Autoblog

Volvo's limited presence in Detroit will be punctuated by the expansion of its in-house customization line with the release of the XC90 Sport R-Design. Volvo connoisseurs can R-ified their 'ute with either 19- or 20-inch matte wheels, dual exhaust pipes, brushed sill moldings and the removal of the CUV's roof rails. Inside, a blue-lit instrument cluster joins some additional badging, a leather wrapped steering wheel and an aluminum center stack to boost the premium feel of the XC90. They're all nice touches, but we still maintain that anything sporting the letter "R" should involve upgrades to both the visual appearance of the vehicle and its performance.

Volvo's press release is available after the jump.

Yesterday, the word from Auto Motor and Sport Sweden was that the next Volvo XC90 was stillborn due to a lack of hybrid drive trains and other fuel-saving technologies. Not so, according to Volvo, who responded to the pub's article by saying that a facelifted XC90 is in the works and that the XC90 replacement has not been cancelled.

How Volvo plans to get around new fuel economy regs and what Ford platform will be used to underpin the automaker's burly next-gen 'ute is still up in the air, but a clean-sheet rethink might be in order to address many of these environmental issues that will be plaguing Volvo in the upcoming years.

[Source: Auto Motor and Sport Sweden via World Car Fans]

Volvo has revealed that it's recalling 42,000 XC90 SUVs to inspect a suspect battery switch. Only North American vehicles had this switch, which apparently creates the risk of short circuits if the jack handle comes into contact with it. Volvo seems particularly concerned that this could happen on vehicles that were serviced by technicians in such a way that the potential for a short circuit was created. The recall is only for the 2005 Volvo XC90, though. Volvo dealers will check the recalled cars and slap a sticker on them somewhere to instruct future service technicians how to avoid the risk of a short circuit. Apparently it's a preemptive strike by Volvo, as there haven't been any reports of short circuiting so far.

[Source: Reuters]

We're fairly certain that the success of Volvo's first Treasure Hunt game, which was tied to the release of Disney's second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, took the swedish automaker by surprise. It certainly surprised us, as our initial post on the promotion racked up a record number of comments. Autoblog readers used the post as a common room to share tips and help others overcome the game's more difficult obstacles. All told, nearly 1,271 comments were left on that post.

With the third installment of Disney's swashbuckling franchise on the horizon, Volvo's ready to send our readers on another global hunt for treasure and the keys to a new XC90 SUV. This time, however, the treasure has not been buried on a sandy beach, but sits right now on the ocean floor somewhere. That's right, Volvo has placed a chest filled with $50,000 worth of actual gold in the ocean somewhere. Ballsy, we say. On May 4th, the hunt to find it will begin. You can preregister for the game here, and keep up with news at these two unofficial sites: The Hunt 2007 and Volvo The Hunt - 2007, the latter of which already has shots of the map you'll need to retrieve at a local Volvo dealership to begin the game. Just don't forget to skewer the sales guy with your cutlass on the way out. It's the pirate's way, after all.

[Source: Volvo]

And as a new father in need of a larger vehicle, I agree. Volvo has long been known for their safe, sensible wagons and last year almost half its total sales came from this class of vehicles.

Volvo Car Corp. COO Steven Armstrong tells Autoweek that his company sees plenty of wagon and crossover-type market gaps that need filling. Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo Car senior vice president of brand business and product strategy (we hope he gets paid by the syllable, btw) is a little more specific, saying that if the company were to target those gaps, it would likely be in the V or XC range.

Again, as the new daddy, I'd love to see Volvo reintroduce the V90 as an ultra luxury wagon to give the class a more upscale image. But as a practical new dad (hey, diapers ain't cheap) I say bring on a fuel-efficient 5-seater crossover simiilar to, but smaller and cheaper than, the upcoming XC60 (pictured above). But as the father who still craves some excitement now and then, I would, of course, opt for the European delivery with the Nurburgring package.

With so few automakers competing in the U.S. in the wagon segment, we see Volvo snagging lots of new customers. But the Swedes need to be quick before Honda and Toyota decide to re-enter with Accord and Camry wagons.

[Source: Autoweek]

Aar, maties! You can put yer pencils down, Volvo has named the finalists in the hunt for its buried "Pirates of the Caribbean"-themed XC90. The seven piratical finalists include four from the U.S. and one each from the U.K., Japan, Spain and Austria.

The four-week puzzle contest will wrap up in dramatic fashion August 6, when the finalists will be flown to an undisclosed location to compete face-to-face in the final leg of the treasure hunt, a two-day Survivor-like physical and mental test leading them to the Volvo's location. First to dig it up, keeps the car.

The winning pirate will be announced August 11, and Volvo will air a series of reality TV-style online broadcasts of the final competition starting August 24.

So, has the contest been a marketing success so far? Well, if the more than 1,200(!) comments to our original post about the contest are any indication, someone in Volvo's marketing department deserves a raise. In the U.S. alone, more than 52,000 wannabe pirates visited Volvo showrooms to pick up the contest treasure map. Yo-ho-ho!

[Source: Volvo]

According to Volvo, customers have been clamoring for a more dynamic take on their XC90 SUV. The automaker has complied.

Next week at London's British Motor Show, the public gets its first look at the Volvo XC90 SE Sport, a new take on the Swedish marque's SUV that applies suspension and appearance mods to give it a more dynamic attitude on-road. The suspension tuning was refined in Great Britain and consists of stiffer shocks and anti-roll bars to give the ute more bite when cornering. In addition, the speed-sensitive power steering is now more responsive. The XC90's self-leveling system also gets tweaked to complete the suite of handling upgrades.

(Read on for more after the jump)

As we mentioned in our preview post earlier this month, it's a bit of a stretch to say that Volvo's mildly freshened 2007 XC90 merits a new model launch, but Volvo has made a number of noteworthy refinements to its successful SUV.

At the top of the list of new features is Volvo's new 3.2-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, which replaces the old turbo five-cylinder. The new six puts out a respectable 235 hp and 236 ft-lb of torque. Volvo's 311 hp V8 remains at the top of the option list for the new XC90.

The interior and exterior of the XC90 receive a number of detail refinements, including a new premium sound system which includes an Alpine power amp and Dynaudio speakers.

The new XC90 builds on Volvo's safety theme with a number of new features in the area of "preventative safety," including active headlights, a Blind Spot Information System built into the door mirrors, and a Park Assist Camera system integrated with the navigation system display. More pictures and the XC90 press release follow the jump.