Racing Car News

Archive for September, 2009

Whats Outside The Volvo Box?

Volvo is a brand that has been defined by big adjectives like safety functionality and practicability. These qualities of the Volvo vehicles have come to represent to the people who purchase them. But the Swedish automaker wanted to attain more. So Volvo goes out of the box.

What is outside the box is a far cry from the conservative design and boxy styling Volvo at one point was linked to. Nowadays the Volvo pools of artsy designers and engineers are absorbed in coming up with sporty chic and youthful product lines to pull more aficionados to the Volvo marque and to rival German automakers that have cultivated a prominent niche in the styling realm.

Inevitably Volvo has to produce stylish cars to attract even the next generation of drivers. The Volvo V70 for one has continued to prosper on the back of traditional Volvo virtues. But the automaker has taken the necessary steps to ensure that the new estate is not a dynamic dullard.

The third generation V70 which was unveiled on 2 February was developed to be a slightly more upmarket car than its ancestor. The wagon uses a unique design sharing little externally with other Volvos. It will be featuring a proud Volvo grille a 3.2 liter straightsix a 3.0 liter turbo straightsix a lightpressure turbo 2.5 liter straightfive and two 2.4 liters straightfive diesel engines. Over 80 percent of Volvo V70s are sold in Europe one third of this goes to Sweden. The V70 has been the hot selling car in Sweden for many years.

Volvos new C30 is said to have wiped out the conservative roots by delivering versatile and impressive looks and performance that demand undivided attention. The C30 a compact nearluxury car is a threedoor fourseat hatchback version of the S40 V50 and the C70. The Volvo C30 is powered by I4 and I5 engines and shares the same Ford C1 platform with its siblings. The engines consist of a 2.4L inlinefive with 168hp and 170 lbft of torque and a turbocharged 2.5L inlinefive with 218hp and 236 lbft of torque provide considerable torque. Additionally the 2.5L block is notable for its minimal turbo lag. The base 2.4L engine is mated to a fivespeed manual while the turbocharged 2.5L is given a closeratio sixspeed gearbox. A fivespeed automatic with manual shifting is also available.

Volvos hatchback which was introduced at the 2006 Paris Motor Show was launched in the United States market as a 2008 model in October. The hatchback is especially designed to lure the youth market and compete with the Audi A3 BMW 1 Series Volkswagen Golf and the Mini Cooper. Volvo is expected to produce 65000 units of the C30 annually. Seventy five percent of which will be for the European market.

The threedoor C30 the smallest Volvo yet flaunts its daring exterior contrary to the conservative Volvos. The C30 design team lead by Simon Lamarre began with the C1 chassis that serves the S40 sedan and the V50. The chassis provides the hatchback with a solid platform. The resulting car is an icon with a captivating mix of all essential auto elements funky styling and superb driving dynamics without compromising the Volvo feel.

Standard equipment included in the 2.4i covers ABS traction control a fourspeaker CD stereo a cruise control a remote keyless entry air conditioning power windows a tilt/telescope steering column front/side/sidecurtain airbags and a rear fog light. The T5 adds front fog lamps an eightspeaker stereo with MP3/WMA and a trip computer.

Stand alone options include a sunroof leather seats and a DVD navigation system. The Swedish automaker offers the Premium Sport and the Dynaudio packages which feature items like the automatic climate control a power driver seat with memory heated front seats Xenon headlamps a sport chassis an autodimming rearview mirror and a tenspeaker sound system.

About the writer:  Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. She is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.

Waxing To Protect Your Car

You just bought a car and just like with any other new thing you simply want it to remain clean and shiny for as long as you can keep it like that and you might want to protect its paint from the many corrosive elements that can be found in the atmosphere.

You see prolonging your cars paint life is very important for various reasons: the first is the look meaning that it will look like new for a long time.

Another reason is that the better the car looks over time the better it will look when you want to sell it and because of this you will get a higher price for the car and everybody wants that nowadays.

Since there are so many types of paint applied on cars some of them even on demand it is hard to pinpoint the exact product that will suit your cars paint and say that no other would work better.

If you want to protect your car with one of those many aerosol spray or Car wax you should know that they wax and polish the car in the same time.

Now it is imperative to know what wax is good for. Waxing your car periodically is very important if you want to protect the paint finish and using a spray one will take you less time to wax your car rather than applying it manually on each inch of the vehicle.

The main advantages of aerosol sprays are that they will polish your car in no time and most of the time without you getting dirty at all.

Of course all the products on the market will tell you that they will protect your car actually most of them will claim that they will protect your car better than others but that is just another marketing bit but the unfortunate part about bad wax is that it becomes soft when it is too hot outside.

In addition remember that it will almost fry the wax because your cars metal parts will reach very high temperatures. One of the strongest hardest waxes on the market is the 14 yellow Carnauba it is actually way slicker and stronger than most of those traditionally used auto waxes.

Now for some people the price may be a problem but you have to know that it is worth every penny you give over the general price. With this wax you can use a nonabrasive rag because you will improve the shine as well.

The harder the wax is the longer it will stay on your car and you will not always have to be up to your elbows in wax. Actually waterless washing with aerosols and applying

About the writer:  Dennis runs Car Dealer Check which has reviews on Oklahoma Car Dealers including Tulsa Car Dealers.

Volvo Wins Contract For 300 Trucks

Volvo Trucks is looking to increase their presence at the Russian truck market as the demand for trucks in the said country continue to increase. Recently the Swedish truck manufacturer received an order for 300 trucks from the Russian logistics company Sunflower. The agreement between the two companies includes the financing for all the 30 trucks by way of the Volvo Financing Services. This order gives Volvo Trucks a big boost in increasing their popularity in the region.

Sunflower is one of the biggest logistics company in Russia and has businesses in the car hauling segment. The company also provides other services aside from transportation such as forwarding storage and customs clearance. The increasing demand for passenger cars in the country is the reason why Sunflower is expanding its fleet. This also means that Volvo is in a position to take advantage of the growing auto market in the country.

Lars Corneliusson the General Director of Volvo Trucks Russia has this to say: This farreaching order shows that Volvo Trucks is the most attractive business partner for advanced transport companies in Russia. It also proves that our focus on supporting and facilitating customers business development is effective.

The order for the 300 Volvo trucks came after the Swedish company sent a delegation in the country in relation to the construction of a new plant in the country. The construction of the new plant is expected to begin shortly after the Swedish company signs an agreement with the Russian authorities. The truck assembly plant will be constructed in the city of Kaluga which is just 200 kilometers from Moscow. After the visit of Volvos delegation at the said city it is expected that the local authorities and Volvo will soon reach an agreement. It is expected that the truck assembly plant will be opened and be fully operational by the year 2009.

As for the order from Sunflower Volvo Trucks will be supplying them with FM trailer trucks. These trucks are powered by a D13 engine which can produce as much as 440 horsepower and that is around enough for towing large trailers. The safety of these vehicles is one major reason why Sunflower chose to order their trucks from Volvo. The use of safety features which are also used on smaller Volvo vehicles such as the S80 XC90 and the S40 with its reliable Volvo S40 parts are also used in these trucks to ensure the safety of truck drivers. The Swedish company is expected to start delivering the trucks by the end of this month and is expected to fill the order by early 2008.

About the writer:  Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.