The SARTRE project stands for “Safe Road Trains for the Environment” and involves a new technology which is called “platooning”. Volvo notes that “platooning” may become a standard way of traveling long distances in as little as 10 years. But what does it all mean, what is “platooning” and what exactly is a “road train”?

While the project is still in its very early stages, the technology hopes to create a different way for a number of people to travel long distances in something of a convoy, without the need to “drive” their cars. It works by having the lead car, or truck, driven by a professional driver which controls the entire platoon. Behind this lead vehicle is a lineup of other cars which drive themselves in accordance with the lead vehicle. The cars in the lineup automatically measure the distance, speed and direction and automatically adjust themselves accordingly.

What is the point of it all though? There are a number of advantages to this system and ideally it hopes to achieve:

• Improved road safety
• Better road space utilization
• Improved fuel economy
• Reduced fuel consumption
• Improved driver comfort

From the first tests that were carried out, you can see that the travel speed is particularly slow but Volvo intent to increase the speed as the technology advances. There will naturally be a number of issues with technology like this and there is a debate as to whether the amount of time, money and effort they are putting into this is even worth it. Especially when the biggest gain is simply that you can do other things while your car drives itself. If you suffer from motion sickness like me, and you can’t read in the car without getting nauseous, what exactly can you do? The other point is that doing the driving on these long trips is often more entertaining than being a passenger and just sitting back in your seat. And with the SARTRE system, everyone will be a passenger.

I don’t really see the point of this technology but it is still in the very early stages so I’ll wait and see how it turns out once it is closer to completion.

Source: Volvo

Known as one of the fastest growing car manufacturers in China, Geely Holding Group have completed the acquisition of Volvo Car Corporation from Ford Motor Company.In an agreement that took more than a year; Geely now own 100% of Volvo and have also brought aboard Stefan Jacoby as the president and CEO of Volvo, who was previously at Volkswagen Group of America.

Regarding the costs of the acquisition, Geely reportedly had to fork out an impressive 1.8 billion U.S. dollars which includes a 200 million U.S dollars note with the balance paid in cash. Geely got the financing for this mammoth amount from Chinese institutions, it’s own balance sheet and international capital market resources.

Volvo Cars will still retain their headquarters and manufacturing presence in Sweden and Belgium. As can be expected, as part of the agreement Ford will remain a close component and supply partner with Volvo, this is to ensure that both parties still maintain the continuity of their vehicles.

The new CEO and president of Volvo Cars, Stefan Jacoby had this to say regarding the acquisition:

“I am honoured to join a company with the prestige and growth potential of Volvo. Our employees, suppliers, dealers – and above all our customers – can be confident that Volvo will preserve its special status as the industry leader in vehicle safety and innovation – even as it pursues new market opportunities.”

Source: Volvo

28, 2010 – Ford Motor Company today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Volvo Car Corporation and related assets to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited.

The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

The purchase price for Volvo Cars and related assets (primarily intellectual property) is $1.8 billion (U.S.), which will be paid in the form of a note in the amount of $200 million (U.S.), and the remainder in cash. The cash portion of the purchase price will be adjusted at close for customary purchase price adjustments relating to pension deficits, debt, cash and working capital, the net effect of which could be a significant decrease in the cash proceeds to Ford.

“Volvo is a great brand with an excellent product lineup. This agreement provides a solid foundation for Volvo to continue to build its business under Geely’s ownership,” said Alan Mulally, Ford’s president and CEO. “At the same time, the sale of Volvo will allow us to further sharpen our focus on building the Ford brand around the world and continue to deliver on our One Ford plan serving our customers with the very best cars and trucks in the world.”

Ford will continue to cooperate with Volvo Cars in several areas after the sale has been completed in order to ensure a smooth transition, but will not retain any ownership in the Volvo Cars business.

Following completion of the sale, Ford will continue to supply Volvo Cars with, for differing periods, powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components.

As part of the sale, Ford also has committed to provide engineering support, information technology, access to tooling for common components, and other selected services for a transition period to ensure a smooth separation process.

Ford and Geely have established agreements to govern the use of intellectual property; these agreements will allow both Volvo and Ford to deliver their business plans and provide appropriate safeguards against misuse. These agreements also will allow Volvo Cars to grant sublicenses to certain portions of Ford’s intellectual property used by Volvo Cars to third parties, including Geely.

“The Volvo team has done an exceptional job of restructuring its business and remaining focused on delivering its plan during the sale process,” said Lewis Booth, Ford’s chief financial officer. “With Ford’s continued investment in Volvo, it has launched its best-ever product range and remained true to its core values – safety, quality, environmental responsibility and modern Scandinavian design.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Volvo Cars, and wish the management team, employees and new owners every success for the future.”

“Zhejiang Geely would like to pay tribute to Ford’s stewardship of the Volvo brand, and we look forward to continued cooperation as Volvo embarks on the next stage of its evolution with Geely,” said Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited.

Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars, added, “The Volvo management team fully endorses Ford’s sale of Volvo Cars to Geely. We believe this is the right outcome for the business, and will provide Volvo Cars with the necessary resources, including the capital investment, to strengthen the business and to continue to move it forward in the future.

“Geely has been very supportive of Volvo Cars’ business plans and management team. We look forward to building a strong relationship between Volvo Cars and Geely, and to maintaining a strong relationship with Ford in those areas where we will continue to work together to ensure a smooth transition.”

