25 replies to this topic

[Che'_Moderator]

Anyone else think the sale of Volvo by Ford could mean a long term growth in after-market parts and performance accessories?

[Oreo931]

I can only hope

[Fudge_Brownie]

I don't see why it would unless the running theory is that the sale to china will increase global sales.

Isn't aftermarket based on demand from the owners? Obviously not many Volvo owners in the US want to modify their car.

Or are you thinking that China has the ability to handle low volume products at an affordable cost?

[matt b]

I'd say yes only if Geely show themselves as being less neurotic about the Volvo name than Ford was. But if Geely really does focus on the Asian market with an S80 and another car, would the aftermarket stuff really trickle down to the other platforms ?

[Floyd R. Turbo]

First it was contaminated pet foods,then it was toxic toys for tots, and now you want
them to make performance parts for your cars. If I need parts from overseas I think
I'll stay with the Atlantic.

[Fudge_Brownie]

First it was contaminated pet foods,then it was toxic toys for tots, and now you want
them to make performance parts for your cars. If I need parts from overseas I think
I'll stay with the Atlantic.

Given the amount of products they export to the United States, 2 Failures is a pretty low margin.
Besides, Made in USA has had plenty of life threatening/ending mistakes of it's own.

I'll just name one. Challenger. Those o-rings are fine

[TaskMule]

Given the amount of products they export to the United States, 2 Failures is a pretty low margin.
Besides, Made in USA has had plenty of life threatening/ending mistakes of it's own.

True.

There are tons of internal scandals that don't get much play here (the west) though. The "soy sauce fermented from human hair" thing comes to mind. The collagen harvested from executed prisoners is a good one too. It will be interesting to follow along with Geely's adventures, for sure.

[RZT5]

I think it will depend on how and to whom Geely markets Volvo. Anything has got to be better (from our point of view) than: "Theres more to life than a Volvo. Thats why you drive one." That sort of marketing is definitely not going to attract buyers who will modify their vehicles. However, I do believe any increase in performance oriented after-market support that evolves will be for models in production and wont trickle down to our 870's or P2's. There will simply never be enough kids trying to buy clear taillights etc for Volvos to warrant cheap, high production volume parts, and people with $4000 cars usually don't have the cash to buy high priced, low production volume parts the way people with 30k to 50k brand new cars do.

Does anyone know anything about Geely's stance on availability of oem parts for older cars through the dealers?

[Fudge_Brownie]

SOMEBODY TELL THE MODS TO FIX THE BOARD SIGN-IN FUNCTION. FOR SEVERAL DAYS WHENEVER I CLICK ON THE SIGN-IN BUTTON, IT RETURNS A "BAD SERVER RESPONSE" ERROR.

DOESN'T ANYBODY PAY ATTENTION TO THE ADMIN OF THIS BOARD ?????

Yes, we do. And we all are able to log in just fine. Please provide more information for us to try and give advice on resolving the problem. What operating system and what browser? Clear all cookies, cache, temporary internet files etc and try again. Try from another computer and/or another browser on your machine and I bet you will be able to get in. If so, that will help you narrow down your problem causer.

DOESN'T ANYONE PAY ATTENTION TO THE CAPS LOCK KEY ??????

[MyCarIsRed]

Back on topic...

I spent a few years working in a factory making seals for ford, gm, etc. After a period of time, the molds and tools would sometimes be sold off to another supplier. I've seen more than one aftermarket part with mold marks removed from the finished part that aren't from overflow or mold repairs.

My hope is that all the old molds and tools at Volvo might be available, allowing other companies to make the parts. There is no shortage of older volvos around here, and people want to keep them running. Demand for parts isn't going away, and volvo's habit of using the same parts on multiple platforms makes each one viable for longer. Even without the molds it's 100% possible for a supplier to make a product that is an improvement over original quality, but with the smaller demographic, having the tools makes it much cheaper to produce. I'd rather choose from 3 suppliers who make good parts than from 20 who make crap; I don't want more support, i want better quality.

It has always seemed to me that aftermarket support for volvos (and bmws, saab, etc) has been much stronger in europe, and even there Volvo isn't super well supported. Is that more a result of Volvo's (the company) choices or does it stem from the demographics of the Volvo owners and what they traditionally want out of their cars?

