China's Geely, Volvo's Owner, Denies Interest in Buying Saab

Saab is in a crisis indeed. One day it is rescued, and the next it is on the brink of destruction. And this has been happening over and over again, like an automotive version of The Groundhog Day.

Yesterday we reported that Saab has not yet received the funds promised by Pang Da and Youngman as a bridge loan to keep the Swedish carmaker in business until the deal is approved by Chinese authorities.

Today, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published an article claiming that another Chinese automaker, Geely Automobile, which bought Volvo from Ford in 2010, is interested in acquiring Saab as well.

The newspaper based its claims on an unnamed source allegedly familiar with the issue who claims that Geely is talking to the administrator appointed by the Swedish court. The source added that “Geely is interested in the whole thing in terms of production and development”.

However, Geely executive director Lawrence Ang denied that his company has any interest: “According to my understanding, we have no such plan”, he said, adding that Geely is alreadybusy with Volvo.

Analysts like IHS Automotive’s Ian Fletcher said that such a movement would not make sense since Geely doesn't need extra capacity and the two Swedish companies are effectively competitors: “Volvo would welcome Saab’s exit. They have been fighting for the same space for years”.

Saab spokesman Eric Geers didn’t make us any wiser: “Several companies are showing interest in Saab right now”, he said, neither confirming nor denying the newspaper report. He added though that his company “has of course a binding agreement with Pang Da and Young man”.

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Volvo to Shut Down the C70 Convertible Plant in 2013

Volvo's automotive division has announced that it will close its Uddevalla plant in Sweden in 2013 once it takes sole ownership of the factory. “The low volumes in the Uddevalla plant do not justify continued production”, said Volvo CEO, Stefan Jacoby.
The Uddevalla factory is currently run by Volvo and Pininfarina under a joint-venture agreement that was established in 2005 for the production of the C70 hardtop-convertible. The plant employs 600 workers and in 2010, production reached 10,000 units, which represents only 65% of its full capacity.
“The Uddevalla plant delivers cars with a very high quality”, said Jacoby. “However, a car manufacturer of Volvo’s size can’t, from a financial point of view, justify a plant that manufactures one single model in the volumes we have today.”
Last March Volvo and Pininfarina agreed to terminate their joint venture in 2013, leaving Volvo as the sole owner of the plant. Even though production will cease, people employed at Uddevalla will be offered work at other Volvo facilities.


















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New Volvo Concept Heading to Frankfurt

[Volvo Universe Concept from the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show Pictured Above] Volvo announced today that it plans to reveal a new concept car at next week's Frankfurt Motor show. This new study, pictures of which have not yet been released, will highlight the Swedish company’s new downsized engine range, which will feature only four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.

“It’s time to stop counting cylinders”, said Volvo’s Senior Vice President for Research and Development, Peter Martens. “The concept we will reveal at Frankfurt proves that downsized engines can go hand in hand with our customers’ expectations on luxury and driving pleasure.”

The new modular Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA) four-cylinder engine range features direct injection for its gasoline and common rail for its diesel variants. According to Martens, the new engines are ideal for hybrid applications and will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions without sacrificing performance.

“We will develop four-cylinder engines with higher performance than today’s six-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current four-cylinder generation," said Martens.

Volvo claims that the VEA range, which is designed for transverse applications, will reduce the number of unique engine parts by an impressive 60%. It will also be up to 90 kg (198 pounds) lighter than the current range and improve fuel consumption by up to 35%.

Later this autumn Volvo will also test the Kinetic Energy Recovering System, which captures braking energy that would otherwise be dissipated as heat and power a flywheel that spins at up to 60,000 rpm. This system that is already used in Formula 1 will “offer the driver an additional 80HP while reducing fuel consumption by up to 20%," according to Martens.

Last, but not least, Volvo announced that it is developing a new model range that will be based on a new, modular structure called Scalable Platform Architecture (current Volvo models are based on previous owner’s Ford platforms) that will also be 100-150 kg (220-330 pounds) lighter than current models.

The SPA architecture will allow the company to base most of its new models on the same modular platform, thus achieving significant cuts in development, tooling and manufacturing costs. And, as Martens claims, “along with the new engine range, will enable us to be on par or even beat our toughest competitors in driving dynamics and fuel economy.”

The new engines and platform will also benefit future models looks as the company’s head of design, Peter Horbury, said that the Frankfurt concept will be “a great example of what we can achieve with the new architecture and engines.”

