Will Volvo make a smart move?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Richard Bouchard, Nov 21, 2003.

  1. Went to see the new 2004 Prius yesterday which had just arrived at the
    dealer. Truly a futuristic car in every aspects! Too bad Volvo is still
    lagging behind! By narrowing theit market to sport/luxury, they may very
    well paint themselves in a corner...

    Richard Bouchard.
     
    Richard Bouchard, Nov 21, 2003
    #1
  2. Look at the all "new" S40 and on Dec 3 the "new" V50.!
     
    Robert J. Veldkamp, Nov 21, 2003
    #2
  3. That's exactly my point : Sporty, luxury cars... What else?

    Richard Bouchard.



    "Robert J. Veldkamp" a écrit :
     
    Richard Bouchard, Nov 21, 2003
    #3
  4. Richard Bouchard

    Metaxaman Guest

    ; That's exactly my point : Sporty, luxury cars... What else?
    ;
    ; Richard Bouchard.
    ;

    SUV, Coupe, more coming up.........soon

    Regards,

    ;
    ;
    ; "Robert J. Veldkamp" a écrit :
    ; >
    ; > Look at the all "new" S40 and on Dec 3 the "new" V50.!

    Metaxaman
     
    Metaxaman, Nov 21, 2003
    #4
  5. Those were the trends of five years ago, at least in North America. The
    SUV and minivan were pronounced dead last year in Detroit and this year
    the hybrid and other non-fuel technology vehicles are the real
    head-turners. Everyone has aggreed to say that there's a major turning
    point ahead. I feel Volvo is about to miss the train. They'll probably
    hop up later and incorporate some Ford-developped technology and that's
    too bad because they will lose their reputation as a looking ahead car
    manufacturer.

    Sad.

    Richard Bouchard.


    Metaxaman a écrit :
     
    Richard Bouchard, Nov 21, 2003
    #5
  6. Richard Bouchard

    127.0.0.1 Guest

    Hard to believe since those vehicles are their big profit makers, can
    you cite the source of your statement?
     
    127.0.0.1, Nov 21, 2003
    #6
  7. Every paper accounting this year's trends mention it (this is the auto
    show season). Of course they will not give up on the cash machine: they
    came up with a new vehicule category: the hybrid, or multi-usage
    vehicule or whatchacallit. It's a crossover between a SUV and a minivan
    (some, as the Chrysler Pacifica, the new Ford of which I can't remember
    the name and yes, the XC90, can carry up to 7 peoples), but with the
    size, feeling and handling of a car: Nissan Murano, Infitini FX35, Lexus
    LX330 are other examples (in that respect, when I look around at the
    traffic, I don't feel the design of my brick is outdated at all). The
    hybrid (fuel-electric) and hydrogen technologies are intended to go into
    these vehicles first. Since these are big profit-makers, of course the
    cost of introducing a new technology is attenuated. The Prius is for now
    an exception. Hybrid systems are due in next year's Lexus LX330 and Ford
    Escape.


    Richard.

    "127.0.0.1" a écrit :
     
    Richard Bouchard, Nov 21, 2003
    #7
  8. With Ford's forcing their supply chain to cut 3-5% in costs every year
    (nice how they can demand it suddenly be cheaper), expect every brand
    owned by them to suffer greatly in quality. This new 40 series is going
    to be a bunch of thin sheetmetal and plastic.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Nov 21, 2003
    #8
  9. Richard Bouchard

    James Sweet Guest

    That's exactly my point : Sporty, luxury cars... What else?

    Richard Bouchard.


    That's what a lot of people want, including myself. Personally I'd love to
    see them go back to the boxy RWD designs with added creature comforts, but I
    know that won't happen for a while, the bubble mobile seems here to stay for
    a while.
     
