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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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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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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Volvo Reduces Price of Entry-Level C30 to £15k

There’s less to pay for UK buyers looking to get into a Volvo C30 sport hatch as the Swedish automaker announced a significant £1,300 price cut to the entry-level model which now starts from £14,995 on the road. The C30 ES features a 2.0-liter petrol engine with 145HP and comes equipped with electronic climate control, 16-inch alloys, leather steering wheel and gearlever, a stability system (DSTC), power windows, information centre, and a CD player with auxiliary input.
In the UK, the C30 is available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines ranging from the 145HP 2.0-liter petrol to the 230HP T5 and 115HP D2 to the 177HP D4, as well as a choice of trim levels including the sporty R-Design.

Volvo Reduces Price of Entry-Level C30

There’s less to pay for UK buyers looking to get into a Volvo C30 sport hatch as the Swedish automaker announced a significant £1,300 price cut to the entry-level model which now starts from £14,995 on the road. The C30 ES features a 2.0-liter petrol engine with 145HP and comes equipped with electronic climate control, 16-inch alloys, leather steering wheel and gearlever, a stability system (DSTC), power windows, information centre, and a CD player with auxiliary input.
In the UK, the C30 is available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines ranging from the 145HP 2.0-liter petrol to the 230HP T5 and 115HP D2 to the 177HP D4, as well as a choice of trim levels including the sporty R-Design.

Volvo to Build New Car Plant in China

At a press conference held earlier today in Beijing, Chinese-owned Volvo Cars announced plans to build a new plant in the city of Chengdu and continuing investigations for a second factory in Daqing, in north-eastern China. Volvo said that the deal is still pending approval from the Chinese government.  

"We regard the Chinese market as the second home market for Volvo Car Corporation and a very important part of the plan to build a successful future for the company," said Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.
The Chengdu assembly plant will only build Volvo cars and have an initial output of around 100,000 cars annually, with production estimated to start during 2013. Volvo said that the decision to expand in China will not affect operations and employment in Europe.
"We will build an entirely new plant in Chengdu and further investigate the opportunities for establishing an additional factory in Daqing," said Jacoby. "Our production in China will, however, not have any impact on decisions affecting capacity utilization of our plants in Sweden and Belgium" says Stefan Jacoby.
The Swedish automaker, which was acquired from Ford by China's Geely in 2010, also announced that Shanghai will serve as Volvo Car China's headquarters and centre for product development, design and sourcing. "Among other priorities, Volvo Car China will also support Volvo Corporation R&D in Sweden regarding the development of electric vehicles and hybrids," the company said in a statement.
"The Volvo Car China Technology Centre in Shanghai will develop into a complete product development organization on an international level," said Freeman Shen, Volvo Car Corporation SVP & China Operations Chairman. "It will have the competence and capacity to work together with the HQ in Sweden, participating in Volvo Car Corporation's work process for developing entirely new models."
Volvo said that it plans to increase its business presence in the China and aims to reach a sales volume of about 200,000 cars a year in the country by 2015. The company's global retail sales during 2010 reached 373,525 (an increase of 11.2 per cent compared to 2009), with only 30,000 of those sold in China.

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