The Swedish company Volvo has recently showed its interest in putting up a plant in the region of Kaluga in Russia. A group of representatives from the company known for safe cars and trucks has recently visited the region which is said to be a precursor to building an assembly plant in the country. The company announced that the delegation was sent to the region to study the local business atmosphere. The company is planning to build trucks at the proposed assembly facility in the area south-west of capital Moscow. This plant will surely increase the presence of the second largest truck and bus manufacturer in the growing Russian truck market.

About 20 representatives from car parts manufacturers in Sweden visited the said area and they were accompanied by Volvo Vostok Director General Lars Corneliusson. The visit is the first that the executives have made to the area after Volvo announced that they will be building an assembly plant in the said area. After studying the local business practices in the area, Volvo is expected to sign an agreement with the Kaluga government before starting the construction of the new assembly plant.

Following the visit, Nikolai Lyubimov, Kaluga’s minister for economic development, said that the delegation sent by Volvo was pleased with the state that the local businesses are in. He pointed out that Corneliusson is satisfied by the conditions set by the region. In fact, it was hinted that Volvo has more plans for the region except the truck assembly facility. It was reported that Volvo might build a parts manufacturing center in the region which might produce

Autor: mbs5000

Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit, Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.

Added: May 29, 2007
Source: http://contentdesk.com/view.php

Popularity: 100% [?]

According to a news wire story from Reuters, which picked it up from a Swedish newspaper, which got the news from an un-named Ford source, Ford is considering selling Volvo, and BMW is kicking the tires.

Uh, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Ford doesn’t report the Volvo financials separately, but the industry guess is that Volvo is probably the most profitable of the Euro-luxury brands. Volvo is also a leader in automotive safety technology, with a valuable portfolio of intellectual property. They are also a leader in environmentally friendly carmaking, another priority for Ford.

Would Ford really keep money-pit Jaguar and sell Volvo? And why would BMW want Volvo, after their sour experience with Land Rover? I am not sure I see how Volvo fits into BMW’s portfolio–BMW’s cars are sportier, and every bit as safe. They overlap considerably in price.

According to the news article, Ford could gain as much as $9 Billion on a sale of Volvo. That’s a nice chunk of change, but then what? Ford would be left with a real hole in their product line-up, with no credible competitor to European luxury brands, with Jaguar being weak and too far upscale and Lincoln not yet a credible threat.

Man, those college professors and Vermont commies are gonna be pissed–BMW isn’t what most of them would call a progressive company.

Popularity: 50% [?]

The Volvo 850 is often remembered as the car driven by the legendary Australian race driver Peter Brock during a one-off Bathurst 12-hour endurance event in 1994, and in the 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship. But aside from this bit of trivia, the Volvo 850 is known for exhibiting Volvo’s tradition of durability and reliability. Just like every Volvo car, its safety features are one of the best in the world, with special emphasis on crash survivability. In order to adapt with the wet weather traction, Volvo swerved from tradition and introduced the Volvo 850 as its first front-wheel drive car in the U.S. This, plus a smooth 5-cylinder dual overhead cam 20-valve engine, mounted fore and and aft give this front-wheel drive car better weight distribution. The Volvo 850 is available in sedan and wagon body styles that measure up to European standards of stability and agility. The Volvo 850 was introduced as a 1992 model worldwide, but in the U.S, it arrived in the 1993 model year. Strong performance, greater road control and improved safety set the Volvo 850 apart. These features made it a best-seller in the mid-90’s. Keeping your Volvo 850 in its best shape means maintaining your

Autor: John Garett

John Garret is an automobile mechanic who knows every crook and cranny of his truck. He’s also a vintage car enthusiast, and he’s dedicated to fixing and restoring them. He is a motorist who believes in continuous research and improvement. Check this link for more details regarding Volvo 850 parts

Added: May 16, 2007
Source: http://contentdesk.com/view.php

Popularity: 44% [?]

Cd players and mp3 players in cars are the hottest and coolest nowadays but there’s nothing like the excitement your old FM/AM station brings during a live basketball or football game that you really need to hear about when a TV is not available in your car. Your car radio is usually your only companion when you’re driving in your Volvo. And a weak signal or a failed reception of your car antenna could ruin everything and leave you bored throughout your travel. Your Volvo can be very prone to vibration, corrosion and other factors that conspire to degrade the AM/FM reception. If you live in an area where conditions cause a lot of rust or corrosion, your poor AM/FM reception might originate at the base of the antenna or the inside of the fender. A common cause of a weak reception is a broken Volvo antenna mast. The

Autor: John Garett

John Garret is an automobile mechanic who knows every crook and cranny of his truck. He’s also a vintage car enthusiast, and he’s dedicated to fixing and restoring them. He is a motorist who believes in continuous research and improvement. Check this link for more details regarding Volvo Antenna Mast

Added: May 16, 2007
Source: http://contentdesk.com/view.php

Popularity: 45% [?]