    James Sweet, Nov 21, 2003
    #9
  10. Richard Bouchard

    James Sweet Guest

    Every paper accounting this year's trends mention it (this is the auto
    show season). Of course they will not give up on the cash machine: they
    came up with a new vehicule category: the hybrid, or multi-usage
    vehicule or whatchacallit. It's a crossover between a SUV and a minivan
    (some, as the Chrysler Pacifica, the new Ford of which I can't remember
    the name and yes, the XC90, can carry up to 7 peoples), but with the
    size, feeling and handling of a car: Nissan Murano, Infitini FX35, Lexus
    LX330 are other examples (in that respect, when I look around at the
    traffic, I don't feel the design of my brick is outdated at all). The
    hybrid (fuel-electric) and hydrogen technologies are intended to go into
    these vehicles first. Since these are big profit-makers, of course the
    cost of introducing a new technology is attenuated. The Prius is for now
    an exception. Hybrid systems are due in next year's Lexus LX330 and Ford
    Escape.


    Richard.


    Seems when I looked at the Prius I thought hmm, interesting technology, but
    then the fuel economy was about 50 mpg, much better than the average Volvo
    of course, but then it's a much lighter car. My family had an '82 Topaz
    Diesel that could do almost 60 mpg on the highway and that was over 20 years
    ago, it had decent performance too, not nearly as sluggish as most older
    diesels. I don't see the new hybrids as being all that impressive with
    today's technology, I would expect things to have improved to >100 mpg by
    now.
     
    James Sweet, Nov 21, 2003
    #10
  11. Richard Bouchard

    Peter Milnes Guest

    In Europe/UK Volvo produce "Bi-Fuel" cars with LPG/Petrol (Gasoline) systems.
    They have produced these for a couple of years now. There is experimentation
    with LPG enhanced Diesels.

    Cheers, Peter.


    Every paper accounting this year's trends mention it (this is the auto
    show season). Of course they will not give up on the cash machine: they
    came up with a new vehicule category: the hybrid, or multi-usage
    vehicule or whatchacallit. It's a crossover between a SUV and a minivan
    (some, as the Chrysler Pacifica, the new Ford of which I can't remember
    the name and yes, the XC90, can carry up to 7 peoples), but with the
    size, feeling and handling of a car: Nissan Murano, Infitini FX35, Lexus
    LX330 are other examples (in that respect, when I look around at the
    traffic, I don't feel the design of my brick is outdated at all). The
    hybrid (fuel-electric) and hydrogen technologies are intended to go into
    these vehicles first. Since these are big profit-makers, of course the
    cost of introducing a new technology is attenuated. The Prius is for now
    an exception. Hybrid systems are due in next year's Lexus LX330 and Ford
    Escape.


    Richard.

    "127.0.0.1" a écrit :
     
    Peter Milnes, Nov 22, 2003
    #11
  12. They already do. The new S40/V50 will share the C1 platform with the
    Mazda 3 and European Ford Focus. That isn't necessarily a bad thing...
     
    Timothy J. Lee, Nov 22, 2003
    #12
  13. They tried to build a hybrid 850, didn't like the prototype, and
    abandoned the idea.
    That might be just as well, when you consider how well Volvo does electrical
    stuff. ;-)


    --






    http://www.albany.net/~mjc1/index.html
     
    Michael Cerkowski, Nov 25, 2003
    #13
  14. Richard Bouchard

    blurp Guest

    So let me ask you all this: If Volvo brought back the 240 (with some
    updated features but otherwise the same car) would you buy it?

    I mean, my 240 Turbo is a luxury sedan, a jeep, an SUV, a light truck,
    and a sports car. It's also 20 years old so, while many of its parts
    are now old and much of the polish has lost its lustre, it has
    demonstrated that a well built car can serve you for a very very long
    time (I'll eat my hat if an S-anything lasts 20 years).

    But to offer a 240 Turbo now with all the extras (trimmings AND
    mechanical features) it might cost $40K or more. Would you buy one?

    I can say in a heartbeat that I would. Trend or no trend, there must
    always be a market for sturdy reliability and comfort. I recently
    heard that at least a few of the 240 assembly plants around the world
    were shut down rather than re-tooled...could they be fired up again?

    Wishful thinking, perhaps, but I think THAT would be the smartest move
    of all.
    Blurp
     
    blurp, Nov 27, 2003
    #14
  15. Richard Bouchard

    James Sweet Guest

    Would I buy a new one? Probably not, but I wouldn't buy a *new* anything. I
    would however look into buying one that was 4-5 years old if such a thing
    existed, unfortunatly the newest 240 anywhere is a decade old, and they
    haven't been available with a turbo in 18 years.