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Buying a New Car?

Did you know that there are holiday packages that bundle airfares, accommodation andcosmetic surgery? It’s a sort of incentive program for women (and some men) to have their surgery done overseas and is especially popular in Britain and Australia. Well, as some of you may already know, there are similar programs for people who want to buy a new car.

These so-called, “European Delivery Programs” are offered by companies as diverse as Audi,BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo. Effectively you’re bundling a discount European vacation with your new car purchase.

You fly to Europe, spend a few nights in a hotel with your mistress family and pick up your car from the dealer or factory there. You save a bit of money on MSRP (no doubt offset by all the souvenirs and what-have-you), enjoy a European holiday and simply drop your car off at the dock when you’re done.

There’s no negotiating or destination fees and turnaround averages four months, with two months to build your car in Europe and another two to ship it back stateside. Many automakers thrown in perks like complimentary meals, free airfares and complimentary stays, insurance and all the rest.

The price can be as little as US$1,500 (€1,050), plus the US$30,000 (€21,000) or so you’ll pay for your entry level BMW or Audi.

But as the luxobarge manufactures are keen to remind us, it’s not about the car...it’s about theexperience.

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Volvo to Extend Driving Range of its EVs

Electric Vehicles, or EVs, are the future. Or so the automakers say. And they would be correct, if it wasn’t for a significant disadvantage over petrol or diesel powered models: their abysmal range which makes them suitable only for limited city use.

Volvo is taking measures to solve this problem and make its EVs attractive to the public by adding an extra 1,000 km (621 miles) to their range. The solution, which has also been adopted by other models such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Audi A1 E-Tron concept, is the addition of a “range extender” internal combustion engine.

The project, which has the support of both the EU and the Swedish Energy Agency, has three possible combos and tests will begin in the first quarter of 2012. The first two are based on the C30 Electric, in which the battery pack has been reduced in order to make room for the fuel tank. All three concepts can run on either petrol or ethanol (E85) and emit just 50g of CO2/km, or even less.

In the first concept, Volvo added a 3-cylinder petrol engine with 60HP under the boot floor and a 40-liter (10.5 gallons) fuel tank. The engine is used primarily to power the 40 kW generator that drives the 111HP electric motor, while the driver has the option to let the generator charge the battery, increasing the range on electricity alone. The 110 km (68 miles) range of the C30 Electric on battery power alone is increased by an additional 1,000 km (621 miles).

In the second concept, the C30 Electric is fitted with a more powerful 3-cylinder turbocharged engine with 190HP (at least that’s what Volvo claims on the release) at the rear and differs from the first in that the two engines are working in parallel, with the electric driving the front wheels and the internal combustion one the rear via a 6-speed auto gearbox.

The car can also run on electricity alone. The electric motor is the same 111HP unit, and the combined output reaches 300HP, while the range is extended from 75 km (47 miles) on the battery pack to more than 1,000 km (621 miles).

The third concept is based on the V60 estate, and both engines are placed under the bonnet. It uses the same 111HP electric motor and 190HP turbocharged engine as the second C30 concept, with a larger (45 lt) fuel tank. The 3-cylinder either drives the front wheels or charges the battery pack when needed. On electricity alone its range is 50 km (31 miles), while with the range extender, like the other two, it exceeds 1,000 km (621 miles).

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Volvo S60 Performance Concept

Volvo’s Australian arm has pulled the wraps off a conceptual performance version of its S60 sedan. Based on the S60 T6 R Design, the S60 Performance Concept is an Australian initiative and utilizes two partnerships within the Volvo family - Polestar and Heico - for some very discreet upgrades.

Polestar, which handled the performance tweaks, fine-tuned the electronic software of the T6 engine increasing output by 24HP to 330-horses and torque by 40Nm to 480Nm (354 lb-ft).

Like the R Design models, the S60 Performance show car features a lowered sports suspension that includes monotube damping at the rear, 15 per cent stiffer springs and the bushings that are 20 percent stiffer compared with the dynamic chassis in the regular S60 models.

Exterior modifications are limited to the 19-inch Heico wheels shod in Pirelli tires and the quad exhaust tail pipes.

No changes were made in the cabin, which retains the production S60’s R-Design features including the sports seats with firmer side bolstering, leather clad three-spoke steering wheel, dials with blue surrounds and aluminium ridged pedals.

