Volvo

The Classicist: Early Spring Style Starring the Volvo S60

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

The new Volvo S60 R-Design, the marque's sportiest model ever, serves as the inspiration for The Classicist's latest installment of seasonal style (see the late winter edition here).

As previewed by our brethren at Autoblog at the Paris Auto Show, the S60 R-Design amps up what Volvo had already declared to be its first "naughty" model; ask anyone who knows us – we've always had a soft spot for naughty models. The car's snappy 300-horsepower 3.0-liter inline turbo six remains unchanged, but the R-Design designation adds some styling upgrades that give it an aptly more aggressive stance.

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Volvo S60 Street Art Car Project at the Zurich Train Station

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Art

Commuters passing through the busy Zurich Bahnhof over the course of a week in February got a special treat. There Volvo set up its latest S60 luxury sedan against a white backdrop as an "art car" project, and invited ten graffiti artists to share their vision. The process was captured by camera at 10-second intervals to make a three-minute time-lapse video you can watch after the jump.

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Tags: art car, bahnhof, s60, switzerland, train station, volso s60, volvo, zurich, zurich bahnhof

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Volvo Ocean Race Special Editions

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Luxury Cars & Autos

Volvo has long sponsored sailboat racing, and to celebrate its participation has launched a new series of Volvo Ocean Race Special Editions.

Available in Europe on the V60 wagon, XC60 crossover and XC70 wagon/crossover, the Ocean Race specials come with interiors highlighted by Volvo Ocean Race logos on the seat-backs, door panels and floor mats. The special editions also debut two new color options (pictured above): Ocean Blue II and Electric Silver. Volvo expects to sell around 7,500 of these special editions in such markets as the UK, Germany and Italy.

Tags: v60, volvo, volvo ocean race, volvo ocean race special editions, volvo v60, volvo xc60, volvo xc70, xc60, xc70

2011 Geneva Motor Show: The Luxury Sedans & SUVs

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Every year the Geneva Motor Show features a staggering array of new luxury sedans, estate wagons, crossovers and sport-utility vehicles on display. And this year's show, still ongoing at the Geneva Palexpo, has proven no exception.

Among the production and concept debuts in these diverse categories were new vehicles from Audi, BMW Alpina, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saab and Volvo, as well as the return of De Tomaso. Follow the jump to see what these European automakers had in store for us this year.

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Volvo V60: The World's First Diesel Plug-In Hybrid

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Volvo V60: The World's First Diesel Plug-In Hybrid

Volvo is known the world over as a leader in safety features, but at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, the Swedish automaker will show it can be a leader in environmental friendliness, too.

In what the company is terming "the world's first diesel plug-in hybrid", the V60 prototype combines a 215-horsepower, 2.4-liter five-cylinder turbo-diesel with a 70hp electric motor. The vehicle is capable of operating under electric power only (Pure mode) for 32 miles, or can run in Hybrid mode at the touch of a button for a 746-mile range. Or for an extra boost, the driver can select Power mode for a total 472 lb-ft of torque.

While the car is just for show at the moment, it could make it to production in the near future.

Tags: 2011 geneva motor show, geneva, geneva 2011, geneva motor show, v60, v60 plug-in hybrid, volvo, volvo v60, volvo v60 plug-in hybrid

Bacardi Launches Eristoff Vodka

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Bacardi Global Brands certainly has the rum and super-premium vodka categories covered with Bacardi and Grey Goose. Now, it is extending its Eristoff premium vodka brand to the U.S.

Eristoff hails from the former Soviet state of Georgia, which Eristoff's marketing has long capitalized on as "The Land of the Wolf" (the grey wolf actually). A very popular ad for Eristoff shows a man walking through the streets and into the woods beyond. He comes to be chased by a pack of wolves. The payoff of the ad is that the man is running inside a snowglobe, eventually running into the outer glass wall of the globe. Eristoff's logo is a wolf howling at a crescent moon.

Eristoff is made from 100% grain, tripled distilled and charcoal filtered. The recipe is said to be the original from 1806 created by Prince Eristoff of present day Georgia. It comes in three varieties: Original (80-proof); Red (40-proof), which comes in a red color and is flavored with sloe berries; Black (40-proof), which comes in a dark color and is flavored with wild berries. There are two other flavors abroad that are not part of the U.S. launch--Limskaya (lime flavor) and Gold (caramel flavor).

