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Volvo Cars

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:''This article is about the Volvo car company; see Volvo for the Volvo Group.'' :''For other uses, see Volvo (disambiguation).'' :''Volvo Cars is the car maker using the brand Volvo.'' {{Infobox_Company | company_logo = Image:6-06-06larVolvo_Logo_thum.gif center|150px|Volvo logo| company_name = Volvo Personvagnar| industry = Automotive| company_type = Subsidary of Ford Motor Company| foundation = 1927 | location = Göteborg, Sweden| products = automobiles| revenue = | key_people = Fredrik Arp, MD| num_employees = | net_income = | operating_income = | homepage = [http://www.volvocars.com/ www.volvocars.com] }} '''Volvo Cars''', or ''Volvo Personvagnar'', is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. It is an automobile maker founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo, Latin for "I roll," was formed as a spin-off from ball bearing maker SKF. Volvo Cars was owned by Volvo AB Volvo until 1998, when it was acquired by the Ford Motor Company and placed in its Premier Automotive Group. Globally, Volvo is marketed as a premium car, with the intent to compete with Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac (automobile) Cadillac, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Saab Automobile Saab. Volvo has 2500 dealerships worldwide in 100 markets; 60% of sales come from Europe, 30% from North America, and the other 10% is from the rest of the world. As a premium car manufacturer, Volvo's flagship models tend to be luxurious, while their entry-level models do not and often use components from Ford's cars.

Safety
Image:Volvo850 kombi.jpg Volvo_850.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|[[Volvo 850 estate.html" title="Meaning of 250px|[[Volvo 850">thumb|250px|[[Volvo 850 estate">250px|[[Volvo 850">thumb|250px|[[Volvo 850 estate Image:Volvo S80 2,9 2002.jpg Volvo S80.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|2002 [[Volvo S80.html" title="Meaning of 250px|2002 [[Volvo S80">thumb|250px|2002 [[Volvo S80">250px|2002 [[Volvo S80">thumb|250px|2002 [[Volvo S80 Since the 1950s, Volvo cars have had a reputation for car safety safety, starting in 1944 with the use of laminated glass in the PV model. The PV series cars were also among the first to have what Volvo called a 'safety body' (what is now called a unibody). The Volvo design team invented both the 'safety cage' and 'crumple zone' concept, where passengers are protected in a strong, encircling frame and the energy of a crash is absorbed by destruction of the bonnet or boot of the car. Volvo also invented the easy-to-use three-point seatbelt; first introduced as an accessory in 1957 and made standard on all Volvo cars in 1959. All these safety features are now standard in all cars and are responsible for saving millions of lives.{{citation needed}} Volvo also was the first company to produce cars with padded dashboards starting in late 1956 with their Amazon model. Additionally, Volvo developed the first rear-facing child seat in the late 1960s and introduced its own booster seat in 1978. In the mid-eighties, Volvo introduced the first central high-mounted stoplight (a brake light not shared with the rear taillights), which became federally mandated in the late eighties. Seatbelt and child seat innovation continued as shown in the 1991 Volvo 960 960. The 960 introduced the first three-point seatbelt for the middle of the rear seat and a child safety cushion integrated in the middle armrest. Also in 1991 came the introduction of the Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) on the Volvo 940 940/Volvo 960 960 and Volvo 850 850 models, which channeled the force of a side impact away from the doors and into the safety cage. In 1998, Volvo introduced its Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), a safety device to prevent injury of front seat users during collisions. In 2004, Volvo introduced the BLIS system, which detects vehicles entering the Volvo's blind spot with a side view mirror mounted sensor and alerts the driver with a light. That year also saw Volvos sold in all markets equipped with side-marker lights and daytime-running lights (the latter having already been available in many markets for some time). Much of Volvo's safety technology now also goes into other Ford vehicles, such as the Aston Martin DB9. By the mid-1990s there was little to distinguish Volvo from some other manufacturers (notably Renault) on safety when put through tests such as EuroNCAP as other manufacturers caught up when they realised the marketing potential of safety. The Volvo 745 had some severe problems with the C-pillar that could break in collisions even at relatively low speeds. The design was strengthened and the 740 was renamed as the Volvo 940 [http://www.251.org/volvocrash.html] [http://www.vanagon.com/info/safety/volvo-crash/]. Also, the production of Volvo P1800 P1800 had to be stopped because it did not fulfill US safety standards. A US study showed that Volvo's safety have been slipping according to Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A Volvo spokesperson denied that the company's vehicles are any less safe than the Institute's top-rated vehicles. [http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx][http://www.ksbitv.com/home/2057587.html][http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/bil/story/0,2789,741956,00.html][http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/bil/story/0,2789,741955,00.html]

