What about Volvo's future?

245

Comments

  • jrosasmcjrosasmc Member Posts: 1,711
    There are major changes in store for the '07 S60?
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    No.
    The S60 2.5T and T5 get revised headlights, including the optional active bi-xenons, and a new front bumper.
    DSTC standard, as is the tire pressure monitoring system.
    S60R gets tire pressure monitoring system, no other changes.
  • corvettecorvette Member Posts: 11,404
    Standard DSTC? Be still, my beating heart! Volvo, the safety leader, is only 5-6 years behind their European brethren on that one.
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    DSTC is more critical for a rear wheel drive sedan than a front wheel drive one.
    DSTC is designed to control oversteer and it is pretty hard to get a FWD Volvo to oversteer.
  • stmssstmss Member Posts: 206
    What is cheap anymore? My Volvo major service is about $800 CDN (so cheaper than US quoted but closing fast with CDN $ rising). This is every 48,000km so in the last 7 yrs I have had this done twice - not bad. Mid service at half this interval is about $400 - reasonable? Regular oil cahnge service at just over $100 and this all with synthetic oil. I just had my Ford Freestyle in for its 20,000km service - $309.67.

    My Volvo has been off warranty for over 3 yrs and 50,000km. Other than regular service it has cost me $300 for an air mass flow meter and I just put some brakes on the front at 130,000 km. A new radiator after my wife took it out on a pothole.

    I have never kept a car this long. I would like a new one maybe but maintenance or off waranty repair costs certainly can't justify it.

    I also owned a 01 Saab 9.5 until a few months ago - very good car. Similar maintenance cost. But Saab needs to bring some more 'Saab' models to the dealer and improve its service to compete with Volvo.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    Just curious, what did you have done at your 20,000km service for $309.67?? The manual only shows for oil changes, air filters and at 30,000 miles the fuel filter change.
  • stmssstmss Member Posts: 206
    They call it maintenance #3 - Lube package, oil and filter change, tire rotation, battery service, pollen filter, caliper service, multipoint inspection.

    Like everything else these days by the time they add in 'shop materials, environmental fees, taxes' adds up.

    I will take a look at the owners manual and see what service schedule I am on - likely severe. This bill caught me a bit by surprise as I was expecting service to be so much cheaper than Volvo/Saab.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    That does seem high to me. I got the same thing here (minus the in cabin filter change) for $40.
  • corvettecorvette Member Posts: 11,404
    Normal skid control systems will also correct understeer by slowing the car down if you enter a corner too quickly. Does Volvo's not do this?
  • stmssstmss Member Posts: 206
    Sounds like you got a good deal and I not so. Cabin filter is $35. the problem we have here is that the dealers (including Volvo) lump sum the labour cost ($177 in this case - two hours I suspect) with differing amounts depending on the service. They then add parts and fees on top. They probably spent 30 minutes on the whole job.
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    Normal skid control systems will also correct understeer by slowing the car down if you enter a corner too quickly. Does Volvo's not do this?

    So will simple ABS.
    Bottom line is, Volvo spends alot of $$ doing things to their cars in the name of safety that no one else does.
    Almost no one else uses the quantities of hardned stell that Volvo uses. The anti whiplash seats are unique.
    Even little things like the door hinges being welded to the car body instead of bolted in order to increase the strength and help keep the doors on the cars.
    For a car that is purposely set up to understeer, DSTC is a nice addition, but doesn't really add that much real world usefulness. Not like it would on a RWD car.
    At the end of the day, you have to keep your product price competitive. The unit cost on the DSTC made it prohibitive.
    Now, the cost has come down.
    Volvo has a very long history of useful safety innovation.
    They were the first comany to use laminated glass in their windshields, the firat to patent and use 3 point safety belts, first w/ side guard door beams, first w/ side airbags etc. Volvo has a track record that is very hard to beat.
  • corvettecorvette Member Posts: 11,404
    Volvo has a very long history of useful safety innovation.

    I don't dispute that. What I was trying to say was that, normal skid control systems will slow the car if it enters a corner too quickly and understeers, without the driver pressing on the brake.

