Yesterday was a major holiday in the history of automotive safety–it was the 50th anniversary of the most important automobile safety device ever invented: the three-point safety belt, Volvo says.

Invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1958 and patented in 1959, the device has saved more than 1 million lives and is now standard equipment on every car. Volvo was also the first carmaker in the world to equip its cars with front seat three-point safety belts as standard.”
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Hot Moms with crushes on their tennis coaches. Professors with NPR tote bags.  This is what I think of when I hear the word Volvo.  But like Madonna and her new adolescent boyfriend, Volvo is retooling its image and possibly skewing to a younger set.  Volvo, in conjunction with SimBin (maker of the game Race Pro which scored 72% on Metacritic) has released a Volvo racing game called, wait for it…Volvo: The Game.

The game allows you to race Volvos that span each generation (including the 850 station-wagon, which to me, its inclusion is a tongue in cheek send up of the Mom car, but which Volvo calls a legend) or the futuristic looking V60 concept car.  I like old school, but a concept car, for any racing game enthusiast, is always cool.

As we all know, the success of a racing game comes down to five things: graphics, handling, varied skill level, track and cool cars.  The graphics look good.  Side by side photos of the game’s station wagon and the actual wagon were hard to distinguish.  Handling.  We’ll know May 26 when the game is made available.

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Review and photos by Derek Mau

Pros

• More Volvo safety features than you can count
• Excellent ride comfort and handling
• Attractive styling with unique LED tail lights

Cons

• Slippery front seats that don’t hold its occupants well
• Two-tone leather upholstery for the seats that are best left in a Danish furniture store
• Heavy curb weight doesn’t help fuel economy

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Needing cash fast, Ford wants to unload Volvo. The first move is to show that the car line is making money. Who is going to purchase a company that’s losing money? Sales are down by almost half, which will most likely scare away even the most speculative investors.

Volvo is a popular car with families, because they’re so safe. I bought a used Volvo wagon in the late ’80s. It had 100,000 miles on it when I bought the vehicle, and I got another 50,000 out of it without a major repair. Solidly built and structurally sound, I see a lot of upwardly mobile families driving Volvos with car seats in the back. Ford is reportedly going to ask for $5-$10 billion dollars for the brand, but they could be dreaming with that price, especially in a recession.

Ford has too many car lines, so selling Volvo makes sense. Hopefully, the move will provide them with some much-needed funds that they can use to make better cars that are greener, more affordable and family friendly. They say that of the Big 3, Ford is in the best shape. They’ve been the most proactive in making greener cars, and by offering attractive deals, they’ve been selling new cars when most Americans are content to drive the cars they have currently have, while they wait and see what’s going to happen with the economy.

Detroit News article after the jump:

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The big safety news in the new Volvo XC60 is City Safety - a unique safety feature that can help the driver avoid or reduce the damage of low-speed impacts that are common in city traffic and bumper-to-bumper traffic. If the car is about to strike the vehicle in front and the driver does not react, the car automatically applies the brakes.

What! Why do a I need another electronic nanny and do I really want something that applies the brakes for me?

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Lots and lots of diesel news these days … and this time, it’s Volvo’s turn.

In this case, the Scandy company best known for cars as safe as bank vaults, is rolling out a new twin-turbo oil burner for their S80 sedan. It’s a 2.4-liter, five-cylinder engine putting out 205-horsepower and around 310 lb-ft of torque. The engine allegedly gets around 38 mpg while meeting strict Euro 5 emissions standards. Sadly, there’s no plans for bringing it to the North American market (dumb) for reasons unknown. Why does Europe get all the cool diesel tech, huh?

Anyway, this same diesel powertrain will also be dropped into the upcoming S60 sedan and the evergreen V70 wagon. For those of you that are engine geeks, the specifics are like this:

As mentioned, the mill uses twin turbochargers, and features ceramic glow plugs and piezoelectric fuel injectors to cut down on fuel consumption. The engine, which is all aluminum alloy, is light weight and uses transverse cooling to keep a more uniform temperature in the cylinder head and engine block than a typical diesel. This improves reliability. The engine also features asymmetrically sized turbos, that together deliver 26 PSI pressure across the rev range.

Really, Volvo (and/or parent company Ford) should bring this one here.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Volvo is doing a big promotion across the country as it enters the luxury, performance-oriented, small SUV/crossover market with their new XC60. Two Parallel Tours will cross the country with more than 85 events, giving customers the opportunity to see the new XC60 before it goes on sale at dealerships and experience “City Safety” - Volvo’s most extensive safety package ever.

Using their strong reputation and association with car safety, Volvo has put together a live demonstration of their latest safety innovation - City Safety. According to surveys, 75% of accidents occur at speeds below 18 mph and in city traffic. Volvo’s new City Safety system helps the driver avoid or reduce low-speed collisions. CarReview attended one of the City Safety demonstrations. Follow the link to learn more about the City Safety feature and and how it operates.

Volvo XC60 City Safety System Report

For a hands on experience of Volvo’s latest safety feature, click the link below to find the place and date of the “From Sweden with Löv” tour stop nearest you.

https://www.customers.volvocars.com/xc60tour

Or read the press release on the next page to find out if “From Sweden with Löv” tour stops at a city near you. For more details about the “City Safety” system and other active Volvo safety features such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind spot information system (BLIS), collision warning w/auto brake, driver alert control, and lane departure warning information system, visit their website, www.volvocars.us/XC60Tour.

