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VOLVO'S V70 ONE OF WORLD'S FEW WORLD CARS
2 March 2000

GENEVA - At a Geneva Auto Show traditionally dominated by European-only cars and quirky utility vehicles suitable for the skinny streets of crowded European cities, Volvo Car Corporation showed its latest version of that rarest of vehicles: a world car.

The 2001 V70 station wagon is one of just a handful of cars sold in Europe, North America and Asia with only the smallest changes to meet local regulatory and market demands. It has to be that way. 

Volvo Cars, now a part of Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group for almost a year since it was bought for $6.5 billion US, is tiny by world standards. Last year it Volvo sold just 400,000 cars, almost all of them sedans and station wagons. Yet company officials believe the V70 which goes on sale in April, followed by its pseudo-sport-utility sibling the V70 Cross Country wagon this summer, can lead ambitious growth plans sketched out for the next four years.

Indeed, Volvo hopes to hit worldwide sales of 600,000 by 2004, with North American sales almost doubling to 200,000 cars. All led by a station wagon. At least for now. Company officials hint that while safety, security, durability and the environment remain core values in the Volvo product line, growth won't come unless passion and excitement are added to the Volvo mix.

And while it's hard to imagine getting passionate about any station wagon - as opposed to, say, a 400 horsepower sports car - there's absolutely no doubt Volvo has invested the re-invented V70 wagon with plenty of tender loving care. Not surprising for a company that has placed station wagons at the heart of its vehicle lineup since 1953. Today 60-70 per cent of Volvo's revenue from new cars comes for its station wagons.

Lars Erik Lundin, the ice-president who headed up the V70 development team, concedes in his inimitable Swedish way that "we are family people," therefore station wagon design and engineering come second nature at Volvo.
"Why are we so good at this.why are we so good at wagons?" he says in perfect English, with just a hint of that famous Swedish lilt. "We are family people, so I think we combine the dualism of a sedan and wagon very well. When we go to Ikea to buy furniture, we want to transform our car into a van. So we need a car that can do that."

Truth is, because there are so few large station wagons on the market that compete against the V70 - the Swedish-built Saab 9-5 among the few exceptions - Volvo's wagon mostly goes head-to-head with sport-utes, vans and the emerging variety of so-called crossover vehicles and activity that include the Lexus RX300, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz ML320/430 and the coming Buick Rendezvous. 

Certainly the V70's pricing puts it up against the RX300, the ML320 and the Saab 9-5. Right up against them. When the V70 hits showrooms in April, the base GLT model will list for $43,495, while the sportier T5 stickers at $46,495. Those numbers represent a small increase over the outgoing lineup of Volvo wagons.

The price premium, says Lundin, covers the cost of a product program that began in 1996, with an eye to addressing three main areas of concern expressed by current Volvo owners: ride comfort, squeaks and rattles and a lack of interior storage room for odd-size items such as compact discs, cassettes and the myriad of electronic toys that have become the mainstay of today's mobile office - cell phones, mini-fax machines, laptop computers and the like.

Starting with the basic mechanical architecture or platform of the up-town S80 sedan, Lundin and his crew focused on creating a wagon with the kind of rigid body stiffness that silences the movements generating squeaks and rattles. At the same time, a stiff body allows suspension engineers to tune
the springs and dampers for ride control and handling performance. And because the S80 is the largest sedan Volvo has ever made, the V70 emerged  from incubation wider, taller and significantly roomier inside.

Of course safety features got their Volvo due. Dual-stage front airbags, side airbags and a patented side impact protection system are all standard. Also, an inflatable air curtain at the side protects passenger head and  shoulders in a crash. The seats - arguably among the very best in the world for ride comfort - come with a whiplash protection system or WHIPS that guards against neck injuries. Anti-lock braking and a basic traction control system come with all V70s. Among the options is a pretty smart stability and traction control system that gives the driver exceptional control in slick driving conditions.

Power for both cars comes from a turbocharged five-cylinder engine. In the GLT, horsepower is rated at 197, while in the T5, drivers have 242 horses are on tap. So there's plenty of zip. Transmission choices start with the standard five-speed manual, while a five-speed automatic is optional.  The cabin is arrayed with all sorts of convenient storage ideas, such as a shopping bag holder, a multi-layer centre armrest console/storage compartment and there's even a clip in the lower corner of the driver's side front windscreen for holding parking garage stubs and the like. In the rear are seats that shift into two positions for cargo versatility. The centre dashboard with controls for the sound and ventilation/air systems is a design gem for its simplicity and clarity. Nifty options include a rear seat table and roof racks designed to hold everything from bicycles to
snowboards to skis.

So this Volvo world car is a well-conceived station wagon, no doubt. And the short test drive Volvo officials offered to visiting journalists showed off improved power and handling characteristics, too. As wagons go, the V70 is a very nice piece of work.

The question remains though: will Volvo be able to capture and conquest the sport-utility buyers - not to mention current and future crossover vehicle buyers - who lately have favored wagons in very small numbers. Two major things are working in Volvo's favour. 

First, fuel prices continue to rise, placing larger truck-based vehicles at a disadvantage in terms of fuel economy. And second, taller sport-utes suffer some disadvantages in road manners - that is, they don't handle like a car and they can be tough to park in urban areas. Neither are issues with the V70. On the other hand, sport-utes have a cachet and emotional appeal that eludes station wagons. And their tall riding position affords drivers a commanding view of the road.

Sounds like a left-brain/right-brain battle is shaping up in the car market. And Volvo's worldly wagon will be in the middle of it.

QUICK SPECS
Volvo V70 T5 (high-pressure turbo)
Engine: 242-horspower/243 foot-pounds of torque
Drive: front-wheel
Performance (0-100 km/h): manual 7.1 seconds; automatic 7.5 seconds. Top
speed: 210 km/h.
Steering: rack-and-pinion, power assisted.
Braking: front/rear disc, standard anti-lock.

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TOYOTA'S YARIS NAMED TOP CAR IN EUROPE
Nov 19 1999

Toyota Motor Corp.'s European supermini car called the Yaris (also known a the Vitz in Japan) has been named the 2000 European Car of the Year.

The Yaris topped the ballots of 19 of the 55 senior motoring journalists who served as jurists from 20 European countries in the competition. It beat out five short-listed cars to win the 36th annual European car awards.

In second spot was Fiat's six-seater compact called the Multipla. The Multipla, a multi-purpose vehicle, garnered great interest for its radical design. The Yaris had a winning score of 344 points, followed by the Multipla's 325, the Vauxhall/Opel Zafira's 265, the Skoda Fabia's 245 and the Rover 75's 221.

The Yaris is also called the Vitz in Japan. -- is currently being built in Japan, but Toyota plans to begin production in early 2001 at a plant now under construction in Valenciennes, in northern France, with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.

Last year's winner was Ford Motor Co's Focus.

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