New safety rating results show that low fuel consumption cars can also achieve the highest safety ratings.

The Mini Cooper diesel hatch, the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic diesel hatch, the Volvo C30 diesel hatch, all models of Toyota’s environmental flagship, the hybrid Prius, have achieved a 5-star safety rating from Australia’s leading independent vehicle safety advocate, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

ANCAP Business Manager, Nick Clarke, said the results show new car buyers they can save fuel and still get 5-star safety. “These ratings show that manufacturers can make a range of fuel efficient vehicles which do not compromise safety results,” Mr Clarke said.

Other ANCAP results show the recently released Subaru Liberty Exiga and the upgraded Hyundai Santa Fe with 4 cylinder engine also achieved 5-star ANCAP ratings. The Honda City sedan achieved a 4-star rating.

The results released today are from crash tests undertaken by ANCAP in Australia and by ANCAP’s sister organisation EuroNCAP, to internationally recognised protocols.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fuel-efficient Goodyear tire available on Toyota (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Pictured above is the Volvo C30 R-Design, and as the name suggests, it’s a product of Volvo’s R-Design division. Not that long ago though, R was a performance division of Volvo and not a design division. They produced some great cars, but in 2007, Volvo dropped the brand and replaced it with the R-Design division.

The problem was the image of Volvo. The average Volvo customer isn’t interested in a performance car, and if you’re in the market for a sports car, Volvo is among the last words to pop into your head. Not many people bought these brilliant cars, they were too underrated. Volvo sold less than a third of the R performance cars than they had hoped to sell.

When talking with Swedespeed, Volvo’s North American chief Doug Speck hinted at the revival of the R performance range. He said that rather than aiming at the top of the line tuners like AMG and the M-division, this range would aim at medium-level performers like Audi’s S range of cars.

This is good news, and just in time, as the upcoming Volvo S60 could really use a touch of performance. Hopefully they will decide to revive the range.

Source: Swedespeed via MotorAuthority

Jag är lite av en bilnörd och reklamen Volvo har rörande Twilight och New Moon är helskön. Den ger verkligen Volvo ett speciellt skimmer.

Ikväll är det månadsmöte i fotoklubben och det blir bland annat en föreläsning av Bertil Pettersson samt redovisning av bilder under temat “Eld” i klubbmästerskapet. Jag återkommer senare och informerar då om spottande människor och dörrknackande våldtäktsmän.

21:54
Jag kom hem från fotoklubbens månadsmöte för en halvtimme sedan. Det blev en sjätte plats för min Eld-bild. Det var många olika typer av bilder och framför allt många! Jag är inte alltför nöjd, men det är oväsentligt. Bertil Pettersson höll ett underhållande föredrag om sina äventyr ute i naturen då han fotat älgar, rådjur, björnar, rävar och lokatter. Han informerade även om att de flesta bilder vi idag ser på björnar och rådjur är tagna på “färdiga” platser där djuren blivit matade och gömslen är uppställda. Sådana gömslen kostar 2 000 kr per dag att hyra. Men då får man fotat ett 20-tal björnar. Normalt rör sig björnar själva. Det är inte riktigt samma sport som Bertil sysslar med. Han befinner sig i naturen i dagar och inväntar. Han berättade även om en liten stuga uppe i ett berg som tog 4 timmar att gå upp till. Lägg då till att mannen är född 1933 och klarar av det! Inte dåligt alls.

Vad är det med alla människor och spottande? Idag när jag gick på lunch var det en joggare som spottade (dock från mitt håll) och några minuter senare en äldre man som spottade precis bakom mig. Jag trodde nästan jag fått det i håret. Det hördes så tydligt. Tänker de inte på hur otrevligt det uppfattas?

När jag var på väg hem ringde jag min pappa, precis samtidigt gick en man emot mig och sade “- Ursäkta mig..”, jag pekade på telefonen och skyndade vidare. Inget märkvärdigt så sätt. I vanliga fall är jag mycket hjälpsam – men nu hade jag läst en artikel på.. ta-daa Aftonbladet! och denna man stämde precis överens med “den dörrknackande våldtäktsmannen” signalement. Det är väldigt trist att känna misstankar inför främmande människor och nästintill ignorera dem. Men jag ville knappast ha någon som följde efter mig hem och ringde på. Brr!

