Autoblog

Click above for more images of the Volvo XC70 pickup

Volvo has been known for its safety and practical nature since the company's inception, but what we never expected to see from the Swedish automaker is a sport 'ute. A quick-witted photographer snapped up a few pics of an XC70 outside the Volvo museum in Sweden that has been converted for pickup duty, and it looks pretty damn good. Surprisingly, the Volvo ute looks exceptionally well built, thanks to the efforts of Swedish coachbuilder Dalbo Fordonsteknik. While it won't be confused with an El Camino or Ford Falcon, it has a small but usable bed, a shark fin-like design in profile, and what looks like some covered space behind the front seats.


[Source: Carscoop]

Click above for more high-res pics of the Volvo V70 R-Design

Once upon a time, there was a subtle wagon called the V70R who's meek outward appearance belied the snortiest turbo 5-cylinder Volvo has ever put in a production car. All-wheel-drive helped the power get to the ground instead of immolating the front tires, and the R sat atop the V70 trim-level range. Alas, the R is no more. While it was awesome and amusing, it was also outgunned by the competition, even with 300 hard-breathing horsepower. Still, there are those who desire the look and demeanor of the R, while finding no fault with the lesser powertrains that Volvo offers.

Those buyers can find what they're looking for with the new V70 R-Design package on the third generation wagon. Since the demise of the R, the V70 has moved up to become the wagon version of the S80, and the R-Line package adds a little visual oomph and chassis verve to the big estate. Ride height has been reduced and thicker swaybars are added, along with higher durometer bushings in the suspension. Like we saw on the C30 R-Design, matte finish metal accents are added to exterior pieces like the mirror housings and grille surround. Sporty-looking exhaust outlets, a rear spoiler and 18-inch wheels round out the exterior changes. The interior gets blue-faced gauges, unique metal trim pieces, and Volvo's already excellent seats get R-Design logos and sportier bolstering. The R-Design package adds £2,000 or so to the price of a UK V70, a decent price for a handling upgrade and a hunkered look. Volvo hasn't decided whether to bring it to the United States yet. If it does come to the North American market, the V70 R-Design will be a 2009 model, and we'll know by early summer if we have to look longingly across the pond for a clean-looking, sporty-driving wagon.


[Source: Volvo]

"Hey, Stompy, you wanna take a test drive?

Nein, I'll just take the one in black, please."

So goes the imagined conversation between Michael Herzog, he of size 12 (UK) feet, and the Volvo dealer from whom he purchased a C70. Herzog says his feet are too large for the pedal box in his Volvo, precluding use of that most essential pedal, the accelerator. The issue went to court in Wiesloch, Germany, where a judge ruled that size 12 is not freakishly large, so Volvo should have designed a car to accommodate that size foot. Size 12 on UK size charts is about the same as a U.S. size 12, so it's not an incomprehensibly large foot. The dealer has been directed to refund five percent of the purchase price, a total of £1,350, to pay for a custom pair of shoes that allow the owner to drive his new car, as well as compensate him for time lost to shoe-changes. And we thought the U.S. was litigious.

[Source: am-online, Photo: BBC]

Kirk Kerkorian's associate Jerry York stated last Thursday that Ford would do well to sell Volvo and extinguish Mercury. Coincidentally (or not) Ford's stock zoomed up to one of the highest price levels it's seen in the last six months. Tracinda Corporation, Kerkorian's firm, has expressed faith in Mulally's leadership and his plan to strengthen the automaker. There has been speculation about a sale of Volvo in the past, and punditry has been begging the Blue Oval to do something with Mercury, or put it out of its misery, for years.

While York seems certain that Volvo will be on the market in less than two years time, Ford continues to state that the Swedish subsidiary is not for sale. Looking at the Premier Auto Group shuffle of the last year, though, it could certainly be deduced that Volvo will indeed go on the market soon. Moving the brand out of the PAG location in Irvine, CA and back to Rockleigh, NJ, where Volvo had set up shop when it first started selling cars in the United States, is a move that set off whispers of impending sale. While it might be nothing more than right-sizing office space for Volvo now that the rest of the Premier Auto Group is gone, a cross country move is a deft way to trim operational fat without layoffs, and divorcing Volvo's North American operations from Ford locations makes an ownership transition easier, too. While Ford and Volvo products share a lot of engineering and parts, a well-negotiated deal wouldn't preclude a sale that gently phases out the currently entwined platforms as they age and replacements are brought to market.

[Source: Automotive News - sub req. - Photo: Bloomberg]

Follow the jump for the video report on Volvo's safety goals

We all know how seriously Volvo approaches vehicle safety. At least we thought we did. In a new Reuters video feature, we learn that the safety-obsessed Swedish automaker has goals far loftier than we had imagined. You see, Volvo has set a goal of zero injuries or deaths to passengers in its vehicles by the year 2020. According to reporter Paul Chapman, Volvo wants to create a car that basically "forms a giant bumper" around its occupants to protect them if and when the need arises. A Volvo representative quoted on camera goes on to state that beyond the elimination of crash-related death and injury, Volvo would like to see the elimination of car accidents altogether.