Acquisitions
Image:Daf volvo 66.jpg Volvo_66.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|DAF/[[Volvo 66.html" title="Meaning of 250px|DAF/[[Volvo 66">thumb|250px|DAF/[[Volvo 66">250px|DAF/[[Volvo 66">thumb|250px|DAF/[[Volvo 66 In the early 1970s, Volvo acquired the passenger car division of the Dutch company DAF Trucks DAF, and marketed their small cars as Volvos before releasing the Dutch-built Volvo 300 series Volvo 340, which went on to be one of the biggest-selling cars in the United Kingdom UK market in the 1980s. Volvo, as one of the largest truck manufacturers in the world, took the initiative to sell its automobile manufacturing in 1998 in order to fully focus its efforts on the market for commercial vehicles. Ford, on the other hand saw advantages in acquiring a profitable prestige mid-size European automobile manufacturer, well renowned for its safety aspects, as an addition to its Premier Automotive Group. The buyout of Volvo Cars was announced on January 28, 1998, and in the following year an acquisition was completed at a price of $6.45 billion United States dollar USD. As a result of the divestiture, the Volvo name is now utilized by two separate companies: *Volvo - a manufacturer of commercial vehicles, etc. owned by Swedish interests. *Volvo Cars - a manufacturer of automobiles owned by Ford Motor Company, in its Premier Automotive Group. The Volvo™ trademark is now jointly owned (50/50) by Volvo and Ford. One of the main promotional activities for the trademark is the sailing contest Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the ''Whitbread Around the World Cup''. There is also a Volvo Baltic Race and likes to encourage its affluent image by sponsoring golf tournaments all over the world.

Car models
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Early ages
* Volvo ÖV 4, aka ''Jakob'' * Volvo PV (PV444 and PV544) * Volvo Snabbe * Volvo Trygge * Volvo Sugga (civilian (PV801, PV802, PV810, PV821, PV822 and PV831) and military (TP21/P2104, P2104)) * Volvo L-3314 Volvo Laplander (L-3304, L-3314, L-3314 and L-3315) * Volvo PV36 * Volvo PV51 * Volvo PV60 * Volvo Duett * Volvo Amazon/Volvo 122 * Volvo P1800 * Volvo P1900 * Volvo 66 * Volvo C202 * Volvo C303 Volvo C3-series (C303, C304 and C306)

Three-numbered Volvos
Starting with the 140 series in 1968, Volvo used a three number system for their cars. The first number was the series, the second number the number of cylinders and the third number the number of doors; so a 164 was a 1-series with a 6-cylinder engine and 4 doors. However there were exceptions to this rule—the 780 for example, came with turbocharged I4 and V6 gasoline engines and I6 diesel engines, but never an eight cylinder as the 8 would suggest. Similarly, the 760 often was equipped with a turbocharged I4 engine and the Volvo 360 only had four cylinders. The company dropped the meaning of the final digit for later cars like the 740, but the digit continued to identify cars underhood on the identification plate. * Volvo 140 (Volvo 142, Volvo 144, Volvo 145) * Volvo 164 * Volvo 200 series Volvo 240 (Volvo 242, 244, 245) * Volvo 200 series Volvo 260 (Volvo 262C, 264, 265) * Volvo 300 series Volvo 340 (Volvo 343, 345) * Volvo 300 series Volvo 360 * Volvo 440 * Volvo 460 * Volvo 480 * Volvo 700 series Volvo 740 * Volvo 700 series Volvo 760 * Volvo 700 series Volvo 780 * Volvo 850 * Volvo 940 * Volvo 960

