The Volvo S80L joins a handful of vehicles that have been stretched to suit Chinese market tastes. The S80L is essentially a long wheelbase version of the Volvo S80. It is a full 140mm longer than a standard S80, with all the extra length dedicated to increasing rear legroom. The Volvo S80L will be built at the CFMA Chongqing plant in China. It’s peers will be the likes of the Audi A6L and the E60 BMW 5-Series long wheelbase.
Ford is looking to dump its premium brand Volvo, known for its safety, and is currently said to be in talks with two Chinese car manufacturers – Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and ChangAn Automobile Group.
The SAIC rumour came about last week, reported by publications which were quoting unnamed sources. According to reports, Ford is hoping the Volvo sale can fetch £4 billion, which is less than the £4.4 billion sum it paid for Volvo in 1999. SAIC could do perform some front wheel drive platform sharing magic between MG and Ford.
Ford refused to comment on the talks when contacted by members of the media. “We will not comment on speculation or rumors, nor will we comment on regular business discussions that we have with our partners,” Ford said in a statement. Changan is Ford’s partner in China, and makes some Fords and Mazdas in China under one of its subsidiaries. It also assembles the Volvo S40 in China.
Another Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group is also mildly interested in acquiring any assets the Detroit Three may dump for cheap. You may have noticed Dongfeng trucks in Malaysia. But Dongfeng is only monitoring the situation at best, and it’s too early to say if it would buy any assets.
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Volvo trucks doesn’t want Volvo cars if Ford sells
Ford Motor Co has announced that it is considering selling its Volvo Cars marque, but a review of its current options would take several months to complete. Volvo itself is currently undergoing a restructuring plan under its new CEO Stephen Odell.
It was previously speculated that the Swedish government may be interested, but what about Volvo (the industrial group whose businesses include making Volvo trucks) themselves? Volvo sold Volvo Cars to Ford in 1999. But it seems that they’re not interested in revisiting the past. They’ve come out and said that they “absolutely do not want to buy Volvo Cars”, quoted verbatim from their chairman Finn Johnsson in a report from Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri.
However Volvo has stated they would gladly gladly finance joint projects such as sponsor projects or R&D projects, and could consider being part of various consortiums without actually being the main owner.
They’ve also publicly opposed calls for the Swedish government to take over Volvo because according to them, the government knows nothing about the car industry and Volvo needs a owner that has the ability to work on increasing sales and cooperate with suppliers on components and development.
Johnsson suggested Renault as a good potential owner.
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Volvo Cars has released a teaser image of the Volvo S60 Concept that’s set to make a public debut at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show in January 2009. A view of the concept’s all-white interior was unveiled earlier, which featured a center dash stack made of crystal crafted by Orrefors.
The S60 Concept features a coupe-like silhouette and the design of the shoulder line pays homage to the likes of the Audi A5 and Hyundai Elantra as in it has a wave-like shape extending from the front headlamp to the rear taillamp. Volvo Cars says is inspired by the cliffs and seas of Volvo’s home country, Sweden.
“We both can and dare to deliver even more exciting and more dynamic designs while retaining our grip on the lead position with regard to safety. The concept car shows part of our future, it’s a hint that the all-new S60 will be one of the strongest contenders in the CD premium segment. The concept car’s design gives a visual promise of enthusiastic driving characteristics and I can assure you that the all-new S60 will deliver a sporty drive like no Volvo before,” says Stephen Odell, President and CEO at Volvo Cars.
We’re definitely waiting in anticipation, Steve! This 2009 concept will preview a production version which will make a debut for the 2010 model year.
I just caught the latest installment in the James Bond universe – the Quantum of Solace over the weekend. I’m abit disappointed that the sexy Aston Martin DBS did not get much screentime other than an initial heated car chase scene.
Instead, Bond goes on to drive a few SUVs from the Ford group of marques, though the makers did try to “balance” them out with a fuel efficient small car.
Let’s have a look at the cars of the Quantum Solace. Click here to read the rest of Cars used in the Bond movie Quantum of Solace
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Volvo will be unveiling a concept version that will form the basis for its next generation Volvo S60 next year at the Detroit International Motor Show, but it wants to teaser us first with this shot of the interior. That glassy material that the center dash stack is made of is actually crystal, crafted by 110-year old company Orrefors.
Interestingly, the crystal stack extends all the way to the rear passenger bench, effectively turning the car into a 4-seater. Its not known whether the S60 will end up being one of those 4-seater coupe-sedans or not, but probably not as Volvo has indicated in the past that the new S60 will be a proper premium C-segment contender to face the 3-Series, A4 and the C-Class. And that brings us to the S40… what is it exactly? It seems the current 2nd gen facelifted S40 will continue positioned lower in the market.
One interesting bit you can see in the concept interior is the gear lever, which seems to be L-shaped like a fighter jet’s throttle. This is the automatic mode where you shift it into P-R-N-D, etc. You can actually flip the gear lever up so it stands up vertically instead of being a horizontal L-shape. In this mode, you can use the lever to manually shift the car.
Volvo has unveiled a “greener” version of the Volvo XC60 SUV that emits less than 170g/km of CO2 emissions. The new variant of the XC60 reduces fuel consumption and emissions by having a front wheel drive drivetrain instead of a heavier all-wheel drive system and an improved Euro5 compliant 2.4 liter diesel engine.
The new diesel engine has an additional 12 horsepower and 80Nm of torque over the previous version for a total of 175 horses and 420Nm of torque. This is thanks to reduced internal friction and pumping losses in the engine, increased pressure in the intake and exhaust system, increased injection pressure and a refined fuel-injection system thanks to new Piezo injectors.
Volvo Car Malaysia has launched the new 3-door Volvo C30 in Malaysia, which Volvo says is a modern interpretation of the Volvo P1800 ES combined with styling cues from the Volvo Safety Concept car. Read more about the new C30 after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Volvo C30 2.4i launched in Malaysia for RM215,500
Volvo Car Malaysia will be launching the new Volvo C30 hatchback this Monday the 23rd. Initially only the 2.4i model will be offered, which features a 2.4 liter inline-5 engine producing 170 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 230Nm of torque at 4,400rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed Geartronic transmission. It will retail for RM215,500 OTR without insurance, fully imported. More details on Wednesday.
Volvo Cars Malaysia are currently having a two-month long promotional period which will end on the 21st of June 2008. Selected aftermarket alloy wheels for the Volvo S40, V50 and XC90 have promotional prices that are between RM2,000 to RM3,000 cheaper than normal.
If you buy a Volvo Navigation System (seems decent as it is based on Garmin GPS products), you will get a Volvo Parking Assistance Camera worth RM1850 for free. The VNS LCD screen displays a rear view feed from the Parking Assistance Camera on the rear of the car, along with virtual lines to act as a guide for the driver to park.
Selected Volvo accessories including bodykits, spoiloers, mouldings and other accessories like front parking assistance, neck cushions, lockable wheel nuts, running boards, rubber or textile mats and others have a 20% discount.
