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Volvo is busy preparing its entry to the midsize sedan market in the shape of the upcoming 2010 S60, which will feature radical new styling picked up by the automaker’s concept of the same name that was revealed at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Earlier this month, production of the first-generation S60 finally came to an end, marking the end of an eight year product cycle that saw more than 580,000 cars roll off the line at the car’s Ghent factory in Belgium.
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In ways that are both favorable and unfavorable, the Volvo C30 hatchback is no Volkswagen GTI.
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Volvo - The Game: the exciting new challenge for everyone who enjoys racing games is being released today. It features all of Volvo's racing legends over the years and also introduces a new star: the Volvo S60 Concept. Just download the game, select your favourite Volvo and test your skills on one of the two highly authentic tracks. The game has been developed together with SimBin Studios.
One person who will definitely play Volvo - The Game is Swedish racing star Robert Dahlgren. He has achieved immense success for Volvo in the STCC - the Swedish Touring Car Championship - since 2004. His current racing car is a Volvo C30.
Like most other professional racing drivers, Robert Dahlgren uses virtual racing games to train when the racing season comes to an end. "Playing racing games helps me train my ability to concentrate and to maintain my level of concentration over many laps," says Robert Dahlgren.
Volvo - The Game features six different cars and the race is run on two authentically reproduced racing tracks.
The six racing cars are the stars. The lead roles are played by the Volvo S60 Concept, the Volvo C30 that is currently competing in the STCC, the previous Volvo S60 that also competed in the STCC, the Volvo S40 that notched up many notable successes in the BTCC (the British Touring Car Championship), the Volvo 850- the estate car that became a legend in the BTCC - and finally a true racing classic from the past, a Volvo 240 Turbo Group A.
The two tracks are the Gothenburg Eco Drive Arena in Göteborg, Sweden and Chayka outside Kiev in the Ukraine. Volvo - The Game is the only virtual racing game in the world to feature the Ukrainian racing track.
STCC game inspired
The idea behind Volvo - The Game was born in autumn 2008 when the STCC game was released. The STCC game inspired Pontus Berger, who at the time worked with licensing issues at Volvo Cars. He contacted SimBin. His question was simple: "Can you make a PC-based racing game that has broad public appeal, features only Volvo models and introduces our new concept car, the Volvo S60 Concept?"
A team of 15-20 people worked together to create Volvo - The Game. The aim was to make it as realistic as possible. The game developers have invested huge numbers of hours in getting all the details exactly right. Just "building" a car for a racing game takes about one month.
True to form, the six cars each have different driving characteristics. It's almost like getting behind the wheel, which is rather unusual in car games. The classic Volvo 240 Turbo Group A, for instance, has entirely different driving characteristics compared with the latest newcomer, the Volvo S60 Concept.
In order to recreate the older cars' interiors as authentically as possible, the designers visited the Volvo Museum to study the former racing legends.
"In terms of audio quality we're also remarkably close to reality. One example is the S40. For that car we pulled one of the race cars out of hibernation last autumn and gave it a thorough full-speed workout, recording the engine sound straight from the racing track," explains Magnus Ling Executive Vice President at SimBin.
The two racing tracks have been reproduced with faithful detail and immense precision. It takes about 1000 hours to create a virtual racing track. Even the kerbs alongside the track have to be of exactly the right height. Many of the people playing the game are experts - and they are very particular about the tiniest details.
Robert Dahlgren is convinced that his own Volvo C30 will be the best car in the game. But he will of course be testing them all, and one of the contenders seems to be exerting a particular attraction.
"How cool is it going to be to race the Volvo 240 on the Gothenburg track! When I was growing up, all my friends were driving 240s. But not me. I was out competing. Now I finally get the chance," says an eager Robert Dahlgren.
Authentic feel
The aim of the game is to reach out to a broad public. A seven-year-old can have fun with it but in order to truly get the most out of the game's many advanced features, players really should be a few years older.
For the most authentic feel, Volvo - The Game should be played with a steering wheel and pedals connected to the computer. However, it is also possible to operate the car via the PC's keyboard or with a game-pad. The game offers a choice of skill levels: "novice with all the driver assistance technology activated such as ABS brakes, "semi-pro", and finally "pro" where there is no assistance whatsoever.
