Volvo going all four-cylinder or less
If it's an engine with more than four cylinders, Volvo doesn't want it in its lineup. Within the next 10 years, the Swedish automaker plans to eliminate any engine options greater than four cylinders in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and C02 emissions. No more five- and six-cylinder mills. In their place, Volvo will employ three- and four-cylinder units in both gasoline and diesel form.
The new engine family is called Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA), and the automaker says the new powertrains will be nearly 200 pounds lighter than its current engines. In addition, the new mills will improve fuel economy by 35 percent. That will be an impressive boost, and Volvo believes it can accomplish this feat without a reduction in performance.
The 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines will start to make their way into production models by 2013. By 2020, the entire lineup will be filled with them.
News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.I
If it's an engine with more than four cylinders, Volvo doesn't want it in its lineup. Within the next 10 years, the Swedish automaker plans to eliminate any engine options greater than four cylinders in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and C02 emissions. No more five- and six-cylinder mills. In their place, Volvo will employ three- and four-cylinder units in both gasoline and diesel form.
The new engine family is called Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA), and the automaker says the new powertrains will be nearly 200 pounds lighter than its current engines. In addition, the new mills will improve fuel economy by 35 percent. That will be an impressive boost, and Volvo believes it can accomplish this feat without a reduction in performance.
The 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines will start to make their way into production models by 2013. By 2020, the entire lineup will be filled with them.
News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.I
We've heard plenty about Volvo attempting to move up-market and now we've got another indication of what it's going to look like.
The Volvo Concept You, debuting today at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is the next iteration of the Concept Universe originally shown in Shanghai earlier this year. We don't have any powertrain or production details, but that's the point - the You is all about showing off the future of Volvo luxury and how the Swedes plan on evolving the infotainment game.
The You's controls are distilled down into a single touchscreen mounted in the center console, partnered with a heads-up display on the windshield and a customizable dash. When the driver looks - yes, looks - in the direction of the screen, a pair of infrared cameras register the eye movement and wakes the display from sleep. All the normal climate, audio and infotainment controls are accessible - including internet for the passenger side - and drivers can swipe data from the touchscreen to the heads-up display or to share with back seat passengers. If it's anything like Volvo's standard navigation and audio controls, it should be pretty slick and less distracting than other systems.
The other interior innovation comes in the form of a new audio system developed by Alpine, equipped with a "FreshAir" subwoofer that drops the weight of the speaker from around 33 pounds down to three pounds.
You can see it all in the gallery above, including the utterly ridiculous door panels the ape a tailor-made suite - complete with pen.
The Volvo Concept You, debuting today at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is the next iteration of the Concept Universe originally shown in Shanghai earlier this year. We don't have any powertrain or production details, but that's the point - the You is all about showing off the future of Volvo luxury and how the Swedes plan on evolving the infotainment game.
The You's controls are distilled down into a single touchscreen mounted in the center console, partnered with a heads-up display on the windshield and a customizable dash. When the driver looks - yes, looks - in the direction of the screen, a pair of infrared cameras register the eye movement and wakes the display from sleep. All the normal climate, audio and infotainment controls are accessible - including internet for the passenger side - and drivers can swipe data from the touchscreen to the heads-up display or to share with back seat passengers. If it's anything like Volvo's standard navigation and audio controls, it should be pretty slick and less distracting than other systems.
The other interior innovation comes in the form of a new audio system developed by Alpine, equipped with a "FreshAir" subwoofer that drops the weight of the speaker from around 33 pounds down to three pounds.
You can see it all in the gallery above, including the utterly ridiculous door panels the ape a tailor-made suite - complete with pen.
We have something of a hard time applying the term "hot rod" to the Caresto T6 R. The unusual Volvo-based retro one-off has simply transcended the art. Whereas most builders start with chassis manufactured by one of the illustrious Big Three, the T6 R is a clean-sheet design with a mid-engine turbocharged I6 swiped from the XC90 that puts power to the rear wheels via a five-speed Geartronic transmission. With a handcrafted aluminum body and a removable polycarbonate roof, the machine is better executed than most auto show concepts. We aren't alone in that assessment, either. Conceived by Leif Tufvesson, a former Volvo and Koeniggsegg development man, Hot Rod Magazine famously called this Caresto one of the "most spectacularly-crafted hot rods to ever grace the pages of this or any other magazine."