About Volvo

Glady Reign asked:


Since the unveiling of the Volvo C30, it has already caught the attention of the public. Add to that the radical ad campaign being launched by Volvo. The design of the car that departs from the conventional boxy design that is common to Volvo cars makes this car standout in the car manufacturer’s lineup. This standout quality of the car is complemented by a high performance engine plus a complete lineup of safety features. The interior is also one of the strongest selling points of the car. This is due to the fact that the company has given much thought to every little detail of the vehicle - from Volvo cargo liners to the technologically advanced floating center stack.

The design and overall performance of the car makes it an award winner. Among the accomplishments of the company’s first compact car is its winning the “Das Goldene Lenkard 2006” and the “Auto Trophy 2006” awards and accolades. The car also won the prestigious “Design Award 2006” making them a strong competitor in the compact car market. Another recent success is their winning in the readers’ choice feature of the famous German trade journal “Auto Motor Und Sport” dubbed the “Die besten Autos 2007” or “The Best Cars of 2007”. The Volvo C30 has come to the top of the of the lower medium import class and is way ahead of some tough rivals.

The compact car from the safety oriented car manufacturer won hands down in the class by taking 19.1 percent of all the votes. The most notable reason behind the popularity of the recently unveiled car is its radical design penned by the company’s senior designer Simon Lamarre. Furthermore, the driving experience aboard such a finely crafted machine is at par with that of its competitors. Another reason why the car has such a large number of admirers is its wide array of safety features which Volvo is known for. The award is a prestigious one and will surely help the company in marketing the Volvo C30.

The challenge which the Volvo C30 recently topped is actually one of the classes that has been running for 31 years and it gives awards in 10 different vehicle categories.

The competition offers readers a wide number of choices from 312 different current car models and more than 100,000 readers participated in choosing the winner in each category. And out of those large numbers of voters, 12.2 percent found the Volvo S80 one of the best cars in the upper medium import class. This figure is enough to put the second generation Volvo limousine in second place in the said class. The Volvo S80’s strong performance in the said competition is attributed to its luxurious yet functional interior designs, driving characteristics and smart features. And since the Volvo S80 is also from Volvo, you can expect a lot of safety features included in the package.

The success of both the Volvo C30 and the Volvo S80 is a good help to the company’s marketing campaign to further increase their share in the global market. The company’s dedication to produce high performance car with eye catching designs while not sacrificing the safety of their consumer is evident in both the Volvo S80 and the Volvo C30. The public can only look forward to more cars from the car maker that will have the same award-winning characteristics that the two models already posses. And the future is looking good with the recent release of the latest version of the company’s Volvo V70 which is already poised to cement Volvo’s place at the top of the leader board in the estate car segment.



Gary

Jon Barlow asked:


Until quite recently in order to appear on Volvo’s sales radar you would have needed to be either a police force or someone with a lot of furniture or children to move around or perhaps both. There have only been a couple of occasions in Volvo’s long motoring history where they have produced a design that bucked the reputation for solid and dependable if not terribly exciting cars. The P1800 was a design classic but considering they stopped making it in 1973 and was in essence a sports car something new from the Swedish stable has been a long time coming.

Other previous attempts to make a small, two-door hatchback have resulted in the much maligned 340 series with its Renault engine or the somewhat troublesome 480 which smelt of smouldering electrics as soon as you turned the ignition key. As a result of these somewhat disastrous forays into the smaller car market, Volvo rather rapidly went back to producing larger rear wheel drive cars which it has historically been rather good at.

Volvo who were founded in 1927 surprised the automotive world in 1999 and decided to sell the family silver to good ‘ol Ford and as a result the two blue badges (oval and kinda square) became one. This was quite a canny move by the Swedes as Ford has more or less let Volvo get on with things and in turn Volvo has sent a healthy profit back to Detroit (a reported $700 million in 2004). Despite falling sales in the USA, it has at times been the only profitable car-maker in the House of Henry.

Turning our attention now to the C30, Volvo has benefited from Ford’s ride and handling prowess mainly thanks to the highly praised Focus chassis and its line-up of petrol and Peugeot/Ford diesel engines, Volvo now has the tools to do the small-car business.

The C30 has set itself apart from competition such as the Audi A3 and BMW’s 1-series with softer lines and lends itself to less angular coupes of old. The C30 is being strongly marketed at a “young and dynamic” market to people with “intense urban lifestyles” whoever they are, although Volvo is still expecting to sell some cars to the rest of us regular folks. Production will be at Volvo’s Ghent plant in Belgium with some 65,000 C30’s expected to roll off the lines each year.

As you would expect with all Volvo’s the C30 has an excellent build quality to easily match its German rivals. The panel gaps are spot on and the lustrous paintwork then leads you into a well designed high quality cabin. The soft coatings of the interior give rise to a cleverly designed “floating” centre console which provides hidden storage space behind. An optional satellite navigation system emerges from the dash if you should lose your way.

There is not a huge amount of luggage space as you might expect in a two-door coupe but then hey if it’s a family car you are after you’re barking up the wrong tree here.

The C30 comes with a good choice of engine sizes from 1.6 litre petrol through to a 2.5 litre turbocharged T5 model. A number of oil-burners are available too including 1.6/2.0 and the top spec 2.4 D5 Unit. Performance levels are good especially the T5 which will keep you holding on to your seat at a top speed of 149mph which is pretty good considering the car weighs in at 1.4 tons (Volvo’s never have been light weight). The ride quality is good as is the handling thanks to running gear donated from the Ford Focus. In keeping with all Volvo’s, safety is still a big factor and the C30 is packed with features, the cleverest of which is Volvo’s blind-spot information system with discreet lamps in the windscreen pillars which warn you when you’re about to run into something or someone!

The C30 should appeal to many, even people who don’t have “intense urban lifestyles” Sadly I don’t think that includes me any more.



Sandra