Topic: Volvo S60 Concept

[Bullet Blue]

The 2010 S60 will likely take cues from this concept:

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/volvo-s60-concept-4/1226598/

[Wetson]

Nice!!!

[Mitlov]

Looks like the four-door coupe bug has really caught on.  I love the looks.  And if the XC60 is any indication, this should go to production with only minor aesthetic changes.

The real questions in my mind are (1) will it be substantially better than a Volkswagen CC, and (2) will it be a better car than the Volkswagen CC?

[PMREdmonton]

The glass roof and the sliding rear doors are pretty over the top - I doubt they make it into the production car.

[carcrazed]

The glass roof and the sliding rear doors are pretty over the top - I doubt they make it into the production car.

That's the first time I've seen that kind of door mechanism.. I'm sure it'll be conventional 4 doors for the production model.  No glass roof and 75% of the interior will be toned down also, IMO.

[TopGun]

Looks like the four-door coupe bug has really caught on.  I love the looks.

 

Looks like we'll be seeing that "copper" hue in the future...I've seen it on a preview of the new 7-series as well in the Motor Trendy magazine.

Hopefully the lighter coloured interior will carry-over.

[Scaerio]

The real questions in my mind are (1) will it be substantially better than a Volkswagen CC, and (2) will it be a better car than the Volkswagen CC?

I think the real question is will there be Volvo in 2010?

[HeliDriver]

The glass roof seems reasonable to me.

Ford has a glass roof option on the 2009 Mustang, and you can get a Porsche 911 with a glass roof, too. Not certain, but I think Mercedes also has or had a glass roof on one of its models.

[Mitlov]

The real questions in my mind are (1) will it be substantially better than a Volkswagen CC, and (2) will it be a better car than the Volkswagen CC?

I think the real question is will there be Volvo in 2010?

No, that's not the real question.  IIRC correctly, Volvo runs a net profit, even if Ford overall is in deep trouble.  And Volvo has a lot of brand recognition.  Even if Subaru and Audi match or sometimes beat Volvo in IIHS and NHTSA crash tests, walk up to anyone on the street and say "name a safe car," there's a good chance they're going to respond "Volvo."  That's worth something too.

There's a real question as to whether Ford will keep Volvo to harvest its profits, or sell it off to get a big chunk of capital to reinvest in its core brands.  But Volvo itself is in no danger of outright disappearing in the way that Saab or the Chrysler Group might disappear. 

[Mitlov]

As an update on the Volvo sale, in addition to BMW having a sometimes-interested, sometimes-not stance toward Volvo, both Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp and Geely Motors are both actively pursuing Volvo.  Ford is currently asking $6 billion for Volvo, and it sounds like one or both companies might be willing to pay that.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/18/geely-reportedly-interested-in-volvo-cars/
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/ford-in-further-talks-with-shanghai-auto-to-sell-volvo/

I think it makes sense from everybody's end.  A Chinese company could give Volvo the capital it needs to develop new models, advertise, and market.  In turn, the Chinese company could greatly benefit from trickle-down safety expertise.  Let's face it...the biggest hurdle to selling Chinese cars here is the widespread understanding that they're total death-traps.

[tpl]

Sorry Mitlov, we want them up here as they used to be before Ford bought them.

[mmret]

If it even takes 10% of the styling cues from that concept it will be damn fine.

Now make sure it has AWD and the motor to match and don't charge crazy money.