Success for Volvo in Golf in South Africa

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]It would be difficult to imagine an event that encompasses a wider spectrum of golf - professional and amateur, individual and team, formal and informal, players from all over the world - than the week of the Volvo Golf Champions and the Volvo World Golf Challenge which has just finished at the fabulous Fancourt Estate in Western Cape, South Africa.

This unique and extensive mix of events is an unparalleled opportunity for Volvo to interact with customers and prospects. Thanks to massive media coverage, Volvo also gets to showcase the brand including vehicles on display on site.

The professional event - the Volvo Golf Champions - is a world-class tournament open only to last year's European Tour winners and players with at least ten victories in their career.

The event offers important marketing and relationship management opportunities - it is preceded by the exclusive Pro-Am and followed with After The Champions where customers and stakeholders get to play the stunning Links Course the day after the event with the course set up in the same way.

The Volvo Golf Champions came to a thrilling climax on Sunday, attracting thousands of spectators to the event, when the leading 11 finishers contained no fewer than 8 Major winners. Screened live on television across the globe to a potential worldwide audience of hundreds of millions of people, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen were joined by emerging star Brandon Grace in a play-off. Playing the last hole in sudden-death, Grace managed to win and claimed the winners' cheque of €350,000.

In parallel, the amateur competition - the World Final of the Volvo World Golf Challenge - was the culmination of hundreds of qualifying competitions held in more than 25 countries and attracting in excess of 50,000 enthusiastic club golfers. The 55 finalists played two rounds and Italian Johannes Zelger held his nerve to win by two shots from Austrian Henning Frech, with young Swede Mikael Hedberg in third. An additional excitement which is attracting ever-increasing interest is that the following day, the top-finishers each got the chance to take part in ‘Playing With The Pros', live on television on the European Tour.

South African hero Retief Goosen and English star Lee Slattery partnered Volvo-customer and amateur Mark Vandenberghe from the UK to victory. The Pros were excited about each winning a Volvo V60, whilst Mark had the time of his life, a day he will never forget.

This unique combination of the amateurs joining the pros for one round during their tournament has been a driving force in attracting club golfers from all over the world into playing in Volvo events.

**  Courtesy of Volvo Cars Newsroom

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Volvo's research with SATRE for 'Road Trains' - Video

Volvo Car Corporation Part of Successful Road Train Test

The SARTRE project (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) - with Volvo Car Corporation as the only participating car manufacturer - has successfully completed the first test demonstrations of a multiple vehicle platoon.

The test fleet included a lead truck followed by three cars driven entirely autonomously at speeds of up to 90 km/h - with no more than 6 metres gap between the vehicles.

"The aim is for the entire road train to be completed in autumn 2012. By then we will have four vehicles after one lead vehicle driving at 90 km/h," says Erik Coelingh, technical project manager at the Volvo Car Corporation.

The SARTRE project is being driven by seven European partners and is the only one of its kind to focus on the development of technology that can be implemented on conventional highways in which platooned traffic operates in a mixed environment with other road users.

Stakeholder dialogue

Recognizing that the challenge of implementing road train technology on Europe's highways is not solely a technical matter, SARTRE also includes a major study to identify what infrastructure changes will be needed for vehicle platooning to become a reality. A number of stakeholder discussions will therefore be held. The participants in the first discussion included technical experts, politicians, legislators and traffic safety researchers. At the workshop a number of non-technical challenges for road trains were discussed, such as legal regulations, product liability and driver acceptance of automated vehicles.

Key future requirements identified were the need to agree a common terminology for platooning, such as criteria for defining when a vehicle becomes fully, as opposed to partially or even highly automated, and the need to address multiple and varied national regulatory law or to harmonize regulatory law. 

Many benefits

The main advantage of road trains is that the car driver has time over to do other things. Road trains promote safer transport since the vehicle platoons are led by a professional driver in e.g. a truck and inter-vehicle reaction response times are much quicker. Environmental impact is reduced since the cars follow close behind each other and benefit from the lower air drag. The energy saving is expected to be in the region of up to 20 percent. Road capacity will also be able to be utilised more efficiently.

 

**  Courtesy of Volvo Cars Newsroom

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Volvo's XC60 PHEV is a High-Mileage Crossover

Volvo officially unveiled itsXC60 plug-in hybrid concept today at the Detroit Auto Show. The Volvo XC60 PHEV Concept is based on the Swedish automaker’s small XC60 crossover, but fitted with an alternative powertrain.

That drivetrain is similar to the one found in the Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid that goes on sale later this year in Europe. The difference is in the cut – the V60 plug-in hybrid station wagon uses diesel fuel; the XC60 plug-in hybrid uses gasoline.

Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four cylinder engine that produces 280 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. The gas engine powers the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission with an engine stop-start system. Rear wheels can be powered by an electric motor that produces 70 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. The gas engine is supplemented by an electric motor/generator that is rated for 45 hp and 111 lb-ft of torque. Combined output of the three units is a healthy 350 hp, according to Volvo. A 12 kWh battery resides beneath the cargo area.

