70 replies to this topic

[Che'_Moderator]

Discuss

[RobT5.]

Is this good or bad... Is it now safe to buy a new Volvo?
What year will china begin producing and what will they be bringing to the table as the new owners?
+1 to safety or -1?

Im very curious if I should stick to the pre ford buyout models. IE 850, 960. , or the new china buyout .

[PaperToast]

thanks to ford and their being stupid and buying up great euro car companies and jacking up everything with those companies and cars ( ), now the Swedes are Chinese.

[RobT5.]

RobTheModd, on 23 December 2009 - 03:49 PM, said:

Is this good or bad... Is it now safe to buy a new Volvo?
What year will china begin producing and what will they be bringing to the table as the new owners?
+1 to safety or -1?

Im very curious if I should stick to the pre ford buyout models. IE 850, 960. , or the new china buyout .

also if anyone is curious?
http://uk.reuters.co...23?pageNumber=1
its about the buyout

[Fudge_Brownie]

Lead paint and lead gasoline?
No, lead alloys. The only thing softer than an OEM volvo rim Lead pegs... when you thought they couldn't get heavier.

[scandalo]

90 percent of people here will never buy a new Volvo so I've never taken much stock in the company. Don't get me wrong I am a brand loyalist but besides maybe the C30 new Volvos don't do what the Rs did for me.

But as long as Volvo engineers stay ahead of the game as far as safety innovations and concept design then maybe they have a fighting chance. A few billion is no laughing matter so we will just have to see what chinese ownership does to our brand.

[Korruption]

I'm a little concerned with the general conception that anything from China is made with quantity in mind, over quality. Not to say they couldn't produce a high quality product, but it's seems to me it's just a different mentality and/or approach there.

My guess? Volvo cars will become more affordable, while loosing some quality and safety ratings.

Ironically enough, I remember someone remarking that the new S60 looks like it had it's butt influenced by a Japanese car... the civic. I agree, and will try to keep my turd on the road for as long as I can.

[Mesoam]

i don't know how i feel about driving a Varvo

[DakotaS60]

Mesoam, on 23 December 2009 - 04:53 PM, said:

i don't know how i feel about driving a Varvo

Ha yea this all makes me feel a rittle wronry

[RobT5.]

1st. I wont ever own a Ford Volvo.
2nd. some how im doubting I will ever own anything other then a volvo now that I have tasted the 854.
3rd. Ehhh cant rag on china to much.
Emissions
Due to rapidly expanding wealth and prosperity, the number of coal power plants and cars on China's roads is rapidly growing, creating an ongoing pollution problem. China enacted its first emissions controls on automobiles in 2000, equivalent to Euro I standards. China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) upgraded emission controls again on July 1, 2004 to the Euro II standard[6]. More stringent emission standard, National Standard III, equivalent to Euro III standards, went into effect on July 1, 2007.[7] Plans are for Euro IV standards to take effect in 2010. Beijing introduced the Euro IV standard in advance on January 1, 2008, became the first city in mainland China to adopt this standard.[8]

MPG
The average fuel economy of family vehicles in China is already higher than in the United States, mainly because cars in China tend to be considerably smaller than those in the United States — and are getting even smaller because of recent tax changes.

So what does that mean?
Wed be seeing volvos that get 40mpg in the USA? IDK, it would be nice!
regardless of the safety I would buy a 40mpg Volvo with a 3 star safety rating then a ford or bmw with a 4 or 5 star. and only 20mpg.
4. Im driving my 854 till she cant go no more. then getting a turbo. haha!
I figure if a car can take 300k miles and still keep the mpg up in the 20s. its a good car.

Either way, I cannot see myself purchasing a Volvo that was not built by the swedes unless it can rival the mechanical standards of my current Volvo. Let me know when they do that, then ill be a volvo china fan. or a volina fan.

[jdlc]

Obviously negotiation been on the table for sometime now, but with Saab going, I think this is not a wise move now - all being equal, people actually look for alternative and being (the only) Swedish is a hell of a way to differentiate your car brand imo.

That Ford have in fact bastardize the brand already since owning it is of course debatable.

[DakotaS60]

Ok well does anyone know where the cars will be made? I mean Ford owned Volvo and was an American company but the parts and cars were all developed in Sweden by Swedish engineers right? So what's to say that this new Chinese company doesn't just leave a good thing alone and just pays the bills for it? I thought I heard somewhere that the company was only going to sell if they could continue to develop the cars in Sweden but that could just be a rumor and completely not true.

[Che'_Moderator]

Ford and Volvo have been loosing their asses. Its nice to say things like that, but reality and theory are not the same. Heard from a few people who work fairly high up production level that it seems like the Chinese are either going to try and bust the unions or move productions. Not that I believe scuttlebutt but I would not want to be working for Volvo right now. In other news this could be great news for performance and aftermarket.

[Fudge_Brownie]

Once the sale goes through and if Saab really does die off, you've got to go get the site re-appraised

['12brotruckmofo]

Madman of the People, on 23 December 2009 - 04:53 PM, said:

I should also add that I encourage all of you to contact Ford and express your displeasure.


Cheers,
Madman of the People

I'm glad Ford sold them. Maybe, just maybe, this will be an opportunity for Volvo to become a higher end brand. None of us would buy a Geely luxury-mobile, so maybe Geely will seize the opportunity to build a luxury brand...it's not like Volvo would be competing with Geely's sector of the market.

Or, after reading Che's post, perhaps we'll see a turn towards performance. Once again, not like that'll affect our poor asses.

[Young Burnsy]

Che, on 23 December 2009 - 06:04 PM, said:

Ford and Volvo have been loosing their asses. Its nice to say things like that, but reality and theory are not the same. Heard from a few people who work fairly high up production level that it seems like the Chinese are either going to try and bust the unions or move productions. Not that I believe scuttlebutt but I would not want to be working for Volvo right now. In other news this could be great news for performance and aftermarket.

Doesn't all of the talk about the loose China copyright laws scare you? That's really what bothers me.

[Che'_Moderator]

Young Burnsy, on 23 December 2009 - 06:16 PM, said:

Doesn't all of the talk about the loose China copyright laws scare you? That's really what bothers me.

Do you even understand what you are talking about here? Face value this all could be good news. As for not buying another Volvo, I would never buy a second Folvo. Especially when they try to compare Volvo to a BMW or benz. With that said though I spend ~100k every 4-5 years on vehicles and would have no problem buying a "luxury" Chinese volvo despite all the negative stereotypes IF the quality and QCQA were there to honestly elevate it to the status of say a higher end european car. Short term though I doubt there will be any change at all. Same dealers, same techs, and parts take years to purge through.

[Dave 54]

Che, on 23 December 2009 - 06:04 PM, said:

Chinese are either going to try and bust the unions or move productions. Not that I believe scuttlebutt but I would not want to be working for Volvo right now. In other news this could be great news for performance and aftermarket.

+1

Che, on 23 December 2009 - 06:47 PM, said:

Short term though I doubt there will be any change at all. Same dealers, same techs, and parts take years to purge through.

+1