The Vice President of Volvo, Lex Kersemakers, confirmed to the newspaper Carsguide, the company is working on a new compact five-door crossover based on the model C30, which will be available in 2012. Vehicle information is still missing but presumed that it will be offered the same set of engines as the Volvo XC60.

Source: Cars and Trucks blog

Auto · Automobile · Makes and Models · Recreation · United States · Volvo · Volvo C30 · Volvo XC60

The Volvo XC60 took first prize in the “Family Car of the Year” category in the first-ever Women’s World Car of the Year competition.

All told, 21 cars competed in four categories when eight female motoring journalists from seven countries voted for their favourite cars.

“It is naturally immensely gratifying that women appreciate the Volvo XC60 and that our product meets their requirements. With the Volvo XC60 we feel we have truly succeeded in creating a car that appeals to many different customer groups,” says Johan Rasmusson, Car Line Manager for the Volvo XC60 and XC90 at Volvo Cars.
Over the past year, eight female motoring journalists from Britain, the USA, Canada, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand put 21 selected cars to the test. The group and the award were created to educate the world’s car makers about female customers’ requirements.

Read the full story on Automotive.

Canada · India · Recreation · South Africa · United States · Volvo Cars · Volvo XC60 · Volvo XC90

Last Saturday, it was raining cats and Chihuahuas here in Los Angeles. And I was glad to have the XC 60 while driving through it all, surprisingly thanks to the more lower-tech of its long list of safety features. In addition to the quick-acting rear defogger and side-view mirror heaters, the XC 60 also has something European cars are more likely to have than American cars are — a rear fog light. In addition to the expected fronts, the latter (seen here in the lower left corner of the XC60′s rear bumper) provides a little more peace of mind when you’re driving in low-visibility conditions.

Read the full story at insideline

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The 2010 International Car of the Year Awards were given to the Ford Taurus for the car and the Volvo XC60 for the truck.

The announcement was made Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The award had been given at the auto show in Detroit for the past 13 years.

Automotive journalists and editors chose the winners.

Auto · Automobile · Detroit · FordTaurus · LA Auto Show · Recreation · United States · Volvo XC60

Volvo is recalling 9,667 of its 2010 XC60s, most of them in the United States and Canada because in a crash test the driver’s seat belt came undone.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a side-impact test on the XC60 on Oct. 8 as part of routine testing of vehicles for its Top Safety Pick awards, which will be announced on Wednesday. During that test, the driver’s seat belt in the XC60 detached from the point to the left of the driver’s hip at which the belt is anchored to the vehicle.

In the institute’s tests a barrier strikes the driver’s side at 31 miles an hour. The barrier represents the front end of an S.U.V. or pickup truck.

Volvo said the problem was caused by ribs inside the housing that cover the anchoring point. The belt was not cut, but the impact caused the ribs to put pressure against the permanent mount and the seat belt popped loose.

James Hope, a Volvo spokesman, said there were no reports that this had happened before and it never happened in any of the about 50 side-impact tests conducted at the Volvo Safety Center in Gothenberg, Sweden.

Another Volvo spokesman, Dan Johnston, added: “In our labs we do EuroNCAP, I.I.H.S., N.H.T.S.A. and our own and this never happened. This never showed up in the tests we did.”

Mr. Hope said Volvo was conducting a voluntary recall “despite the fact that this is one car in one test.”

He added that Volvo reported this verbally to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday and had just sent a formal letter to the agency. He said notification to dealers began on Friday as well. Volvo will begin to notify owners in two to three weeks, once it gets the necessary vehicle registration data.

The company said repairs involve modifying the housing of the seat-belt attachment and should take about 30 minutes. Under recalls, repairs are made at no charge to the owner.

[Source: NY Times]

Another Volvo · Automobile · Canada · Crash test · Insurance Institute for Highway Safety · Seat belt · United States · Volvo Safety Center

Volvo launched an all-new entry-level crossover for 2009 called the XC60. The Swedish automaker describes the car as the “safest Volvo ever,” which says a lot coming from a company that built is reputation on just that.