Last year, we all had to find out where Volvo buried the pirate-themed Volvo XC90. This time around, as part of their tie-in with the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End movie, Volvo is hiding a treasure chest. And it is not going to get buried. It is going to get submerged somewhere deep in the ocean.

This new Volvo treasure chest comes with gold doubloons which amount to $50,000. And it also includes the key to another new Volvo XC90. And if you are the lucky one to find that treasure chest, you get to keep the gold and the vehicle. Or you may be lucky enough to find a sunken vehicle that still has perhaps some

Autor: Jenny McLane

Jenny McLane is a 36 year old native of Iowa and has a knack for research on cars and anything and everything about it. She works full time as a Market Analyst for one of the leading car parts suppliers in the country today.

Added: May 12, 2007
Source: http://contentdesk.com/view.php

Popularity: 28% [?]

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Volvo’s redesigned S80 sedan adds a new performance variant for 2008: the turbocharged T6 with all-wheel drive.

The T6 features a turbocharged 3.0-liter version of Volvo’s 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine, rated at 285 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

The T6 will be equipped with all-wheel drive, including an electronically controlled hydraulic clutch that automatically distributes power between the front and rear wheels for optimum traction on different road surfaces.

Popularity: 41% [?]

In the past, Volvo has been known to use five or four cylinder engines and not much with the use of huge V8 engines. The company’s preference of smaller engines is, of course, the safety of its consumers. The Swedish car company is also known for the boxy design of their cars, the reason for which is of course safety.

But as time changes, Volvo see it fit that they must attract the younger car buyers and thus they should be able to match what their competitors offer. That is why Volvo has moved away from boxy designs and has started using V8 engines on their vehicles.

The first ever Volvo to be equipped with a V8 is the award winning Volvo XC90 which is incidentally is the prize to be given away by Volvo in this year’s partnership with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean film. The XC90 is also the living proof that Volvo has done well in using a V8 engine for their vehicle.

The company has made the XC90 a success because they have taken their time in producing a V8 powered vehicle. By learning what to do and what not to do in the use of V8 engines has made the XC90 an instant hit in the auto market. For the coming years, Volvo XC90’s competitors will surely undergo improvements and Volvo appears to be ready to improve the XC90 for it to remain as one of the leaders in its segment.

For the new model year, the XC90 will be still equipped with the V8 developed by Yamaha for the Ford Motor Company. Partnering with the Japanese company, Volvo has developed an engine capable of producing 311 horsepower at 3900 revolutions per minute. This power is enough to give the XC90 good amount of power for normal uses. The engine is 754 mm in length and 635 mm across. The relatively smaller engine tips the scale at 190 kilograms and is considered as one of the cleanest gasoline engines today.

The engine is transversely mounted onto the engine compartment of the Volvo XC90. Initially, one of the problems faced by Volvo in the use of V8 engines on the XC90 is the space on its engine bay. The XC90’s predecessors are equipped with in-line engines and therefore occupy less space than the V8. While Volvo may have increased the engine bay of the XC90, it opts to use the V8 engine developed by Yamaha for Ford. The smaller V8 engine uses the same angle commonly found on V6 engines. This configuration allowed Volvo to fit a V8 engine on the XC90’s engine compartment.

In terms of safety, the placement of the engine is thought about thoroughly. While other car manufacturers use a 50-50 weight distribution of the two banks of V8 engines, Volvo compromised the balance to give the XC90 a better crash protection. The reasoning behind the compromise is that the slightly out of balance placement of the engine will affect the vehicle’s ride comfort in a very small way that it is almost negligible.

Another step taken by Volvo in fitting the V8 engine onto the XC90’s engine bay is the elimination of brackets. For example, the vehicle’s starter motor is mounted on top of the transmission thus giving space around the engine. The transmission used by Volvo in the XC90 to be mated with the V8 engine is a six-speed Geartronic automatic gear box. One of the most notable features of this gear box is its overdrive gear. This means that the vehicle can have a quieter cruising operation while providing a good fuel efficiency. Shifting the gears can be done manually as Volvo integrated a feature into the transmission which allows driver to do so.

With the high power output offered by the engine and the Volvo XC90’s respectable off-road driving capabilities, it is set to once again dominate its segment. Not only does the XC90 posses a highly efficient engine, the exemplary vehicle also exhibits what Volvo calls Scandinavian luxury. The interior of the XC90 offers good comfort to its occupants with a highly efficient cooling system for hot weathers and an equally efficient

Autor: mbs5000

Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit, Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.

Added: May 9, 2007
Source: http://contentdesk.com/view.php

Popularity: 40% [?]