It is possible to select the Volvo of your choice, compete against your own best times and have the track all to yourself. Or you can compete against up to eleven computer-controlled competitors. There are several alternative settings for graphics and sound. For instance, the star, the Volvo S60 Concept, will be available in two versions - "natural" and racing.
Footnote: Volvo - The Game can be downloaded free of charge to your own PC www.volvocars.com/game (English version). The game is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. Go to www.volvocars.com/intl
Source: Volvo
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Mediocrity and green doesn’t have to be together always. But with R-Design, the Volvo C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe can be styled just as dramatically and completely like other model versions.
This is in response to significant demand for vehicles that merge good eco features with thrilling design elements. The continuous optimization of the drivelines of the cars has made this development possible. All the models satisfactorily pass the 120g CO2/km limit (which is 119g for all three models) even without the preceding external revisions intended to lower air drag, including unique body and underbody panels and air spoilers. More details and photos after the jump!
The company claims reduce fuel consumption and CO2 levels for the DRIVe models by a margin that was more than they expected.
Read More at 4WheelNews.com
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Volvo Car Corporation has received the prestigous award "Genius 2009" by the insurance company Allianz.
The Allianz Centre for Technology has been testing cars for traffic safety purposes since 1971. And the "Genius"award was given to Volvo Cars for the development and implementation of the Volvo City Safety system.
"This award is a great honour because it singles out our great commitment to the development of innovative safety systems," said Thomas Viehweg, Managing Director of Volvo Car Germany, at the award ceremony on Wednesday during the Auto Mobil International (AMI) in Leipzig.
"The strong point of this system is that it automatically intervenes when it is to late for the driver to prevent an accident," said Dr Christoph Lauterwasser, managing director of the Allianz Centre for Technology Automotive (AZT).
AZT has been researching vehicle damages and ways to prevent traffic accidents since 1971.
The Allianz "Genius" was awarded for the fifth time this year. The award honours a technological development which has already been implemented and contributes to greater safety in road traffic. Moreover, the innovation must be proven to have a permanent effect in reducing claims frequency and the severity of accidents.
Dr Karl-Walter Gutberlet, executive officer at Allianz Versicherungs AG, praised the great potential of th
e new Volvo safety system during the presentation of the award. "A quarter of the liability claims come from collision accidents, and the majority of them occur within urban areas. This year's award-winner has succeeded in developing an innovative protection system for this accident situation, thereby increasing safety in road traffic," said Dr Gutberlet.
Volvo City Safety offers more safety especially in congested city traffic and is enabled at speeds up to 30 km/h. The system operates with an optical laser which continuously monitors traffic. For example, City Safety recognises a sudden braking by the vehicle in front of the car. If the driver does not react, the system automatically triggers an emergency stop. The system can prevent a collision completely if the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is less than 15 kph. In the range of 15 to 30 kph, the emphasis is on effectively reducing the collision speed, minimising the consequences of the accident.
Press release via Volvo
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Summer is coming up again, and who could forget the wild ride of last summer's gas prices? In California, it seemed that finding a gas station with regular-grade gas priced at $4/gallon was considered "cheap" by 2008 standards, and in those not-so-distant times, downsizing was considered the most sensible step. Compacts and hybrids enjoyed high sales levels last summer, and nearing a year later, the awareness of staying small still reverberates throughout the American populace.
With its competitors playing aggressively in the small premium utility segment, Volvo has upped its game with its XC60. With the lowest base price among its competitors (average transaction price of $38,550), the innovative City Safety program, and a free panoramic roof (launch phase only), the XC60 was not thrust into the sales arena unprepared. But to combat the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes GLK, and Lexus RX 350, Volvo also launched ads on all media fronts.
Read More at TruckTrend.com
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Granted, Volvo’s XC60 SUV is more known for its kid-carrying ability than its tuning potential, but that hasn’t deterred tuning company Heico Sportiv from developing its own range of go-faster parts for the high-riding Volvo.
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