    Granted they have a niche market, people who own them love them, people who
    don't generally can't understand the appeal. That said, virtually everyone
    who's driven mine wants one.
     
    James Sweet, Nov 28, 2003
    #15
  16. Never.

    I can't imagine buying another rwd vehicle. I certainly don't want to
    go back to having to carry spare fuel pumps and wrenches around in the
    trunk. I do miss the squeal of the AC fan. A car just doesn't seem
    like a Volvo without the AC fan squealing. The main reason for dropping
    the 200 series was to increase safety and that is the main reason I
    started buying Volvos. I would never go back to the safety level
    afforded by the 200 series design when such major advances have been
    made by the newer designs
    ..
     
    Stephen M. Henning, Nov 28, 2003
    #16
  17. Richard Bouchard

    Bill Bradley Guest

    You're kidding, right?
    RWD vehicles, what are BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Honda (S2000), Nissan,
    Lexus, et. al. thinking? Spare fuel pumps? I replaced one in the last
    15 years of owning 240s, never considered keeping a "spare" (fuel pump
    relays on the otehr hand I keep in the glove box). The blower motor...
    I'll give you that one.
    As far as safety, the 240 as the "zero fatality" vehicle even without
    airbags, SIPS. Not that there haven't been design improvements in
    energy absorbing crumple zones and impact load distribution but I
    suspect that the 240 is still better than many "clean sheet" new
    designs. An "updated" 240 (much like Porsche has done with the 911,
    recognizable but a brand new design) might be interesting but the main
    factor killing off the 240 was proft (FWD is usually cheaper and the
    newer models were designed with reduced manufacturing costs in mind.)

    Bill
     
    Bill Bradley, Nov 28, 2003
    #17
  18. Richard Bouchard

    James Sweet Guest

    Yeah I dunno where he got that information, RWD is a blast IMO, I've driven
    both and can't think of any compelling reason for FWD but lots of reasons
    against it. I replaced my first fuel pump a few months ago, the car was
    almost 20 years old with close to 200k on it, that's about as long as I'd
    expect any pump to last, though we've got an '86 with 220k on the original
    still, engine has never been opened up, runs like new. Blower motor is now
    squeeling a bit in the morning but it gave 16 years of trouble free service.

    As for safety, the 240 is still arguably one of the safest cars on the road.
    Volvo has likely made some advances but compared to other stuff out there,
    I'd rather be in a 240 than just about any other make of car in an accident.
     
    James Sweet, Nov 28, 2003
    #18
  19. Richard Bouchard

    Mark Seeley Guest

    Yeah I dunno where he got that information, RWD is a blast IMO, I've
    driven
    Unless you're somewhere with a lot of snow I guess...

    We had a 240 (DL Estate Auto) from when I was 3 to about 13 - a good 10
    years. We only changed it when the cylinder head cracked, and it was no
    longer economical to repair (well, it probably would have been, but it'd
    done nearly 250,000 miles, and we needed a change! The bodywork was pretty
    good, and the garage repaired it and it did go back on the road!). In that
    time very little went wrong... the fuel pump went maybe 5 years after we got
    it (8 years into its life) and it had a horrible habit of refusing to start
    when the weather got hot! Still, it had character, and despite it being as
    economical as a Challenger 2 tank (and nearly as big) it did us well.

    It would have been nice with PAS... and even better if when you put your
    foot down it actually moved - maybe we needed the turbo! Otherwise it was
    great!!

    Mark
     
    Mark Seeley, Nov 28, 2003
    #19
  20. Richard Bouchard

    James Sweet Guest

    That's all in the tires, well that and driver skill, not nessesarly more
    skill than FWD, just different skill, the car will definitly behave much
    differently but put on a set of good snow tires and stick a couple sandbags
    in the back in a plastic tub and it'll go just about anywhere. Good weight
    ballance and high ground clearance, I can't count the number of trucks and
    SUV's in ditches I've driven past, a well setup 240 feels sure footed and
    unstoppable.
     
    James Sweet, Nov 28, 2003
    #20
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