Design Your Own Volvo C30 Contest

Volvo has announced the winner of its “Design your own C30” contest in Sweden which attracted nearly 6,000 participants. The winner is 23-year-old Marie Karlsson, engineer from Vetlanda who will receive a Volvo C30 1.8F in the "dream pattern" Weeds. The contest was created to promote the launch of Volvo’s personalized adhesive films for the C30. The adhesive films that come in a variety of designs are offered exclusively in Sweden and Finland. However, Volvo stated that many markets have shown interest including Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, Romania, England, Denmark, France and Switzerland. -Continued

Volvo Truck’s New Merchandise Collection

Coinciding with the launch of its new truck range, Volvo Trucks has presented an in-house designed merchandise collection. The range, which consists of two collections, the “FH16” and the “Volvo Trucks”, comprises more than one hundred items, including leather wear, UV-safe baby clothing, bags, watches and lifestyle products.

Without wanting to sound stereotypical, we can’t help thinking that the collection and especially the “feline” models promoting them in the pictures seem to share more in common with C30 customers than with your typical truck drivers… -Continued

Volvo to Lay Off 2,000 Employees

Ford Motor Company’s Volvo Cars unit is planning to cut 2,000 jobs as part of a cost reduction programme which is estimated to reduce the total cost level by 4 billion SEK (approx. $700 million USD). The Swedish company said that it will lay off 1,400 white collar (consultants included) and 600 blue collar workers.

The notice includes 1,200 employees at Volvo Car Corporation in Gothenburg (1,105 employees), Volvo Car Sweden (45 employees) and Volvo Cars Body Components in Olofström (50 employees). Also, contracts with around 500 consultants will be cancelled while the company is also planning to reduce its workforce by 300 people abroad. -Continued

"This is an unfortunate but necessary action if we are to achieve a better financial position", said Fredrik Arp, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation. "We must tackle the difficult marked conditions, most of all in the US market. The market contribution to cover Volvo Cars' costs is very small", Arp continued

Volvo Recalling XC90 and S80 Models Equipped with V8 Engines

Swedish carmaker Volvo is recalling 102 MY 2008 XC90 and S80 vehicles equipped with V8 engines as these models may have been built with incorrect bolts to the engine mount. The aluminium bracket for the engine mount could break due to lack of adequate clamping force allowing the engine to come in contact with the sub-frame, resulting in a reduced engine torque or stalling of the engine without prior warning. Volvo’s dealers will inspect the engine mount bolts for specific markings. If any of the bolts contain the incorrect markings, the bracket and bolts will be replaced free of cost.

Video: Polish TV Crew’s Accident in Volvo V40 Caught on Tape!

A Polish TV crew that was returning back to Warsaw got the story (and the fright…) of their life when their Volvo V40 was involved in a roll over accident near the town of Dziecinów. According to one of the guys involved in the accident, in an attempt to avoid a collision with a green Seat Ibiza that blocked their way, the driver of the Volvo lost control of the car and rolled over into a ditch. Now, as for why the V40 was equipped with an onboard camera that was actually filming at the time of the incident, we have no idea. See the video and pictures of the accident right after the jump. -Continued

Via: Autoblog.nl

Volvo Announces UK Pricing on XC60 SUV - Significantly Cheaper Than BMW X3

Volvo's baby SUV, the XC60 will go on sale in the UK this summer with prices starting at ��24,750 ($48,700) for the 2.4D S with the 185Hp turbo diesel engine which is nearly ��5,000 ($9,800) cheaper than the rival BMW X2 2.0d 177Hp. The Volvo XC60 will be available in three trim levels in the UK: S, SE and SE Lux and will have the choice of three engines: the turbocharged T6 petrol uinit producing 285 Hp, and two variants of the D5 turbodiesel generating 185 and 163 Hp, respectively. -Continued

The S model gets exterior features such as 17" Segin alloy wheels, front fog lights, roof rails and rear spoiler, as well as a series of safety systems including City Safety and RSC (Roll Stability Control). Interior details include electronic climate control, information centre, cruise control, leather steering wheel with remote audio controls, aluminium trim and performance sound audio system with aux input and CD player.

The SE trim level adds Hill Descent Control, power driver's seat with memory and auto-folding power door mirrors with ground lights, Eriksberg T-Tec/Textile upholstery, autodimming rear view mirror with compass and chrome window trim.

Finally, the SE Lux enhances the SE specification with features such as chronographic instrument dials, leather upholstery and Nordic Light Oak natural wood trim, while both front seats are powered and heated. Further enhancements include luxury floor mats and chrome detailing, 18" Merac alloy wheels, active bending headlamps, power tailgate and rear park assist.