“The S60 T6 already boasts excellent performance credentials and the S60 Performance Project takes that even further,” said Volvo Car Australia Managing Director Matt Braid. “With the extra power, torque and unique wheels and exhaust system the S60 Performance Project really is a very special edition S60.''

Volvo has declined to confirm whether it plans to build the S60 Perfomance Concept, but sources within the company said that if there is a positive customer reaction and demand, then it might enter a limited production.

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Owners Leasing Cars May Be Able to Make a Profit

With the recent surge in used car prices in the U.S., many people leasing vehicles have discovered the surprising fact that the market value of their automobiles is greater than the dealer’s quoted residual (buyout) price.
All a would-be lessee needs to do is buy the car from the dealer and sell it on privately. The dealer gets the residual amount and the former lessee pockets a tidy sum.
Take the example of a 2008 Volvo XC90. With more than twelve months left on the lease, the dealer’s buyout price was a quoted US$18,500. Compare this to the amount the lessee was likely to get by selling the car privately: a far more substantial US$27,000. That’s a profit of US$8,500!
Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) describes the situation thusly:
“What’s likely to happen now is [dealers have] underestimated the value of the car. So the residual price is low, and [lessees] have more incentive to purchase it. Or, buy it and then sell it.”
It’s all thanks to the undersupplied, overinflated used car market in the U.S. at the present time. Add to that the fact many lease contracts are agreed on months or even years in advance, there’s nothing the lessees can do about it.
And owners are taking notice. 21.8% of lessees now buy their cars, up from a historical average of 16.4%. Additionally, 40% of those who do buy their cars resell their cars within six months, up from 27.3%. We are living in interesting times, indeed.

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1966 Volvo P1800 coupé clocks nearly 3m miles

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Volvo Will Axe S40/V50 duo from US Line-up Due to Poor Sales

Volvo will stop selling its mid-size sedan, the S40, and its station wagon “twin”, the V50, in the USA during the 2012 MY. The reason? You guessed it; poor sales. According to Volvo spokesman Dan Johnston, US deliveries of the two models were disappointingly low with the S40 down 29% in 2010, while the V50 fared even worse, with its sales dropping by more than 50%.
"It seemed American buyers weren't looking for that kind of product and for us as a car company, it's not profitable to sell something that has a declining market share”, Johnston told Autonews.
Since the V70 was also discontinued last year, that leaves Volvo with a US line-up consisting of the C30 hatchback, C70 coupe-cabriolet, S60 sedan, the S80 sedan, the XC60 SUV, the XC70 (the only station wagon) and the XC90 SUV.

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2011 Volvo S40 cars wallpapers

2011 Volvo S40 cars wallpapers
Upcoming 2012 chrysler Car news: http://masti-jokes.blogspot.com/search/label/chrysler

2011 Volvo S40 Estate review and wallpapers

2011 Volvo S40 Estate review and wallpapers
Upcoming 2012 Jaguar Car news: http://masti-jokes.blogspot.com/search/label/Jaguar%20cars

Volvo S60 and XC60 R-Design 2012

At the 2011 New York Auto Show, Volvo announced that the 2012 S60 R-Design sedan and XC60 R-Design crossover will receive significant horsepower and torque increases when they go on sale in the U.S. late this summer.

Both the S60 and XC60 R-Design models are powered by Volvo's most potent six-cylinder unit, the turbocharged T6 engine. Thanks to a series of upgrades, the T6 in the 2012MYs produces 325 horsepower and 354 lb-ft (480 Nm) of torque, an increase of 21 horses and 29 lb-ft (39 Nm) of torque compared to 2011 R-Design models. Maximum torque is now achieved from 3,000 rpm and remains available throughout the rev range.

Power is transmitted to all four wheels via Volvo's second-generation six-speed automatic Geartronic transmission with sport mode with new valves and lower friction for faster gear changes.

The S60 and XC60 R-Design models are offered as standard with Volvo's Instant Traction and Corner Traction Control system with torque vectoring.

"The jump in performance will re-define these two R-Design models. Along with styling and suspension features that set them apart from other versions, our two newest R-Design models will have a higher 'fun-to-drive' quotient. I see that as a positive thing, and so will car buyers," said Doug Speck, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America.

Visually, S60 and XC60 R-Design models remain unchanged from the 2011 model year. The 2012 S60 R-Design is priced in the United States at $42,275 (€29,050), while the XC60 R-Design starts from $43,150 (€29,650).

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