    Even a car that is designed to understeer (as are most FWD cars), it is easy to encounter situations where the front wheels have more traction than the rears, producing a tendency to oversteer, and the car's setup can only compensate so much for this.

    I am glad to see Volvo including it as standard, but my point that they are late to the game is still valid--Audi and Acura both sell FWD cars, and have included the feature standard for at least a couple of years. I'm not sure about Saab.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    This year, a trio of Volvos, one with a prototype Multi-Fuel powertrain, steals show.

    http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060621/AUTO03/606210380/- 1148/AUTO01

    Rocky
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    Volvo also added mirror mounted turnsignals... but other than that, it basically the same. Oh the also revised the interior also.
    image

    image
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Hey what car is that ? Did the S-60 get a refresh for 06 ? I know the new awesome S80 is coming
    (boy I'd love to have one) but do think the S60R with more than 300 hp. and a Dynaudio system would be like one of the perfect cars out there.

    Rocky
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    Thats the 2007 volvo s60. The refresh is for the 2007model. I think it was upped in torque but the hp stayed the same :)
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    any new features ? Has the torque been upped on what model ? The S60R ?

    Rocky
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    It basicaly just a freshining. The new features are the mirror mounted turn signal and freshened exterior. This sedan won't be redesigned until around 2009 or 2010. Only earlier if they deside to update the Mazda6 platform. The torque and hp may stay the same if not a slight increase. I'm not at all sure because those figures haven't been released. Only those pictures and a few more have been released.

    Judging by this image
    a sport package may be added to the t5
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Well they have a four-hundred and something Turbo I-5 I'd like to see used in a S60R. ;) Too bad that engine and the S80's beautiful Wood and ventilated Leather interior couldn't make production in the S60R. It would be a Audi Killa for sure. ;)

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    My guess is it's a S60R ;)

    Rocky
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    Nope. It says t5 in big bold letters. See: image
    (It kinda looks like it says R, but it would be on the front too which it isnt) image

    If you are looking for a sport luxury sedan with heated & ventilated, check out a Lexus Is350 with 306 hp standard for about $3.5k less than the S60R?
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    The IS 350 I priced up was $47,000 when I was looking at them last year. It also has a backseat that I wouldn't put my worst enemy in and I baught a TL instead but that is a long story. ;)

    Rocky

    P.S.

    Keep me updated if you find out anything more please. The S80 V-8 is being considered, and the S60R is also still somewhat on my list because it's cheaper and has a stick.
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    i forgot about that tiny rear of the IS. What about the Lincoln LS V8? They being replaced by a whole new model soon and so you can $ave lots of $$$ or wait because it may be an S80 twin and have the v8. Plus Its american and is pretty reliable so if something breaks, it won't be as much $$$ to fix. But the stick thing... I guess that gets made up by heated front & rear seats and cooled in the front also. An enemy in the rear can heat his/her tush :shades: . The THX sound system is pretty good and has an optional nav.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Is the THX sound a 5.1 DVD-A unit ? They might be twins but the Volvo seems to be way more upscale than any thing Lincoln had made to date. The Lincoln LS might of handled good pal, but it still falls short of Cadillac, and that gap presently is widening.

    Rocky
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    I have no clue about the THX system. And no the S80 and Ls aren't twins. I think the s80 and MKs (Ls replacement)may be related because the V8 and V6 requirement. All lincolns have venilated seats standard or as an option.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    The bottom line is the Volvo S80 is the sexiest, safest, automobile on planet Earth. I can tell ya'll this much, I want one. :cry:

    Rocky
  • volvo4lifevolvo4life Member Posts: 5
    Volvo's are still designed and manufactured in Europe. They are still built with safety in mind before anything else. I do not think there is any identity crisis to worry about. They have been around since the 1920's.

    In my opinion Ford's partnership has been a good one for both companies. Ford's have benefited from Volvo's safety innovations. Volvo has more cash for advertising and to some degree, incentives.

    I would also agree that Volvo's have never looked better.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    I tell you this much I really like that new Volvo S80 and it's interior is the best in the world IMO in any car outside of a very premium exotic i.e. like a Bentley, etc.