[volvotool]

The Chinese can't even make good cardboard, never mind car PARTS, so I don't see why anyone would imagine they will build a great car. If their money keeps the company afloat, great. If they plan to 'get involved,' Yikes. I have so far returned for a refund every single replacement part I've purchased that was made in China. Utter crap.

[trebor]

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Volvo being sold to Geely - all Volvos that being sold in the United States are still being manufactured and assembled in Sweden.

For Volvos sold within China ONLY, 50% will be manufactured parts from China, 50% manufactured parts from Sweden and 100% assembled in China. China has a rule that requires 50% or more of manufactured product to be made within China.

So...long story short...the Volvo you all will continue to buy whether you're in Europe or North America, or really anywhere else but China will be manufactured in Sweden. Geely Holding corp. is keeping an arm's length from Volvo, allowing them to operate more or less independently.

[Kevin.]

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Volvo being sold to Geely - all Volvos that being sold in the United States are still being manufactured and assembled in Sweden.

For Volvos sold within China ONLY, 50% will be manufactured parts from China, 50% manufactured parts from Sweden and 100% assembled in China. China has a rule that requires 50% or more of manufactured product to be made within China.

So...long story short...the Volvo you all will continue to buy whether you're in Europe or North America, or really anywhere else but China will be manufactured in Sweden. Geely Holding corp. is keeping an arm's length from Volvo, allowing them to operate more or less independently.

HOORAY!

[flyfishing3]

my company has a plant in china. the product coming out of their is as good or better than our plant in Cali.

its a generalization that products from overseas are inferior, granted some stuff is scary bad........

[RZT5]

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Volvo being sold to Geely - all Volvos that being sold in the United States are still being manufactured and assembled in Sweden.

For Volvos sold within China ONLY, 50% will be manufactured parts from China, 50% manufactured parts from Sweden and 100% assembled in China. China has a rule that requires 50% or more of manufactured product to be made within China.

So...long story short...the Volvo you all will continue to buy whether you're in Europe or North America, or really anywhere else but China will be manufactured in Sweden. Geely Holding corp. is keeping an arm's length from Volvo, allowing them to operate more or less independently.

whats to say that they wont try to cut costs at some point by shipping parts from china, since they are being made there anyways, instead of paying european contractors to build them as volvo does now?

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/19/video-geely-panda-gets-to-stuntin/#continued so shitty they need e brakes, j turns and synchronized driving to try and make them appealing... fail. I really hope geely keeps their decision making within their own shitty car brand

Edited by RZT5, 21 May 2010 - 07:55 PM.

[Dee Jay]

The Chinese will exploit every opportunity to cheapen the product. This is a simple fact based on my experience in high tech, and I have never seen them do otherwise.

Our cars will last as long as quality replacement parts are available, but I'm already thinking about where to shift my loyalty. Perhaps used Mercedes or Audis.

[fastwagonhawaii]

The Chinese can't even make good cardboard, never mind car PARTS, so I don't see why anyone would imagine they will build a great car. If their money keeps the company afloat, great. If they plan to 'get involved,' Yikes. I have so far returned for a refund every single replacement part I've purchased that was made in China. Utter crap.

You might be surprised how many things are made in china and not labeled so because all that is needed is 25% of the product made some where else. nike comes to mind, well stuff all the sneaker makers for that matter. Oh and a lot of car parts, that are assembled here but made there.....

[volvotool]

You might be surprised how many things are made in china and not labeled so because all that is needed is 25% of the product made some where else. nike comes to mind, well stuff all the sneaker makers for that matter. Oh and a lot of car parts, that are assembled here but made there.....

I'm sure they're getting better with time. "Made in Japan" used to mean "crap," too, funny as that seems now.

Honestly, even if they made great stuff, it's the slave labor stealing American jobs that I'll always object to.

[TyConn]

I'm sure they're getting better with time. "Made in Japan" used to mean "crap," too, funny as that seems now.

Honestly, even if they made great stuff, it's the slave labor stealing American jobs that I'll always object to.

+20 if i could