Tags: bacardi, eristoff black, eristoff red, eristoff vodka, grey goose, land of the wolf, premium vodka, Volvo

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BMW To Sell Small Front-Drive Cars in the U.S.

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

German automaker BMW will sell a family of small front-drive cars in the U.S., likely launching them in 2012. The report, first published in trade publication Automotive News, was confirmed to Luxist by company officials.

That the Bavarian car company was developing small front-drive cars was not a secret. But it was an open question as to whether the cars, to be built in Europe, would come to the U.S. BMW has long championed rear-drive cars for its BMW brand, leaving front-drive cars to its MINI brand. But BMW's desire for global sales growth, combined with the need to sell more smaller, fuel efficient cars to meet toughening fuel economy standards, forced the company's hand.

BMW has studied the problem for years. At one time, it considered buying Swedish car company Volvo, the vehicles of which are front-drive. But BMW, stung by a disastrous and costly acquisition of the British automaker Rover MG in the 1990s, was gun-shy about acquiring another company.

Pricing of the cars in the U.S. would be expected to be around $28,000 and up.

Initial sales projections of the front-drive small cars, which will be powered by four cylinder engines, is about 100,000 worldwide. But that number will surely grow once BMW gets comfortable selling the line in different markets.

BMW already has a 1-Series lineup that is built on its smallest rear-drive chassis. The name of the small front-wheel-drive lineup has not been divulged and may not have even been decided yet.

Tags: BMW, BMW front-drive, MINI, Volvo

Volvo S60 and V60 R-Design

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Of all the European premium automakers, Volvo arguably doesn't come across as the sportiest. Safe and well engineered, sure. But not quite as aggressive as a Mercedes AMG or BMW M, for example. Well the new R-Design models of the S60 sedan and V60 wagon ought to help clear up that problem.

The R-Design specification injects the S60 and V60 with some extra attitude, courtesy of a new front bumper, bigger wheels and sporty interior trim. But that's not the end of it. Although the engine hasn't been modified, a sport suspension and torque-vectoring traction control system promise to improve handling.

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Executives Want Flagship Luxury Sedans for Volvo and Cadillac

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Remember when buyers looking for a full-size luxury sedan were limited to the German three? The BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class held the market all to themselves for many years. But these days the Lexus LS, Jaguar XJ, Maserati Quattroporte, Volkswagen Phaeton and Hyundai Equus are all vying for pieces of the same pie, and both Bentley and Rolls-Royce are making more accessible models. Now it looks like both Volvo and Cadillac could be looking for a slice of the action themselves.

The orders reportedly come from the very top in both instances. In Volvo's case, it's the Swedish brand's new chairman Li Shufu, of Chinese automaker Geely which recently acquired Volvo. In Cadillac's, it comes from General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre. Apparently both executives would like to see their prized luxury brands competing with the very best. And who could blame them?

Tags: cadillac, ed whitacre, geely, general motors, li shufu, volvo

2010 Geneva Motor Show: The Best of the Rest

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The annual Geneva Motor Show features a veritable cornucopia of new automobiles of every shape and size, coming from countries near and far. After having brought you the best from England, France and Germany, the latest top-of-the-line supercars and a handful of new Alfa Romeos, we've collected the best of the rest

These vehicles defy classification but are intriguing just the same. Among them we've brought you hybrids from Japan, grand tourers and hot hatches from Italy, oddities from Australia, sportscars from Spain and luxury sedans from Sweden. Follow the jump to read all about 'em and see them in our high-resolution image galleries from the Geneva show floor.

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Volvo Releases New-For-2010 S60 Sedan

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you're still used to Volvos being boxy, take another look. What you see before you is the new 2010 Volvo S60, Sweden's answer to such venerable German stalwarts as the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.

Previewed nearly a year ago by the S60 Concept unveiled in Detroit, the production version of Volvo's latest will be properly unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show this coming March. But to keep our imaginations soaring, the Swedish automaker has released a pair of images and some initial details.