WOOOOW!!!

CHECK OUT This VOLVO ADVERTISEMENT!!!!

Scenes from Twilight and New Moon are incorporated into the advertisement for the C30 & XC60.

Oh btw, Edward Cullen Alert …. Walking In SLOW MOTION!!

This reminds me of Twilight Singapore’s Visit to the Volvo Showroom!

Here’s an interesting article from MediaPost.com : Volvo Backs Star Turn With ‘Twilight: New Moon’

Volvo is launching an international promotion around “Twilight: New Moon,” the second installment of Summit Entertainment’s “Twilight” motion picture series, premiering on Nov. 20.

In the romance film, vampire Edward Cullen drives Volvo’s XC60 crossover. Volvo’s C30 3-door coupe was featured in the first movie, but this is the first of the films in which Volvo is actually marketing around the car’s star turn.

“It was a missed opportunity in the first film because the car had actually four minutes in the film, which is unheard of in product placement,” says Linda Gangeri, Volvo’s national advertising manager. “It did really well without us doing anything, so with the second film we worked with the studio to develop a global program.”

“What we have learned is these fans for this series are so fanatical that the minute you deviate from the story in any way they are not happy. All of the creative you see will be centered on the film, so the 30-second TV spot will use footage from the film that incorporates the car, and the online game is all about the story.” Volvo will host clips from the film on the Web site as well.

The film is the right property for Volvo, per Gangeri, because it skews young, and allows Volvo to get outside the “safety” envelope that has defined the brand for consumers for years.

“What happened with the C30 in the first ‘Twilight’ film was it drew interest among 20- to-30-year-olds and people who had never considered Volvo before,” she says. “And while the books started out appealing to a teen audience, it has grown exponentially. Women of all ages — they are reading the book. It does relate to what we are trying to do with brand, since we are perceived as ’safe.’ This movie gives us an audience of people who haven’t acknowledged us before and lets us break out of the paradigm of being seen only as a safety brand.”

According to Gangeri, Volvo’s XC60 wasn’t brought into the movie through deal-making, but because author Stephenie Meyer’s brother suggested it. “He is very much a car nut; he was charged with deciding which characters drove what in the movie. The Volvo was chosen for Edward because he’s the hero — a protector who takes care of Bella, yet he wants to have something exciting and fast and fun,” she says.

For more of the article click  here and also check out www.WhatDrivesEdward.com

Oh, yeah… Edward Cullen drives the big truck to SexyTown.  Ohh, wait,… that wasn’t the question.  What was the question, anyway?

Viewer Discretion:  This video will make you want to go out and buy a Volvo.  Too bad they don’t come stocked with Edward Cullen, huh?

Enjoy!

View Source.

Después de mes y medio de su presentación, Volvo ha puesto precio al renovado C30. Está disponible en tres niveles de equipamiento: Kinetic, Mommentum, Summum y R-Design. Su precio parte de los 19.495 €.

Precios:
Volvo C30 1.6i 100 CV: 19.495 €
Volvo C30 1.8i FlexiFuel 125 CV: 20.990 €
Volvo C30 2.5i T5 230 CV: 30.995 €
Volvo C30 1.6d DRIVe 109 CV: 21.390 €
Volvo C30 2.0d 136 CV: 22.410 €
Volvo C30 2.4D5 180 CV: 28.495 €

A while ago I did some research into the HOT HATCH market. I looked at understanding all the tribes associated to the different brands, eg: Mini Cooper, VW GTI/R32, Subaru WRX, Civic Type R, Volvo C32, Mazda MPS. It’s amazing the different mindsets that fall out of this super popular car category amongst Gen Y’ers, from the Subaru WRX ‘Boy Racer’ tribe to the Mini Cooper ‘Fun Fashionista’ tribe.  I also looked into the semiotic codes of advertising in the hot hatch sector – essentially they are all marketed as ‘creatures of the night’, as brooding menacing beasts that transform their drivers, bringing out their devilish side if you will. This is all based off qual interviews I did as well as my own observations of who drives these cars in Australia.