(Click here to use Leftlane’s Price Quote Form to get Volvo XC60 pricing information from a trusted local dealer. Zero obligation)

The model is a direct answer to Acura’s RDX, BMW’s X3 and Infiniti’s EX 35. It is based very closely on the popular XC60 concept vehicle.

“This car is charged with more emotive form and more energy than any other Volvo. We’re elevating our design DNA to an entirely new level by literally turning up the visual volume.,” said Volvo Cars Design Director Steve Mattin. “If you say that you’d recognise a Volvo from a hundred metres away today, I dare say the XC60 radiates a clear Volvo presence from at least twice that distance.”

As a reminder Ford’s now-defunct Premier Automotive Group strategy, the XC60 is expected to share the platform with the Land Rover LR2.

The new XC60 is being launched with a choice of three engines: the turbocharged T6 which produces 285 horsepower, and two variants of the D5 turbodiesel — for Europe — producing 185 and 163 horsepower respectively. All Wheel Drive (AWD) is fitted as standard.

The big news when it comes to safety is “City Safety” — a unique feature to prevent low-speed impacts that are common in stop-and-go commuting. If the car is about to drive into the vehicle in front and the driver does not react, the car brakes itself.

“We are the first manufacturer in the world to offer this type of feature as standard. City Safety clearly advertises that the new XC60 is the safest car Volvo has ever produced. The car is packed with our accumulated safety know-how and technology, both when it comes to preventing accidents and protecting all the occupants in a collision,” says Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp.

The XC60 has its sights set on the same design-conscious target group that the C30 caters to. “One might say that this could be the C30 owner’s next car. It’s as sporty and exciting, but way more capable. With the XC60, we’re widening our model range to attract even more customers with an active urban lifestyle,” explains Arp.

The sales target for the new XC60 is over 50,000 cars per year. The five largest markets during peak year 2010 will be the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and China. Equal volumes are expected between Europe and North America. The XC60 will be built at the Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, Belgium.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Acura RDX · BMW · Four-wheel drive · Great Britain · Infiniti · Premier Automotive Group · United States · Volvo XC60

In March, the all new Volvo XC60 will go on sale in the United States. Launched this fall in Europe, the XC60 is Volvo’s entry in the “small premium utility segment,” where it will take on the likes of the BMW X5, the Acura RDX, the Audi Q5, and the Infiniti EX35. Hoping to build on its “safety first” image, Volvo has added measure of performance and fun to its newest vehicle, emphasizing styling, high-tech content, and all-around capability.

BOLDER STYLING, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT
The XC60 is the first production vehicle to reflect Volvo’s new design DNA. With a strong face featuring a larger logo and grille and a broader shoulder line, the XC60 has a more sporty, muscular stance than its Volvo brethren. Yet the XC60 is clearly a Volvo, an indication that the designers have successfully integrated traditional Volvo styling cues into its new design language.

Inside the cabin, the slim floating center stack, which debuted in the S40, is attractively finished in your choice of matte wood or brushed metal and is slightly canted toward the center to give the driver the feeling of being in a cockpit. The sculpted seats are upholstered in two-tone leather stitched in a pattern that Volvo calls its X-theme. “Cross County, Cross City, or Cross Over – choose the interpretation that suits you best,” says Jonathan Disley, head of interior design for the XC60. As with all Volvos, the seats themselves are pretty much the best in the business, being not only supportive but supremely comfortable.

The surfaces inside the cabin are nicely finished, with a visually interesting mix of contrasting materials, including leather, soft-touch plastics, brushed metal, and wood. Headroom is plentiful in all seating positions, and rear seat legroom is acceptable, especially if you’re less than six feet tall.

The XC60′s rear tailgate opening is the widest in the segment, according to Volvo. With the 40/20//40 second row folded flat, you should find room for just about anything you need to haul home from the mall or the garden center. Even with the second row upright, the XC60 olds a relatively generous 30.8 cubic feet of cargo.

Read the rest of the review at Automobile Mag

Acura RDX · Audi Q5 · BMW X5 · Interior design · Shopping · United States · Volvo · Volvo XC60