|
|
|
|
|
#1
06-09-04, 10:25 PM
|
|||
|
|||
No I6?
As squishman reported, there is indeed no longer an I6 configuration on the Saab site. Too bad IMO as this combo gives very respectable horsepower with better mileage then the V8. (I tried looking for EPA numbers on the Buick site for the V8 but they were very well hidden I6 is I htink 16/21.)
|
|||
|
|
#2
07-09-04, 06:15 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
IMHO the V8 offers the best performance they are looking to market with this vehicle. Plus I think they want to limit the model options so as to limit the production costs. I think this vehicle will be going away relatively quickly, particularly if it doesn't meet sales plan. If it does sell modestly well I hope they add cylinder deactivation in the next version.
|
|||
|
|
|
#3
07-09-04, 04:55 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
GM/Saab's decision to drop the I-6 from the 9-7X prolly prompted Volvo to beef up its XC90 powerplant (see Autoweek story). Or maybe it was the other way around.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=100762 News Volvo aims to play in the luxury big leagues with addition of V8 offerings MARK RECHTIN | Automotive News Posted Date: 9/7/04 GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Volvo Car Corp. wants to increase the prestige of its automobiles by offering a V8 in its XC90 sport wagon and possibly other vehicles. Volvo's first V8, a 4.4-liter, 315-hp engine from Yamaha Corp., arrives early next year in the XC90. Sources say that because the XC90 shares a platform with the S60, S80, V70 and XC70, there is a strong chance that some of those vehicles also will get the engine. By adding V8s, Volvo hopes to challenge Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus by moving beyond its status as a "tweener" premium brand similar to Acura and Saab. This will be especially true in the United States, where Volvo sells 30 percent of its vehicles and likely will sell a majority of its V-8 engines. Volvo is relying on features other than a big engine to step up the luxury ladder. In recent years, Volvo has added rollover protection and instant-traction systems to the XC90. It also has added computer-controlled chassis control to the S60R. A blind-spot alert system arrives this fall on many of its vehicles. Volvo interiors also have been upgraded. With more negotiating power under the Ford Motor Co. purchasing umbrella, Volvo can afford higher-end components for its vehicles. 'It makes sense' Volvo's top executives won't confirm the plan to move further upscale, but they don't deny the merits of such an approach. They also admit they have a way to go to match the image of top German producers. "Logically it makes sense (to expand the lineup) if the V8 engine is available," Hans-Olov Olsson, CEO of Volvo Car Corp., said at a press event here. "We have to look at the whole product range," Olsson said. "Certainly there is room at the top of the range, and there is a key role for the V8 in the United States." Volvo managers say that offering the V8 in other models already is in the works. "If the V-8 is accepted in the XC90, then we can move on to other cars," said Hans Wikman, Volvo vice president for large cars. "We can continue climbing in the luxury segment. Having a V8 will bring us new customers and make Volvo more exciting." Wikman said the decision to expand the V8 into other cars is "just a matter of time and money," and will be made within a year. When pressed, he expressed confidence the decision will be affirmative. "Some cars you need to drive the company's image," Wikman said. "Icons are important. We don't look at it like we're taking on the Germans. We look at it like capturing volume." Spreading around the V8 makes sense from a cost standpoint, says Eric Noble, president of The Car Lab consulting firm in Orange, Calif. "Once you get a V-8 engine, you need it in as many vehicles as possible to amortize the cost," Noble says. "If Volvo really wants to compete against the 5 series and E class, they need that V8 available." V8 engines are essential for luxury brands because they bolster the brand's image and sweeten profit margins, Noble says. "The V8 engines may only be 20 percent of the mix for Mercedes and BMW, but each one of those cars sold with a V8 provides $10,000 more per unit in price premium," he says. The XC90 is Volvo's top-selling vehicle in the United States. Through August, the automaker sold 93,817 vehicles in the United States; 24,127 of those were XC90s. Volvo sales in America are up 3.2 percent from 2003, a record year in which Volvo sold 134,586 vehicles. Adding the V8 could give a much-needed kick to the aging S80. Only 9,646 units were sold in the United States through August. The car is scheduled for a redesign in fall 2006. Volvo executives say they want to sell 600,000 units a year globally by the end of the decade. This year they are on a pace to crack 450,000 units, which would be a record. Note of caution