Volvo Straightline Archives

Volvo is finally giving its S60 sedan a redesign, and the production 2011 S60 debuts in a few weeks at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. The new S60 goes on sale in the U.S. later this fall, and it will start out with a 300-hp version of the T6 powerplant (a 3.0-liter inline-6 with a twin-scroll turbo), plus all-wheel drive. Later on, there will be front-drive and five-cylinder-turbo models as well.

You can read full details and see 4 dozen pics in our auto show write-up. Here we bring you three videos. You can see the 2011 Volvo S60 on the move, then watch it crash into a barrier and then see a demo of Volvo's leading-edge Pedestrian Detection technology that debuts on the car.

2010 Geneva Auto Show: 2011 Volvo S60

Continue reading Videos: 2011 Volvo S60.

Categories: Future Vehicles,Geneva Motor Show,Sedans,Volvo

"The music is so serene..." croons the sleepy Coldplay-infused soundtrack, but as we noted when official photos came out in November, the 2011 Volvo S60 is far less bland than that. It's downright attractive. It goes on sale here in the third quarter of 2010. And here's the first official video for the car.

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Categories: Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Sedans,Volvo

DTM may be the German equivalent of NASCAR today, but in the 1980s, the race cars competing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft were a lot closer to the production cars on which they were based.

If you like E30 BMWs and 190-series Benzes, you'll enjoy this well edited video, which has ample of footage of cars jumping and fenders rubbing in the pack.

Motor Mavens

Categories: Audi,BMW,Mercedes-Benz,Motorsports,Sedans,Volkswagen,Volvo

If you're a head of state, you surely can't make a grand entrance at the United Nations Climate Convention Change Conference in Copenhagen this week and next if you're forced to travel by a conventional cab or limo. And, well, public transportation has security risks. Fortunately, BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are keen to see to your safety.

Among the limos waiting in the line for dignitaries will be the BMW Hydrogen 7; the Honda FCX Clarity and Insight; the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Fuel Cell, S400 Hybrid and a natural-gas Sprinter (and more practically, an E250 CDI, E350 CDI and S420 CDI Guard); and a Volvo S80 running on E85. On the official Web site for the summit, the estimated carbon dioxide output per kilometer driven (on the European test cycle, we imagine) is posted.

The Danish ministry offers this statement on the Web site: "Without compromising on the paramount security requirements, seen together the sponsored vehicles constitute a less environmentally impacting solution for participating Heads of State and Government, than at previous comparable meetings."

In total, though, a Bloomberg report estimates that the 17,000 attendees at the summit will have a CO2 footprint equivalent to running 200,000 passenger cars for the 14 days they're in Copenhagen.

COP15 Sponsored Vehicles

Green Car Advisor: Attendees of Global-Warming Talks to Emit as Much CO2 as 200,000 Passenger Cars

Categories: Auto Industry,BMW,Honda,Mercedes-Benz,Volvo

Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."

Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.

2010 Buyer's Guide 

Categories: Acura,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Bentley,Bugatti,Buick,Cadillac,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Ferrari,Fiat,Ford,GMC,General Motors,HUMMER,Honda,Hyundai,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Kia,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lexus,Lincoln,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Maybach,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Mercury,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Pontiac,Porsche,Rolls-Royce,SMART,Saab,Saturn,Scion,Subaru,Suzuki,Tesla Motors,Toyota,Volkswagen,Volvo

You may have heard of this Twilight thing? It's a teenage vampire story I'm told and it's making lots of people lots of money. Product placement is just one of the many revenue streams.

In this case Volvo forked over a bunch of money to have two of its cars featured in New Moon, the latest Twilight movie installment. Apparently Volvo thinks that if it can hook young girls now they'll grow up with fantasies of driving an XC60. Gotta love those marketing dreamers.

Categories: Coupes,Crossovers,SUVs,Volvo

Volvo has released these two images of the upcoming S60 sedan that it will reveal at the Geneva auto show next spring.

Keen to draw a connection between this production 2011 model and the concept car that previewed it earlier this year at the Detroit auto show, Volvo has chosen to at least paint the car the same coppery-orange color as the stunning concept. (Can we finally put to bed the old nonsense about boring Volvos? It's been more than a decade of attractiveness now).

Anyway, the new S60 brings an Audi A5-like undulating shoulderline to the party in place of the current S60's characteristic stiff-shouldered look. The nose of the S60 shares a strong family resemblance to the XC60 small crossover -- no surprise there.

The company isn't revealing much else about the vehicle, other than that it will be "sporty," that it will go into production in Ghent, Belgium early next summer and that it will be offered with a Pedestrian Detection system.

Wait, a what? In a bid to make the S60 as safe for those who happen to be in front of the car as those in it, Volvo has pioneered a system that detects the position of pedestrians in front the car and can commandeer the brakes if the driver doesn't in timely fashion. We would recommend turning this system off when driving the S60 in Manhattan unless you like just sitting at the same intersection all day.

Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Sedans,Volvo

You can always count on TMZ to be where it probably shouldn't be, but these clips show a side of the Volvo C70 you may not have seen before. This C70 isn't cruising around with its retractable hard top folded down. It's being pushed around a bit and Tom Cruise is at the wheel, apparently doing his own tire squealing and handbrake turns.

Categories: Celebrities,Convertibles,Volvo

You've seen the computerized pics Infiniti released at the official "virtual" debut of the redesigned 2011 Infiniti M last month at Pebble Beach. But today we spent some time on public roads with an actual rear-drive 2011 Infiniti M56 and an all-wheel-drive 2011 Infiniti M37x.

We can't tell you how these midsize luxury sedans drive or give you detail specs on them today. But browse through the photos and you'll get a feel for how they look on the road and some of the features they have.

