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The all new Volvo C70 – both convertible and coupe!

     It’s ready to take its place in the sun – the all new Volvo C70.  Which also doubles as a coupe! Thanks to a unique three-piece retractable hardtop, customers of the second-generation Volvo C70 can enjoy life without compromise – whether the top is up or down.  

     “We’ve succeeded in creating an attractive convertible which, at the mere touch of a button, converts into an equally elegant coupe. The customer gets two cars in one. Both with space for four adults,” says Volvo Cars President and CEO Hans-Olov Olsson.

     The all new Volvo C70 is about the same size as its predecessor, but is equally wide and a full four-seater. The forward-thrusting nose section gives the car a powerful profile.

      The all new Volvo C70 was developed to offer new standards of preventive and protective safety in the convertible market. The car has an advanced body structure and several solutions that make it unique among open-top cars. The lack of a fixed roof has been compensated for by reinforcements and sophisticated technology. One unique example is the door-mounted Inflatable Curtain (IC) a new feature, which is part of the enhanced protection system for side impacts.

     Since the IC cannot be fitted in the roof like other Volvos, it is fitted in the door and inflates upwards when it is deployed.  

     Volvo's safety engineers have fine-tuned the IC to be extra stiff. As a result, it can stay upright and help protect the head effectively. In addition, the curtain deflates slowly to help provide additional protection if the car rolls over. This is a unique solution in the automotive world.   

High torsional rigidity

     The body structure, in a carefully designed network of beams, not only contributes to the car’s high safety standards, it also gives the body extremely high torsional rigidity – twice as high as that of the previous C70 model. With the roof up, torsional rigidity increases by a further 10-15 percent.

     “A torsionally rigid body is important to the car’s ride and handling traits,” says C70 project manager Patrik Widerstrand. “It makes the car more stable and easier to control. It also makes the car more dynamic and fun to drive.” In the U.S. the all-new Volvo C70 will be powered by 2.5-liter in-line five-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 218 hp and offers 236 lb.-ft. of torque.

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High-tech 3.2-liter in-line six-cylinder engine finds its way into new refined Volvo XC90

•          Refined and more car like design

•          Upgraded interior

•          Sharper powertrain range with new, highly advanced 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine

•          Focus on driver control including new Park Assist Camera

•          World-class audio system with Dynaudio speakers and Dolby Pro Logic II

•          50 percent of total sales in the USA

 

     The new XC90 is intended to strengthen Volvo Cars’ position in a SUV market that received the first XC90 generation with standing ovations. Story

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Volvo Car Corporation, Accessories - Wireless hands-free function in Volvo cars with Bluetooth® and a mobile telephone

• Automatic connection to the car’s loudspeaker system
• The system recognizes up to four different telephones
• Easy to switch between hands-free and telephone
• Voice dialing promotes traffic safety

It is now possible to connect a Bluetooth-capable mobile telephone to a Volvo car’s audio and loud-speaker system – totally wirelessly. With the help of the new accessory Volvo Hands-free with Bluetooth®, a mobile telephone becomes an integrated hands-free system with voice dialing.

Volvo Hands-free with Bluetooth® can be fitted in most late-model Volvo cars. The system consists of an electronic control module, a module with function buttons, a dedicated microphone located near the rear-view mirror, and the necessary wiring. The mobile telephone used must be Bluetooth-capable. Once a paired link has been set up with the car’s Bluetooth module, the telephone is recognized and connected automatically when the owner enters the car. Story

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Volvo Models Best in Interior Air Quality According to New Study

      An independent survey carried out by the Ecology Center in Detroit shows that the interiors of Volvo’s cars emit lower levels of toxic substances than other car makes.

      The Ecology Center recently presented a study (Toxic at Any Speed: Chemicals in Cars & the Need for Safe Alternatives) of the toxic chemicals used in building car interiors. Flame retardant PBDE and phthalates, whose main use is as a softener in plastics, were included in the study. These chemical substances can migrate from plastics and textiles, particularly at high temperatures. The car’s occupants may thus be exposed to these substances, for instance through the respiratory system. Certain types of phthalates and flame retardants can for instance promote genetic mutations and can subject car occupants to health hazards. The survey reveals that the concentrations of PBDE in dust and on the windscreen are up to five times higher than in the homes of most people, and since many people today spend a lot of time in their cars, car interiors thus have a significant effect on human health.  For More

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Volvo iPod Adapter - Volvo opens up to iPod users

Now it will be possible for iPod users to plug their entire music archive into their Volvo’s audio system. Together with supplier PhatNoise Inc and Apple, Volvo Cars has developed an adapter kit for installation in the Volvo S80 from model year 1999 on and in the S60, V70 and XC70 from model year 2001.

     iPod is the world's number one digital music player and allows music lovers to carry their entire music collection with them on the go.  Now with the Volvo iPod Adapter, they can play their music in their Volvo. 

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Volvo Seats Get Top Scores in 2006 Thatcham Whiplash Tests

      Once again, Volvo has achieved top scores in the latest, 2006 model year new car whiplash ratings by the UK's Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre in Thatcham¹ which conducted the tests on behalf of the International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group (IIWPG).

     In fact, Volvo was one of only two manufacturers to achieve top 'Good' scores for every model tested² thanks to its supportive seats which have a fixed head restraint position to ensure they are always in the correct position to offer the best support, and the Volvo Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) that moves the entire backrest to absorb the impact during a rear-end collision to help reduce the forces on the neck.  Story