Although a V8 should add prestige, the downside is that the engine is being built by a Japanese firm known more for motorcycles than for luxury goods. A Yamaha engine lacks the strong image of an engine developed in-house by BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Another downside: The German brands and Lexus offer their top vehicles based on rear-wheel-drive platforms, which are seen as more luxurious than the all-wheel-drive adaptations Volvo will make from its front-drive platforms. Vic Doolan, who marketed BMWs in the United States in the 1990s before becoming president of Volvo Cars of North America Inc., knows all about the challenges of upgrading a brand. So while he is pushing hard for Volvo to apply the V8 into other vehicles, he expresses a note of caution. "You can't be like Volkswagen and just bring out a V8 engine and declare yourself a luxury brand," Doolan says. "You have to earn your premium." |
||||
|
|
|
#4
07-09-04, 05:10 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Though as the other poster notes that configuration didn't work for Volvo -- but not because of the engine configuration but because of the lack of power in the I6. Almost all testers indicate a distinct lack of power with the Volvo, not a problem for the TB/Envoy. |
|||
|
|
|
#5
07-09-04, 11:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
If you look, you'll also now see a claim of a fully indepentent suspension. Perhaps things have changed from the origonal plan.
|
|||
|
|
|
#6
08-09-04, 03:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Now I'm really scratching my head. Next they'll be saying that they have redesigned the structure to improve crash scores. Have they been reading my posts here? I remember reading that someone had said that the TB platform was engineered to support such a thing, but it seems a huge cost to lay on one small model. Maybe they have a new creative interpretation of what an independent suspension is? |
|||
|
|
|
#7
08-09-04, 05:28 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
saab, if you are listening. get rid of the orange reflectors in the mirrors. let's try a clear plastic instead
|
||||
|
|
|
#11
08-09-04, 10:27 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|||
|
|
|
#12
09-09-04, 06:21 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
||||
|
|
|
#15
09-09-04, 07:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|||
|
|
|
#16
09-09-04, 09:49 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
So who are we to invade now in order to secure our oil supply? I don't get it, Hybrids clearly sell since the Japanese dealers can't keep theirs on the lots. We have been promissed a VDC for some time now, where is it? Lexus is making a Hybrid SUV and so it Toyota, Honda is working on one. Why are the Japanese on the forefront of this technology while GM has nothing to show except a few concepts.
|
||||
|
|
|
#17
09-09-04, 11:33 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/...tt_052704.html And this too: http://www.chevrolet.com/silverado/hybrid.jsp I guess it's all as phantom as your knowledge of automobiles. 
|
|||
|
|
|
#18
09-09-04, 11:36 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Let me add though that the market for hybrids is pretty limited. Limited to envirowhackos willing to pay the premium for them. Unit sales of the Toyota Prius are pretty low, despite all the hype for "we can't get enough of them!" And the real world performance of hybrids leaves much to be desired.
Still, GM is rolling them out, starting from the biggest vehicles and working their way down. There's little to fault them with at this point. The Japs don't have a pickup truck hybrid out, and that ultimatly matters more in the American market than a sub-compact. Full-size SUV hybrids will be out next year, and a Malibu hybrid is on the way. |
|||
|
|
|
#19
10-09-04, 03:43 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
The bus thing is an excellent idea that I was unaware of, however plenty of cities have their running on CNG and have been doing this for some time now. IMO this accomplishes the same thing.
Perhaps you should read your links more carefully Garuda, the Silverado will only be offered in six states and only in "limited quantities", another words a drop of water in a lake. What about the SUVs GM is promising? Will they be offered in limited quantities as well? If so, what good are they? Honda on the other hand is about to offer a Hybrid Accord, which will not be sold in limited quantities and will do everything a regular V6 one will do except that it will be faster and with better fuel economy. I am also willing to bet that the Malibu will be nowhere near the car that the Accord will since GM has quite a bit of catching up to do to the Japanese. So it appears that you are the one with the phantom knowledge here eh? |
||||
|
|
|
#20
10-09-04, 04:02 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|||
|
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