Source: Ford

The Volvo XC60 was named 2010 International Truck of the Year by the International Car of the Year (ICOTY) jury on December 2. The award was given to Doug Speck, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, LLC at the Volvo display at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. The XC60 was chosen over 10 new crossovers, SUVs and trucks by a distinguished panel of top automotive journalists.

“This ties a very pretty bow around what’s been a truly amazing year for Volvo,” commented Speck. “The XC60 has not only been recognized by the media but it’s been extremely well received by our customers.”

The 2010 XC60 has helped VCNA earn six consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases since June.

The XC60 was chosen the winner from a panel of 19 automotive media from around the U.S. and Canada representing top newspapers, magazines and websites. The jurors must consider the ICOTY mission of “honoring vehicles that reflect an emotional connection between car and consumer lifestyles” when making their nominations.

“The ICOTY awards are not centered on power and performance,” said Courtney Caldwell, ICOTY’s creator and executive producer. “It’s about how cars reflect our personalities, lifestyles and self image, an attitude most consumers identify with.”

“This is one of the most prestigious car awards in the world and we feel very proud to receive it for our best-selling XC60″, said Stephen Odell, President and CEO Volvo Car Corporation.

Once approved by the ICOTY nominating committee, the awards jury then bases their decision on a number of important criteria: The vehicle must be new or substantially revised, it must be offered for sale to the general public by the judging deadline of November 16, 2009, and may not have been previously considered for the ICOTY Awards.

The International Truck of the Year award marks the 20th accolade the Volvo XC60 has received since sales began in Europe in late 2008. The XC60 is the first vehicle to offer City Safety as standard equipment. This unique Volvo technology can help the driver avoid frontal collisions at low speed. If the driver is about to drive into the rear of a vehicle and does not react in time, the XC60 will apply the brakes by itself.

Source: Volvo

Here are the first official pictures of the all-new Volvo S60 – sportier and more dynamic than any previous Volvo model.

“The all-new Volvo S60 is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car’s technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel,” says Stephen Odell, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

The Volvo S60 can be equipped with Pedestrian Detection – a groundbreaking safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver does not react in time.

The all-new Volvo S60 is being unveiled to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in early March next year. Production of the sporty sedan model will start in early summer 2010 at the Volvo Cars plant in Ghent, Belgium.

“Customers in this segment want emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. The S60 has it all. We are convinced that it will be one of the strongest contenders around,” says Stephen Odell.

Source: Volvo

Recently, sharp-eyed citizens in Copenhagen have had the opportunity to get a sneak preview of the upcoming, sporty Volvo S60 – which won’t be introduced to the world until next year.

A disguised prototype of the new sedan model has been rolling through the streets of the Danish capital in order to test a groundbreaking new safety technology that can detect a pedestrian in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver doesn’t react in time, to avoid an accident.

The new technology – Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection – will be introduced together with the all-new Volvo S60 in 2010. Volvo Cars’ safety experts have been working with Pedestrian Detection technology for ten years and test cars have been rolling all over the world – most recently in the busy streets of Copenhagen.

“Factors like traffic behaviour, road conditions and climate must be taken into account in the design of the final system. All told we have collected more than 500,000 kilometres of real-life data. We can also use the information from these traffic tests to conduct advanced computer simulations,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Cars.

First a warning, then automatic braking

Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Safety consists of a new dual-mode radar unit integrated into the car’s grille, a camera behind the inside rear-view mirror and a central control unit. The radar and camera continuously monitor the road in front of the car. The radar’s task is to detect objects and measure the distance to them. The camera determines what type of objects they are.

In an emergency situation, the driver is first alerted by an audible warning together with a flashing light in the windscreen’s head-up display. In order to prompt an immediate, intuitive reaction, the visual warning is designed to look like a brake light coming on. If the driver does not respond to the warning and the system assesses that a collision is imminent, the car’s brakes are applied with full braking power.

“Active brake deployment requires that the object is confirmed by both the radar and the camera. Thanks to state-of-the-art sensor technology, it is now possible to engage full braking power,” explains Thomas Broberg.

Source: Volvo

Fore! Here is Volvo Cars’ first production car ever to run on electricity. What is more, it’s pretty capable off-road.
The C70-inspired Volvo Golf Cart is recharged overnight and can be driven sixty kilometres on a single charge.

Lower weight with one seat

Most golf carts are two-seaters. Not the Volvo Golf Cart, which has just one seat. It is thus much lighter than its competitors are.

It is an exact scaled-down version of the C70. The colour is Electric Silver. An accompanying tow-hook makes it possible to tow a small trailer.

In addition to golf courses, the cart can be used in recreation facilities and for light transport duties at shows and trade fairs, for instance.

FACTS, VOLVO GOLF CART

• Weighs 220 kilo. The three twelve-volt batteries, which weight 75 kg, are charged overnight. The range is about 60 kilometres.
• Can carry 125 kg. Max speed is 15 km/h.
• Steel chassis, reversing alarm and brakes automatically when the driver releases the accelerator.
• Estimated to cost between 55,000 and 60,000 kronor.
• Marketed and sold by Pro Grandiose Car Corporation in Dubai. The company has a licence agreement with Volvo Cars, giving it the right to use the Volvo name and shape on the golf cart.

Source: Volvo