart
to get at a toy- but in this instance, the kid only got part of the way there…
Volvo For Sale. I’ll Roll With That.
Rolling along.(img: Automobile)
Detroit’s influence on Goteborg has produced mixed results, to be kind.
Good: the Ford-initiated XC90 is not only comfortable, safe, and moderately stylish, it has been a real sales booster for Volvo. The SUV would not have been possible without the Blue Oval’s financial backing. And Ford has re-imaged the marque to appeal to families – i.e. the penultimate soccer mom transport.
Bad: the whole family image thing gets boring even to those who buy with school runs in mind.
The V50’s a flop.
Volvo’s reputation for safety is proving to be as much marketing as substance. IIHS gave the S40 sports sedan a merely “acceptable” rating in a side-impact crash test. This means that the driver dummy would have suffered internal injuries and broken ribs if broadsided by an SUV traveling 40 mph. Same results for the larger S60.
By comparison, the Audi A6 was rated “good” in the same test; drivers and passengers would walk away without serious injury.
Good: the new Volvo C70 hard-top convertible is even better than the last convertible – safer (top pick from IIHS) and more refined. The car looks especially sharp in red.
Bad: few but the party faithful will buy a $40K+ convertible from the soccer-mom car company.
Good: Ford has invested faithfully in its Swedish subsidiary and received a profitable carmaker in return.
Bad: The fiscal magic is losing its shine with weaker M.Y. ’07 sales in the U.S.
In sum, it’s been fun (sort of) but Volvo’s ready to roll on down the road.
Sources: [IIHS, Consumer Reports, Financial Times, Morgan & Co.]