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The new crossover SUV from Volvo - the XC60 - has a 3.0L turbo-charged six cylinder engine. This crossover is no pushover getting some extra giddyap from a twin-turbo setup that produces 281 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) is one of the most vital safety advances in the past decade by helping prevent spinouts, fishtails, and rollovers.

The new XC60 has lots of torque for hill climbs and has a cool “hill descent control” feature for the other half of the hill. Watch Ulrika climb (and descend) a slope so steep it would make Edmund Hillary stain his shorts.

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The new crossover SUV from Volvo - the XC60 - has a 3.0L turbo-charged six cylinder engine. This crossover is no pushover getting some extra giddyap from a twin-turbo setup that produces 281 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) is one of the most vital safety advances in the past decade by helping prevent spinouts, fishtails, and rollovers. Further developed in the XC60 using a roll rate sensor, DSTC also enhances stability in dynamic driving where the vehicle is exposed to high lateral forces.

In the Netherlands (and Canada) it is common for elk or moose to wander onto the roadway. In the U.S. we have to watch out for deer who are easily mesmerized by a pair of halogen headlights. Watch Bjarne show off his nerves of steel while swerving at 100 kph (64 mph) on a slippery track.

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The new crossover SUV from Volvo - the XC60 - has a 3.0L turbo-charged six cylinder engine (T6). This crossover is no pushover getting some extra oomph from a twin-turbo setup that produces 281 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. The twin-scroll turbo gives the T6 engine a wide power band such that maximum torque begins at 1,500 rpm. A powerful engine requires a transmission designed to handle the high torque of the T6 engine. Thus, the XC60 is equipped with a 6-speed Geartronic automatic transmission to move you along smoothly and quietly.

Volvo released a series of campaign videos promoting their new XC60 SUV. Watch the video as Viktoria shows off her skills and the stability of the XC60 at 200 kph - with no hands on the steering wheel! Watch the video after the jump

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Linda Brennan of Montpelier, Vt. Wins Ultimate Fan Prize: Boston Red Sox Special Edition Volvo C30

Red Sox Foundation and Volvo team up in charity raffle, raising $1.4 million

IRVINE, Calif. (July 29, 2008) - Linda Brennan, Boston Red Sox Foundation and Volvo Cars of North America raffle winner, now owns the ultimate 2007 World Series Championship collectible: The Boston Red Sox Special Edition Volvo C30.

Volvo and the Red Sox Foundation hosted the raffle to raise money for children and families in need across New England. Brennan took home the C30 during Saturday’s Red Sox versus Yankees game at Fenway Park.

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By Twain Mein

Introduction
This is a review of the newly designed 2008 Volvo XC70 (Cross Country) 3.2, all-wheel drive wagon.

Pros:

• Excellent build quality
• Volvo safety
• Reasonable price
• Increased rear leg room
• Wagon utility

Cons:

• Unnecessary interior gimmicks
• Terrible GPS integration
• Controversial styling
• Wagon utility

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Bark Buckle UP Partners With Volvo Cars to Announce Nationwide Campaign Educating Pet Owners About Pet Travel Safety

Campaign Created to Educate Pet Owners on the Dangers Associated with Unrestrained Pets in Vehicles

SAN DIEGO — Bark Buckle UP, a leader in the pet safety industry, today announced that it has partnered with Volvo Cars, the benchmark company for auto safety, in launching a campaign that will educate pet owners nationwide about pet travel safety.

From June through September, select Volvo Retailers across the United States and Canada will host Pet Safety Days. Open to the general public and their pets, the safety events will teach pet owners about pet safety products and give tips for traveling safely with pets. Christina Selter, Bark Buckle UP founder and pet travel safety expert, will visit select Pet Safety Days to answer questions, offer her expertise, and demonstrate how easy it is to keep your pet safe.

“Seat belts protect millions of people every day,” said Selter, who buckles up her dog Betty, even if she’s just driving to the supermarket. “In the event of an accident, an unrestrained pet can escape and be hit by another vehicle, cause another collision, or attack emergency crews trying to reach an injured party. It only takes a few minutes to safeguard your pet and by properly securing your pet, you are protecting yourself, your passengers, and your pet from injury, not to mention protecting other drivers and strangers trying to help.”

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Volvo tries to be a little edgey and give their customers a means of customizing their Volvo’s to match their personalities. Think this will work in the U.S. market? I typically think of Volvo owners as conservative types who are more practical than image conscious. Somebody post photos of their Volvo if they have an R-Design package. We want to see some examples of a hot Volvo.

The official press release from Volvo is below the jump. (Editor)

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There is a new hot-hatch on the market that blends a little old skool styling with a modern look, and Volvo’s renowned safety features. The 2008 Volvo C30 is a new 2-door hatchback and is Volvo’s smallest car for the U.S. market at 8.5 inches shorter than the S40 sedan. The C30 has a 6 speed manual transmission, 2.5L I5, 20 valve, 227-horsepower engine, seats four and offers a Custom Build ordering process with 17 different exterior color choices and 12 interior combinations.

Volvo C30 Photo Gallery	Volvo C30 Specs
Official website for Volvo automobiles in the U.S. - www.volvocars.com/us/