Archive for June, 2010
Volvos Venture In The Coupe Segment
Volvo one of the worlds best known car manufacturers have mass produced cars in the past that are boxy in design. This design is employed to further protect the cars occupants in cases of crashes or collisions. Through the years the boxy design remained unchanged that is until ten years ago when the Swedenbased car manufacturer started developing designs that moved away from their boxy traditional design without sacrificing the rigidity and toughness of their cars.
For a decade now Volvo has started to change the way their car looks to appeal to younger buyers that they are hoping to tap into. These more conventional and stylish exterior designs are evident in their newer models like their first ever compact car the coupe that is the Volvo C30.
The Volvo C30 was just recently unveiled at the Montreal International Auto Show and it is the companys first entry to the compact car segment. This move by the company to venture in the said market segment is to hook the generation of younger car buyers to their brand. This is because they hope that this group of buyers will be loyal not only to the Volvo C30 but to the Volvo brand as a whole.
Their marketing strategy of going back to the Montreal Auto Show after two years of absence shows their dedication to a fullblown marketing campaign of the coupe. This is followed by quirky Web advertisements that are aimed to catch the attention of the young car buyers. Their Freewill ad campaign shows their confidence on the design and development of their newest car in the market. They hope that such marketing ploys would make the Volvo C30 rise to the top of its class as fast as a power Volvo antenna can be raised.
The cars stylish exterior design is not the only good thing about the car though its interior rivals that of their toughest competitors. The fourseater coupes interior centerpiece is its floating center stack which has become one of the more talked about feature of the car. Space inside the car is adequate for the driver and the front seat passenger while the rear seats are not what you would call comfortable since getting in the back and sitting there for even a short distance will be a challenge for most grownups. Cargo space is a mere 10 cubic feet but to compensate for this the second row of seats can be folded down flat and this will increase the coupes cargo capacity to 32 cubic feet.
The car was given a powerplant of a fivecylinder turbocharged engine to give it a performance level at par with its competitors. The 218 horsepower being provided by the souped up engine finds their way to the coupes wheels either via a sixspeed manual or a fivespeed automatic transmission. Both the automatic and the manual gearbox are precision engineered to facilitate smooth gear shifting which is one vital aspect in optimizing the engines full potential. The power being produced by the cars engine is capable of propelling the Volvo C30 to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in about 6.6 seconds. Such power can also give the car a top speed of 146 miles per hour.
With that much power coming from the engine noise and vibration may pose a threat to the occupants comfort but thanks to the design and construction of the cars frame both noise and vibrations are cancelled. To further add to the comfort of the driver and the passenger the cars suspension system can be configured to adapt to road conditions.
The system also comes with two different settings which are Comfort and Dynamic. Other systems are also given much thought in the design process where the result is a good combination of high performance parts that works harmoniously together that gives the Volvo C30 a great performance level.
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.
Volvo Cv Joint: The Key To A Fast And Smooth Driving
High quality cars are always sought after in the market. Most of these cars pride themselves in their performance and stylish exteriors like what Volvo produces. Built with quality and safety in mind their cars are designed to be fast but smoothly. How do these cars go so fast and so smooth? The car’s drive shaft is the answer.
The Volvo drive shaft is essentially the carrier of torque a device that transfers power from the cars engine to the point where work is applied. The drive shafts today have universal joints or Ujoints which are the devices that help them to move up and down during suspension. One type of Ujoint is a Volvo CV joint. It is designed to create a smooth transfer of torque from the driven shaft to the driving shaft without any fluctuations in the speed of the driven shaft. They are primarily used in front wheel drive and all wheel drive cars. On the other hand rear wheel drive cars with independent rear suspensions commonly use CV joints at the ends of the rear axle halfshafts.
The Volvo CV joint is packed with grease and protected by a rubber or plastic boot called CV boot. There are two commonly used types of CV joints a balltype and a tripodtype. The balltype CV joints are used on the outer side of the drive shaft while tripodtype CV joints are usually used on the inner side.
Since Volvo CV Joint is made from high quality materials it will not need any immediate replacing. In fact it doesn’t require regular maintenance unlike other car parts. One may encounter some problems regarding the CV joints in case the protective boot gets damaged. When this happen the grease comes out and moisture and dirt will come in. This may cause the Volvo CV joint to become defective. One can tell if he has a problematic CV joint once there is a clicking or popping noise when turning.
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.
Volkswagen Bmw Leads European Brands In US
The German companies Volkswagen and Bayerische Motoren Werke or simply known as BMW led European car manufacturers in terms of sales in the United States. These two car companies are successfully selling their small cars and luxury sports sedans in the country. The two are the biggest European car manufacturers and their success in the United States would only strengthen their hold on the top of the European auto standing.
Combined the 15 European car manufacturers in the United States have sold 103360 vehicles last month an increase of 2.9 percent as compared to the same period last year. In contrast American car manufacturers combined showed a decrease in sales by as much as 13 percent.
Analysts agree that the demand for luxury goods is still strong especially in the auto sector. While there were months when luxury car manufacturers posted reduced sales the over all trend is strong. Even though throughout the first half there was a month or two when some of the Europeans saw sales declining overall the trend is strong said Wes Brown an analyst for a Los Angelesbased market researcher Iceology Inc. Luxurybranded products in every industry are doing well especially in the automotive world.
The increased in the sale of both Volkswagen and BMW came at an appropriate time. The two companies have suffered from reduced sale in Germany. The German auto market recently reported a decrease of 9 percent in the total number of new vehicles sold in the country for the first half of the year. Since BMWs biggest market is the United States it is understandable that this increase in sales in the country is a huge boost for the Bavarian car manufacturer.
The U.S. market is particularly interesting for us says Matthias Wissman the president of the VDA carmakers association in Germany. We are well positioned in the U.S. market he added further.
Collectively European brands now corner 7.1 percent of the United States auto market. This shows an increase of 0.4 percent. Asian brands meanwhile surge and are now almost on cruise control as they collectively cornered 42.7 percent of the United States auto market. American car manufacturers once again saw their share in their home market slip. According to Bloomberg American car manufacturers now only have 50.3 percent of the market.
With this trend continuing the prediction of analyst in the auto industry will come true. Earlier this year it was projected that Asian and European car manufacturers will combine to take the majority of the United States auto market share.
Volkswagen is the largest European automaker and on its own it has posted an increase in sale of Volkswagen transmission mountequipped vehicles by 15 percent last month. The increase in the sale of the European car manufacturer is the result of the increased demand for the Volkswagen Eos Jetta and the Rabbit all of which are small cars. The only blemish for Volkswagen is that its first half sale dropped by one percent.
BMW on the other hand is the largest luxury auto manufacturer. On its own the Bavarian automaker posted an increase of 6 percent. Unlike Volkswagen BMW posted an increase in its first half sale. Both the June and first half sale are record breaking for the car company. The demand for its best selling BMW 3 Series increased. As a result the BMW 3 Series posted an increase of 21 percent for the month of June compared to last year.
About the writer: Volkswagen and BMW led European car manufacturers in the United States auto market. Combined European carmakers posted an increase of 2.9 percent in terms of sale last month.