    Rocky
  • jrosasmcjrosasmc Member Posts: 1,711
    Not to offend anyone or anything but I personally think the S60 is more stylish than the S80. If I could afford one I'd get an S60 and keep it for at least 25 years.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Rocky
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,248
    2007 Volvo S80 discussion

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  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Thanx, just curious if anyone in automotive news & views had any inside info on prices. I posted the same thing there.

    Thanx

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Well atleast if Jaguar get's sold off that means Volvo is safe at least. :D

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    I was told that I had to take my vehicle to a authorized Volvo dealer to have service done to keep the warranty valid. Even though Ford owns Volvo, it's not good enough. I think it's a buncha B.S. !!!!!!!!!! It's not fair we don't have any volvo dealers around here. :cry:

    Rocky
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    Well why would you want to take a new Volvo anywhere else? Just because it shares some pieces with a Ford doesn't mean a Ford dealership can work it, that would imply that a Ford and a Volvo are the same car/badge engineering, and they're clearly not.

    M
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Well they are the same just look at the Montego/five-hundred, rebadged cheapened S80's. ;) Volvo techs aren't any smarter than those found in Ford dealerships. They read the procedure book just like everyone else to fix the problem. ;)

    Rocky
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 33,786
    problem is, as volvomax has pointed out in the past, volvos are very software intensive. The dealer must have the manufacturer-supplied interface to even "talk" to your car. The Ford dealer ain't gonna have that.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    Well they are the same just look at the Montego/five-hundred, rebadged cheapened S80's. Volvo techs aren't any smarter than those found in Ford dealerships. They read the procedure book just like everyone else to fix the problem.

    Wrong. The 500/Montego aren't just rebadged Volvos, they'd cost a whole lot more if they were. They don't even share engines, that knocks out a lot of what a Ford dealer can do on a Volvo. The Fords have been gutted and cheapened greatly to get down to their price points compared to the S80. They aren't close to being the same car or close enough as to where any Ford dealer can work on a S80.

    You're right Volvo techs aren't any smart in general I bet, but they're much better at working on Volvos than Ford techs are.

    An Aunt of mine had a Sterling back in the day and an Acura dealer could work on it because the only "British" pieces were the body/interior, but the rest was pure Acura Legend. The car tended to break down every 6 or 7 months and then and only then did you find out what part of the car's guts was actually "British".

    M
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Have any of you guys ?

    Rocky
  • alp8alp8 Member Posts: 656
    not so - the electrical guts were also british on the Sterlings

    good cars, but they had electrical issues, as you'd expect
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    That must explain why the car literally fried itself as it physically fell apart about 2 years after purchase! I loved the interior treatments, a leather/suede combo, but the car was a lemon through and through.

    M
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=116977?tid=edm- - unds.il.home.photopanel..1.*#6

    WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shades:

    Volvo. for life ;)

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Do you like Volvo's ?

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Fintail, trade in the Benzo's and get ya a OT-7 S80 ;)

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    To me is like the song "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt

    http://geneva.volvocars.com.edgesuite.net/ny_1920x1200_2.jpg

    I love the car so much, but the "dealership obstacle" of owning one would be so difficult for me and my family. Driving 2 1/2 hours to Lubbock, for regular scheduled maintence is a big deal. :cry: :sick:

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    I demand Volvo, to build a dealership in the Texas Panhandle. At least Amarillo :mad:

    If Ford, really reads these forums then they need to listen to me. Amarillo, and the Northern Tx Panhadle would be a good market for Volvo due to our inclement weather and we are a wealthy market. ;)

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Does Volvo, have a aftermarket company that does performance upgrades ????

    Like for instance if I baught a 07' S80 could I buy a programmer, and lets say a chip for it ?

    Thanx,

    Rocky
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 33,786
    yup. TME products can be purchased here through IPD.
    www.ipdusa.com

    I doubt they have anything for the new S80 just yet, though.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,017
    Okay, thanx. I was curious. I'm still debating whether or not to inconvience myself that much. :surprise:

    Rocky
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 33,786
    i doubt you'll realize any significant power increase with a reflash in this particular vehicle anyway. Its much more effective on turbo cars.

    My guess is that a reflash and full exhaust on the new S80 might see a 20-30 hp increase and will cost about $2k. Not worth it, IMHO.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S

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