Here is our exclusive video of the 2011 Volvo S60 in a demonstration of its City Safety features, at the launch event in Dubai a few months ago. The camerawork is by our photographer Faisal Khatib, with narration and driving by Volvo representatives.
The recalls were piling in hard and fast during this year. While we kept up with most of the ones which could’ve potentially affected car owners in the Middle East, we simply stopped keeping track around two months ago, because it became interminably boring writing up repetitive “recall” stories. However, we have a duty to at least highlight the ones which could matter, so here is a rundown of all the recalls in the last 60 days, most issued in the U.S. but which may also affect some GCC-spec cars. Consult your local dealer.
Most of you people aren’t even interested in Volvo. Neither were we. The only Volvo we drove previously was the XC60, which was technically advanced but dynamically underwhelming. Then we drove the all-new S60 2.0T recently. Stuck behind a slow Gulf News journalist on a track convoy, we didn’t get much out of that event. Now we got the S60 T6 for five days. And the car is phenomenal, hot damnit.
It is rather amazing how some car manufacturers are actually going backwards in design and creating dullards like the “all-new” VW Passat, the Audi A6 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. And then there are some manufacturers whose newest models pretty much look as if they belong at an auto show as a concept car. Like the Infiniti M, the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia Optima, and now the 2011 Volvo S60.
Here is a trio of 1980s Volvo 760 sedans dancing in the wintery hills with skinny snow tyres, professional drivers and an old guy following them in an older Volvo. A promo video doesn’t get any weirder than this.
The news of the day is that Ford has finally completed the sale of its Swedish Volvo division to China’s Geely for US$ 1.8 billion. Almost simultaneously, Volvo has announced a recall for all of the S80 sedans for the 2007-2010 model years.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd., one of the fastest-growing car manufacturers in China, has announced the top positions in the new board of directors at Volvo Car Corporation, pending completion of the acquisition of the company from Ford Motor Company. The deal is anticipated to be completed within Q3 2010.
Volvo has introduced upgraded versions of their turbo and non-turbo engine offerings. The new 6-cylinder engines will become available in various 2011 Volvo models.
Though the all-new 2011 Volvo S60 has yet to hit UAE roads, the Chinese-owned Swedish firm has launched the wagon version of the new sedan. The new model, dubbed the V60, seems to occupy a new position in the Volvo wagon line-up, somewhere between the V50 and the V70 in size.
Ford Motor Company has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Swedish subsidiary Volvo Car Corporation and related assets to the Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited, maker of Geely automobiles. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.