As could be expected from Volvo, the sedan features the company's latest in safety technology, including a new Pedestrian Detection system capable of stopping the car from low speeds in case someone jumps out in front. And while the panoramic glass roof and rear-hinged "suicide" rear doors from the concept car may have gone, the sedan's surprisingly swoopy styling and coupe-like roof-line remain. Have a look for yourself at the pair of images in the gallery below.

Gallery: 2010 Volvo S60

Tags: 2010 volvo s60, 2010VolvoS60, cars, s60, volvo, volvo s60, VolvoS60

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Volvo C30 and C70 Updated for 2010

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Volvos are known for a lot of things. Safety is one of them. Design is not. But they're not about to resign themselves to boredom, and so the Swedish automaker unveiled facelifted versions of its sportiest models at the Frankfurt show. The updates are mostly cosmetic, and work to varying effect on the different models. The updated C30 hatchback, for example, which goes up against the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series, looks even better than the stylish model it replaces. But the new C70 convertible – a hard-top cabrio to compete with the likes of the BMW 3 Series convertible, Lexus IS C and Infiniti G37 convertible, to name just a few – has some rather awkward proportions. See for yourself in the photo galleries below.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Volvo C30

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Volvo C70

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Volvo Motorsport's Latest Collection Highlights Kids' Gear

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Cars & Autos, Children

We've heard the story before. In fact, Volvo has even marketed itself on this premise: You can't fit the whole family in that tiny sportscar of yours, so you trade in for a Volvo station wagon. Things could be worse. But along with it you're going to need to replace that Ferrari and Porsche gear with Volvo paraphernalia, too. Otherwise you'd look silly, right? Well since you switched rides for the kid, why not take the kid along for the ride also? That's what Volvo figures, and so has included stuff specifically for the kids in its latest Motorsport Collection.

Aside from the usual array of windbreakers and polo shirts, Volvo is highlighting this Team Manager t-shirt, especially designed for your favorite little backseat driver. The colors match those of the company's Swedish Touring Car Championship series, in which it's promoting its proprietary DRIVe green technology system. Just to let everyone know who's boss, it's got the words Team Manager printed – instead of embroidered, to optimize comfort – on the back, like all the sponsor logos, and is available straight from Volvo's website along with the rest of the collection.

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Tags: children, DRIVe, kids, sweden, swedish, swedish touring car championship, SwedishTouringCarChampionship, t-shirt, volvo, volvo merchandise, volvo motorsport, VolvoMerchandise, VolvoMotorsport

Volvo Launches Sportier XC60 R-Design

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Those impressed by the slick new Volvo XC60 but who were looking for a slightly more aggressive profile will be pleased to see the Swedish premium automaker's announcement of a new R-Design package for the crossover. Following on similar packages already available on the C30, S40, V50, S80, V70 and XC90 models – so, pretty much the whole range – the XC60 R-Design gets a host of changes to its mechanicals and appearance to offer a slightly more sporting experience than the ordinary version.

The R-Design XC60 is identifiable by lower body panels painted the same color as the upper body (instead of the contrasting black on the standard model), matte silk metal trim, skid plates, chrome exhaust tips and 18" alloys with 20" wheels also available. Aluminum trim compliments the interior, but underneath the bodywork Volvo has tightened up the suspension and steering to improve handling. While the R-Design package doesn't quite make the XC60 a high-performance vehicle, it's a bit more than a standard trim package.

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Tags: R-Design, Volvo, Volvo crossover, Volvo SUV, Volvo XC, VolvoCrossover, VolvoSuv, VolvoXc, XC-60, XC60, XC60 R-Design, Xc60R-design

Limited Edition Volvos For Sporty Preppies

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Are you a sporty preppy type? I'm sure to some that's a compliment while to others it's an insult but regardless, Volvo has come up with 2 limited edition models that are geared towards Red Sox baseball lovers and sailors. The Red Sox limited edition C30 will only have 107 cars, each in the custom shade of red, the team logo on the back hatch, fender badges, and a few other details. The Ocean Race Edition Volvo, which will be available to a larger crowd, will be available in a limited edition of 9,000. Buyers will have a choice of color (Ocean Blue or Electric Silver) and nautical themed details extend from ocean-inspired wheels to special stitching on the interior leather seats.

Gallery: Limited Edition Volvos