Drivers can select three modes:

• Pure: the crossover can run on pure electric power for up to 35 miles
• Hybrid: the XC60 operates like a conventional hybrid vehicle
• Power: the gas engine and electric motor combine for maximum performance.

The automaker estimates a 5.8 second run to 60 mph, a top speed of 130 mph, and a max towing capacity of 3300 pounds in Power mode.

In hybrid mode, the XC60 PHEV should return 50 mpg and a range of 600 miles (including the 35 miles of all-electric range). Volvo says the battery can reach full-charge in 3.5 hours on 220 volts or 7.5 hours with a 110 volt source.

The driving modes allow drivers to optimize fuel economy based off driving environment. Hybrid mode would be ideal for highway driving; Pure mode could be used in city driving or searching for parking; and Power mode would be for climbing hills or towing.

Volvo developed the XC60 plug-in hybrid specifically for the American and Chinese markets. The Swedish automaker said the XC60 PHEV Concept’s (gasoline) drivetrain is coming to the states, but that it may or may not be in the XC60. The XC60 PHEV Concept is to gauge customer interest and if high could speed up the time when the PHEV drivetrain arrives.

**  Courtesy of MotorTrend

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Under the Bonnet of the Volvo XC60 Plug-In Gasoline Hybrid Concept

Stefan Jacoby at the 2012 North American International Auto Show

Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation, displayed an electrifying presence at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he drove the new XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept onto the stage at Monday's press conference. 

The innovative gasoline plug-in hybrid is actually three cars rolled into one."No other manufacturer delivers fuel economy and electrical range on this level in a capable performance car with a total of 350 horsepower," said Stefan Jacoby.

"The beauty with this plug-in hybrid technology is that you can keep all the power and capacity of your present car, combined with an even better range," Stefan Jacoby said. "The XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept gives you up to 35 miles all-electric range. Or you can drive it as a super-efficient hybrid with a fuel economy of over 100 miles per gallon according to the European driving cycle."

An electric motor producing 70 horsepower - combined with a 280 horsepower, four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine - also gives the driver a muscular power plant packing a total of 350 horsepower.

"The XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept features an engine from our all-new, state of the art, four-cylinder engine family. Our new four-cylinder powertrains will get performance on today's six-cylinder level. At the same time, they will also give consumers better fuel economy than present four-cylinder engines," Stefan Jacoby said. He added:

"A diesel-electric plug-in hybrid is coming to our European dealers this year and we are busy preparing a gasoline version for the American showrooms."

U.S. dealers welcome plug-in hybrid technology
Volvo Car Corporation's North American dealers welcome the introduction of a plug-in hybrid.

"A gasoline plug-in hybrid would be an excellent addition to our product offer," said Patty Hooley, member of Volvos North American Dealer Council. "To me, the plug-in hybrid speaks both classic Volvo safety and responsibility as well as cutting edge Volvo innovation."

Uncompromising safety approach
Of course the cars with electrification technology inside come with Volvo Car Corporation's uncompromising approach to safety.
"We use all our world-class knowledge to ensure that they are as safe as all other Volvos," Stefan Jacoby said. "Our holistic approach includes every aspect of the day-to-day usage. And these cars go through our stringent test program, ensuring that the battery and high-voltage system are properly protected in collision scenarios that can happen in real-life traffic."

Four major technology paths
"Electrification is one of our four major focus areas and our three cars in one plug-in hybrid takes hybrid technology into the next level," Stefan Jacoby said. "This ingenious blend of state-of-the-art combustion technology and innovative electrification creates a bridge to a future where all-electric cars become more established on the roads."

Volvo Car Corporation's technological focus areas also include the upcoming Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) and Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA) four-cylinder engine family as well as a range of connectivity features, such as smart phone applications.

Fastest growing European brand in the U.S.
The United States is Volvo Car Corporation's largest market. Volvo was the fastest growing European brand in 2011 with sales up nearly 25 percent compared to 2010. Globally, Volvo sales increased with 20 percent in 2011.
"Along with our foundation of safety, the focus on clean, uncluttered Scandinavian design and improved performance characteristics are resonating with American consumers," said John Maloney, President of Volvo Cars North America. "And recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded a 2012 Top Safety Pick to five Volvo models - which puts us in the top among luxury car brands."

 

**  Courtesy of Volvo Cars Newsroom

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2013 Volvo V40 Spy Photos

Just last week Volvo first confirmed the existence of the V40 (previously believed to be called the V30) and now we have the very first spy photos of the compact Swedish machine.

Set to replace both the S40 and V50 wagon, the V40 is being built as a rival to the Audi A3 Sportback and BMW 1 Series. While much of the car is covered in camo, when the production model does arrive this March at the Geneva Motor Show, look for design cues taken from the XC60 crossover with a shape similar to that of a shrunken V60. After its debut, Volvo is expected to follow-up with an XC40 crossover version, while an S40 is rumored for the Chinese market.

What isn’t yet clear is if Volvo will continue to produce the C30 hatchback or if the V40 is also designed to replace that car as well.

As for engines, expect a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder gasoline version, as well as either a 1.6-liter or 2.0-liter diesel 4-cylinder.

 

**  Courtesy of AutoGuide.com