Volvo XC60	Prices (OTR)
S
2.4D AWD (163 PS)	��24,750
D5 AWD (185 PS)	��25,750
SE
2.4D AWD (163 PS)	��26,250
D5 AWD (185 PS)	��27,250
T6 AWD (285 PS) Geartronic	��31,995
SE Lux
2.4D AWD (163 PS)	��28,750
D5 AWD (185 PS)	��29,750
T6 AWD (285 PS) Geartronic	��34,495

Volvo S80 and V70 2.5FT: With 200Hp Flexfuel E85 Engine

Swedish carmaker Volvo is expanding its flexfuel line-up with the introduction of S80 and V70 2.5FT, both of which are equipped with a 5-cylinder, 2.5-litre turbocharged Flexifuel engine delivering 200 hp and 300 Nm of torque. The Flexifuel cars can run on E85 bioethanol or 95-octane unleaded petrol - or any mix of these two fuels.

Volvo says that from a technological viewpoint, it would have been possible to reach a higher output, but that would have translated in higher fuel consumption. The EU combined figure for both the S80 and V70 2.5T is 9.2 l/100 km or 25.6 MPG with the manual gearbox and 10.2 l/100 km or 23.0 MPG (V70) and 10.1 l/100 km or 23.3 MPG (S80) with the automatic gearbox. No thanks to its lower energy content, fuel consumption when running on E85 is approx 30-40% higher than when running on petrol.

Volvo C30, S40 & V50: New Double-Clutch Gearbox Cuts Consumption by 8%

Volvo’s version of the twin-clutch semi-automated gearbox that we became acquainted with as the DSG in VW Group models, the Powershift, is now available on the 136Hp 2.0-litre turbodiesel versions of the Volvo C30, S40 and V50 models. This new Powershift transmission is a six-speed unit and according to Volvo’s calculations, it contributes to a fuel consumption saving of about 8% compared with a conventional automatic transmission.

Volvo XC70 Pickup Truck Spotted Outside Volvo’s Museum!

A watchful reader over at our Swedish pals at “Bilfeber” scooped these pictures of two Volvo pickup trucks parked in front of the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden. While the six-wheeler XC90 LWB pickup truck is something we’ve seen before, the XC70 “El Camino” is a first –if you’ve seen it anywhere else, feel free to drop us a line.

From what we managed to find out, both of these cars seem to be the work of a Swedish coachbuilder called “Dalbo Fordonsteknik”. Call us weird, but we found the XC70 AWD El Camino’s design somewhat appealing. Maybe FoMoCo should look into building this one itself. What do you think? –More pics after the jump

Via: Bilfeber

2009 Volvo V70 With R-Design Package

From May 2008, the new V70 estate car becomes the fifth Volvo model to be offered with the Swedish carmaker’s sporty factory-fitted R-Design option pack. The refined V70 R-Design package combines a specially tuned lowered sports chassis with more distinctive styling.

Exterior-wise, the R-Design pack ads door mirror housings and grille detailing in silver finish, chrome exhaust tailpipe, a color coordinated rear spoiler and specially designed 18-inch aluminum wheels.

Inside the car, there are leather seats in off-black and cream embossed with the R-DESIGN logo, a leather steering wheel and unique aluminum interior trim, including sports pedals and center stack. The new instrument dials with blue inserts and sports gearlever complete the look. -Continued

As for the chassis, it has been optimised with the help of features such as stiffer anti-roll bars and bushings, and a lower ground clearance (20mm at the front, 15mm at the rear) for more direct road contact to deliver more responsive and rewarding steering feedback.

The whole package - Volvo V70 R-DESIGN

• Grille in silk metal finish with R-Design emblem.
• Foglamp décor at the front in silk metal finish.
• Door-mirror housings in silk metal finish.
• Five-spoke 18-inch aluminium wheels - Cratus.
• Black anodised window mouldings made of aluminium.
• Tailgate spoiler in the same colour as the body.
• Chromed visible exhaust tailpipe, 90 mm diameter,
• Rear colour-matched spoiler with black insert.
• Sports chassis: lowered 20 mm front and 15 mm rear.
• 11 exterior colours to choose between.
• Sports seats reinforced with extra foam padding in the seat and backrest cushions for added stability and comfort.
• Combined instrument with blue dial faces unique to R-Design cars.
• Sports steering wheel trimmed in perforated leather and R-Design emblem.
• Sports pedals made of aluminium.
• Upholstery of smooth leather in Off-Black and Ceramic Light colour combination, embossed with the R-Design emblem in the backrest.
• Specially designed centre console and unique décor pattern.
• Gear selector trimmed in perforated leather.
• Off-Black sports mats.
• The car has no rails on the roof. These are however available as factory options for those buyers who wish to specify them.

Via: Motorpasion