Models with current denomination
Today, the company uses a system of letters denoting body style followed by the series number. Although not official, it is fairly accepted that S stands for bar (establishment) saloon or sedan, C stands for coupé or convertible and V stands for ''versatile'' or station wagon estate car. XC stands for ''cross country'' originally added to a more rugged V70 model as the V70XC and indicates all wheel drive paired with a raised suspension to give it a mock SUV look. Volvo would later change the name to the XC70 in keeping with its car naming consistent with the XC90. So a V50 is an estate ("V") in the smaller 40/50 series. Image:1998 Volvo V70.jpg thumb|right|250px|1998 Volvo V70 wagon * Pre-Ford ** Volvo S40 ** Volvo V40 ** Volvo S/V70 ** Volvo 960 S/V90 * Small cars (Ford C1 platform Volvo P1 platform) ** Volvo C30 (2007) ** Volvo C70 (Second Generation 2005-Current) ** Volvo S40 ** Volvo V50 * Large cars (Ford D3 platform Volvo P2 platform) ** Volvo S60 ** Volvo S80 ** Volvo S90 (Face lifted from the 900 series models) ** Volvo C70 (First Generation 1997-2005) ** Volvo V70 * Cross Country ** Volvo XC50 (Possible future model) ** Volvo XC60 (Possible future model) ** Volvo XC70 (Formerly V70XC, based on V70) ** Volvo XC90

Concept cars
* Volvo Venus Bilo (1933) * Volvo Philip (1952) * Volvo Margarete Rose (1953) * Volvo Elisabeth I (1953) * Volvo VESC (1972) * Volvo 1800 ESC (1972) * Volvo EC (1977) * Volvo City Taxi (1977) * Volvo Tundra (1979) * Volvo VCC (1980) * Volvo LCP2000 (1983) * Volvo ECC (1992) * Volvo SCC (2001) * Volvo YCC (2004) * Volvo T6 (2005)

Engine types
* {{See also|List of Volvo engines}} * B4B and B14A - fitted into the Volvo PV and Volvo Duett from 1947 to 1956 * Volvo B16 engine B16 (A and B) - fitted into the PV, Duett and Volvo Amazon from 1957 to 1960 * Volvo B18 engine B18 and B20 - 1.8 L/2.0 L OHV 8v fitted into all Volvo models from 1961 to 1974 (and 1975 U.S. Spec 240 models). * B19, Volvo B21 engine B21, and B23 - fitted from 1975 * B200 and B230 - 2.0 L and 2.3 L, respectively, SOHC 8v fitted to 240, 360, 700, 940 series cars from 1985 * B204 and B234 - 2.0 L and 2.3 L DOHC 16 valve engines * PRV engine B27/PRV engine B28 and PRV engine B280- 2.7 and 2.8 L SOHC 12v developed together with Renault and Peugeot * B30 - fitted to all 164 models

Transmissions
* Volvo AW70 transmission * Volvo AW71 transmission * Volvo AW72 transmission * Volvo M40 transmission * Volvo M400 transmission * Volvo M410 transmission * Volvo M41 transmission * Volvo M45 transmission * Volvo M46 transmission * Volvo M47 transmission * Volvo M50 transmission * Volvo M51 transmission * Volvo M56 transmission * Volvo M58 transmission * Volvo M59 transmission * Volvo M90 transmission * Volvo ZF4HP22 transmission

Sales
Volvo Cars sales during 2005 (2004). Source: Dagens Nyheter DN

By market
1. United States 123575 (139155)
2. Sweden 52696 (51464)
3. United Kingdom 38307 (40159)
4. Germany 35035 (38085)
5. Italy 20533 (19390)
6. Netherlands 18879 (19225)
7. Spain 18335 (15925)
8. Japan 13427 (13919)
9. Belgium 12638 (12929)
10. Canada 11651 (11651)
All markets: 443947 (456224)

By model
1. Volvo XC90 XC90 85994
2. Volvo V50 V50 83202
3. Volvo S40 S40 75136
4. Volvo V70 V70 70156*
5. Volvo S60 S60 62528
* Almost 40% (27999) of the V70's manufactured during 2005, were sold in Sweden, where it has been the best selling car for several years.

External links

- Volvo Cars - Official Site
- Volvo Concept Lab - Volvo Car Corporation's Concept Cars
- Open Directory on Volvo
- Texas Volvo Club
- Volvo Club of America
- Volvo Club UK
- The Volvo Owner's Resource since 1997.
- San Diego Volvo Sports America Website
- SwedeSpeed - Volvo Enthusiast Website and Forum {{Ford Motor Company}} Category:Companies of Sweden Category:Ford Category:Luxury car manufacturers Category:Volvo Cars * Category:Volvo da:Volvo de:Volvo fi:Volvo fr:Volvo ja:ボルボ nl:Volvo nn:Volvo Personvagnar no:Volvo Cars pl:Volvo Car Corporation sv:Volvo zh:富豪汽車 ru:Volvo Cars {{catmore}} Category:Volvo

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