While this admirable sentiment undoubtedly serves as a goal-setting mechanism for Volvo safety engineers, it's hard to view it as anything other than hopeless optimism unless you completely remove the human element from driving (and presumably replace all cars with Miracle Safety Volvos). You can build the most perfect car in the world and equip it with the greatest safety features imaginable, but cars can't predict everything, and humans are anything but predictable -- as any readers who commute amongst the general populace can attest. We'll know Volvo's really getting closer to safety Nirvana when it unveils a feature that determines when the driver next to you is simultaneously steering with his knees, reading a newspaper, sending text messages, and eating Ramen noodles at highway velocity.

Watch the full report after the jump.

[Source: Reuters]

Click above to view video

Volvo has been making automobiles since April 14, 1927, and while most of us know Volvo for its safe and sometimes fun-to-drive vehicles, the Swedish automaker's history is of course more complicated than that. For instance, Volvo earned its reputation as a safe automaker before it sold a single car by getting in a head-to-head accident with an American car, which totaled the domestic while only scratching the Volvo. Volvo also featured the first standard three-point safety belt and was the first automaker to have a catalytic converter. Hit the jump to catch up on Volvology. It's a very solid nine-minute Volvo history course, even if it fails to mention current owner Ford all-together.

[Source: YouTube]

Click above for a photo galllery of Skruffse's RWD C30

While Volvo's C30 has wily charms in its stock configuration, we could see how it'd be even more entertaining with the power being sent to the proper wheels. While we're talking revisions, a honkingly large turbocharger and external-reservoir dampers would be welcome additions, too. The race-ready ride height is dead sexy, and while it's a crazy thing to do to a perfectly good brand new Volvo, Sweden's Skruffse has carried out some beautiful fabrication work. The use is obviously racing of some sort, and with wide tires at all four corners we're surmising that it's something that involves turning, versus drag racing. Seeing this car's tow rig - a first-generation V70, it all comes together -- those willing to strip the C30 down like a stolen Pinto and rejigger the chassis are true Volvo nuts. We're pretty sure the warranty has been voided, though.


[Source: CarScoop]

Click above to view the rest of these crazy Swedish exterior designs

Looking at the pictures above and in our gallery below, you may think that Volvo has either totally lost it or forgot that April Fools Day is on the first of the month. But we're assured this is real and even visited Volvo's official Swedish media site for verification. Beginning on April 7th, Volvo C30 owners in Sweden can completely change the character of their car by ordering one of 20 different nonpermanent films that safely adhere to the exterior of their hatches. The designs are outlandish to say the least and include everything from mock woodie panels to zebra stripes to pink camo to gay pride colors (probably an unintended association for that last one, but it works). The film, which in some cases appears to cover every exterior surface, is guaranteed not to hurt the paint, but actually protect it for up to two years when it's time to replace the film. It is an investment though at the equivalent of $3,130 USD, which is probably more than what it would cost to have the car custom painted with any of these designs. But then it couldn't be removed when you wise up and realize your car looks absolutely ridiculous.


[Source: Volvo via CarScoop]

At New York's Cipriani restaurant on 42nd Street, Volvo presented its sixth annual Volvo for Life Awards and named Marilyn Adams the Grand Award Winner in the Safety category. The panel of judges -- including Hank Aaron, Sen. Bill Bradley, Maya Lin, Dr. Sally Ride, Dr. Mae Jemison, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Edsel B. Ford II -- selected Marilyn because of her Farm Safety 4 Just Kids organization that teaches, as you guessed, farm safety for the young'ins'.

Two decades ago Adams' 11-year-old son was killed in a gravity flow wagon on the first day of the harvest. Inspired by her loss, and by the realization that kids between the ages of 5 and 14 were 66-percent more likely to be injured in a farm accident than adults aged 45 to 64, she started the non-profit Farm Safety Just 4 Kids. The organization has thousands of volunteers across America and Canada teaching rural kids how to stay safe and healthy. For her efforts, Adams's organization gets a $100,000 contribution from Volvo, and Adams will receive a new Volvo every three years for the rest of her life.

The other top category winners in Environment and Quality of Life, Matthew Sanford and Lorraine Kerwood, each get $100,000 donated to their work. Volvo also named ten-year-old Zach Bonner of Valrico, Fla., the winner of the Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award and presented him with $25,000 for a charity of his choice.

[Source: Volvo]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the Volvo C30 R-Design

Following up on our story about the Volvo C30 R-Design at the New York Auto Show, Volvo announced pricing today for its sporty hatchback tunerish trim level. MSRP will be $25,700, plus destination charges of $745. Doing simple math, you can put one of these hot turbocharged Swedes in your garage at a base price of $26,445. Of course, most of you will want to add available goodies such as the DVD-based navigation, bi-xenon headlights, or the Dynaudio premium sound system...and they'll cost you extra, which will balloon the price into what many consider too dear for a Swedish hatchback.

If a cosmetically-enhanced C30 is just your thing, however, we suggest you act fast. With a production run limited to just 400 examples, the exclusive R-Design will probably roll quickly out of showrooms starting in April.

[Source: Volvo Cars of North America]