For example, the M56, which gets a 5.6-liter V8 making over 400 hp, is available with a sport package, and our particular M56 Sport wore 20-inch wheels and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. Navigation system graphics appear to be sharper as well, and the interiors look a little less hard-edge than the current generation.

Although we drove the AWD M37x, there will be certainly be a rear-drive version that slots below that. Look for about 325 hp from its 3.7-liter V6. And expect a 7-speed automatic transmission to be standard on all flavors of the 2011 Infiniti M.

More photos after the jump. Note that the badges are covered on these pre-production cars. The M56 Sport is black with a light interior. The M37x is dark gray with a dark interior.

2011 Infiniti M Sedan: First Look in Monterey

Continue reading On the Street With the 2011 Infiniti M56 and M37x.

Categories: Future Vehicles,Infiniti,Luxury Cars,Sedans,Volvo

Nothing new under the hood, but Volvo designers have put a new face on the 2011 Volvo C30, and it's not at all unlike the nose on the 2010 S60 sedan. You can also get a body kit -- shown in these photos, skid plates (?!) and all -- on this perennially underrated hatchback.

The paint, Orange Flame Metallic, is also new, and the 2010 C30 in Volvo's booth at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show should be painted accordingly.

The 2011 Volvo C30 goes on sale in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010, and unless it gets some kind of radical surgery (say a Mazdaspeed 3 drivetrain transplant) between now and then, we doubt many of you will care that much. It's a damn shame. There will never be a better looking hatchback.

More photos after the jump.

Continue reading Frankfurt Preview: 2011 Volvo C30.

Categories: Frankfurt Auto Show,Hatchbacks,Volvo

Chinese automaker Geely did indeed place a bid to buy Volvo in August, the company's CEO, Gui Shengyue, confirmed yesterday in an interview with the Financial Times. Geely is still thought to be the only serious bidder for Volvo.

Two sources close to the company estimate the size of the bid at just under $2 billion, which falls into the line with the $1.5 to 2 billion Ford is reportedly seeking. FT reports that Geely also wants to buy all of Volvo, which would seem to work well, since Ford wants to sell its Swedish subsidiary in one piece.

Financial Times (sub.req)

Categories: Auto Industry,Ford,Geely,Manufacturers,Volvo

The redesigned 2011 Volvo S60 sedan has been spotted on U.S. roads, and it bears a striking resemblance to the sleek S60 coupe concept that debuted at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Although the side of the sedan is rather featureless (well, save for the dramatic character line above the door handles), the front end looks pretty tasty. Its jaw line is much less squarish than its V70/XC70 station wagon relatives.

We'd say the same about the rear fascia, which you can see after the jump. This shot also provides a better look at the character line down the side of the car.

At the S60 concept's Detroit debut, Volvo officials told us the production version wouldn't be out until mid-2010, and rumors last week suggest this date is still on-target. Ford is still shopping for a buyer for Volvo, remember.

Volvo S60 Concept gallery

Continue reading Spy Photos: 2011 Volvo S60.

Categories: Luxury Cars,Sedans,Volvo

Although there has been more news coverage about the pending sale of Saab to Dutch supercar maker Koenigsegg, the other Swedish automaker, Volvo, is still up for sale, too. And Automotive News cites a report from Dagens Industri, a Swedish business newspaper, that Chinese automaker Geely is the only company to submit a serious bid for Volvo thus far.

More details on the sale are expected next month, according to the report, and parent company Ford still plans to have everything wrapped up before New Year's.

Automotive News (sub.req)

Categories: Auto Industry,Ford,Geely,Manufacturers,Volvo

If you're an Inside Line regular, you already know that we look at cars from the enthusiast's perspective. How does it feel when you're going fast? What are its ultimate capabilities at the track? That sort of thing.

Over on the Edmunds.com side, they look at things a little differently. They assume you're days or weeks away from pulling the trigger on a new car, so they concentrate on all those little things that might push you towards one vehicle or another in addition to the usual specifications and features.

Their latest feature looks at the most recent crop of luxury crossover SUVs. It's a category that has exploded in popularity over the last few years and the competition is fierce. See which one came out on top in the latest comparison over on Edmunds Daily.

Edmunds.com Comparison Test: Luxury Crossover SUVs

Categories: Audi,Cadillac,Crossovers,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,SUVs,Volvo

OK, so it's unimaginatively titled, "Volvo the Game," and it makes no secret of the fact that it's advertising for the Volvo S60 concept unveiled in January, and it's merely a free download for your PC from Volvo's website.

But this promotional video game could actually be worth checking out. Volvo contracted with the Swedish game developer, SimBin, which has a reputation for making hard-core PC racing simulations (GTR Evolution, for example), though the company released its first console-exclusive title (published by Atari), Race Pro, for the Xbox 360, in February.

You don't have to pay for Volvo the Game, of course, so it's a slim affair -- just six cars and two tracks. The S60 concept is one of the cars, obviously, while the others are race-prepped Volvos of the recent past -- a 240 Turbo Group A, BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) versions of the 850 wagon and first-generation S40 sedan, the STCC (Swedish Touring Car Championship) S60 sedan, and the C30 competing in the 2009 STCC.

The tracks are a little obscure -- Gothenburg Eco Drive Arena in Sweden and Chayka near Kiev, Ukraine -- probably a cost-trimming measure rather than a reflection of the cars or the game itself. After all, the Nurburgring Nordschleife is one of the tracks in SimBin's normal racing sims.

We're downloading the game for a quick spin, but if you don't want to commit to that, there's a preview video after the jump.

Continue reading Volvo Creates Racing Sim for PC to Promote Volvo S60 Concept.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Volvo