The Volvo C30 has arrvied

We’ve been promising you for months and now it’s finally come true…the Volvo C30 is back at Paul Moak Volvo!  An Ice White model with quartz beige leather interior has just arrived to our store.

The C30 may be the smallest Volvo model, but it lives up to the Volvo reputation of safety and performance.  Recently, the C30 out-performed its competiton in three types of crash tests administred by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).  The IIHS has named the C30 one of its “Top Safety Picks.”

The C30 is all about personalization and customization.  You can practically design your own with thousands of combinations to make your C30 unique to you.  The 2010 C30 in-stock is already equipped with leather interior, climate package, and power glass moonroof.

Click here to schedule your test drive today.

Just recently, we (read: Nasyita, Aishah, Maria & myself) visited the Volvo Showroom located at 249 Alexandra Road. Bessy couldn’t join us for the ultimate Volvo experience as she was feeling unwell

We met up with Sabrina Sng who is the Marketing Manager of SM Motors Pte Ltd. SM Motors Pte Ltd is the sole distributor of the Volvo cars here in Singapore. Sabrina was cool enough to let us have a “feel” of what is it like to be in the Volvo XC30 and Volvo XC60. Woots!!!

Here’s the VOLVO C30 in ‘Twilight’:

In the showroom…

Below: Aishah and myself re-enacting this particular scene of Bella & Edward in the car.

Now see the screen capture below from ‘Twilight’:

Below: Aishah does the “Edward” stare in the school’s parking lot from ‘Twilight’!

Next is the VOLVO XC60 in ‘New Moon’:

In the showroom…

Below: Die-cast of the Volvo XC60. Scale of die-cast is only 1:43 and it’s for sale!

You can read up on loads of great information about these cars over at their respective pages from the Volvo website: Volvo C30 and Volvo XC60. If you’re keen to get the Volvo merchandises, click here.

Once again, thank you Sabrina for the wonderful evening spent with Edward’s shiny cars! We absolutely love it!

]]> http://chatterboxworldwide.com/2009/10/05/sixth-of-cars-electric-by-2020/ Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:08:58 +0000 chatterboxworldwide http://chatterboxworldwide.com/2009/10/05/sixth-of-cars-electric-by-2020/

According to Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer, one sixth of cars will be electric by 2020 assuming that there is a mass infrastructure of charging points.

Gassenheimer believes that electric cars do not need big batteries capable of a range of 150 miles, but there is a real need for smaller, cheaper batteries capable of ranges up to 50 miles.

Read the full article at autocar.co.uk

Quien siga la actualidad del mundo del motor estará de acuerdo conmigo. A pocos meses de finalizar el año 2009, el mundo del motor se ha desviado hacia su faceta más ecológica. Los vehículos con un motor tradicional están tratando de reducir su consumo y sus emisiones al máximo. Por otro lado, los híbridos se están haciendo con un nicho de mercado cada vez más importante. Y, finalmente, los fabricantes de automóviles están tratando de situar en el mercado el esperado coche eléctrico. Con esto quiero decir que la dirección que ha tomado el sector del automóvil del siglo XXI es la ecológica. Hoy le toca el turno a un eléctrico nuevo, cuyas líneas y diseño os sonarán de antes. Se trata del volvo C30 BEV.

El aspecto es idéntico al de un C30 normal, incluso en el lo relacionado a seguridad. Este es un aspecto que tenemos agradecer, porque ha salido cada engendro con propulsión eléctrica que daba miedo. Las únicas diferencias con el C30 que se comercializa actualmente las encontramos en su alma. El C30 BEV es un vehículo propulsado con electricidad, así que los gases que emite a la atmósfera no existen. Su velocidad máxima es de 130 kilómetros por hora, y su autonomía es de 150 kilómetros. Bajo mi punto de vista, es en el campo de la autonomía donde más se tienen que poner las pilas los investigadores del campo de la automoción. Será difícil que un vehículo tenga éxito si me ofrece obstáculos a la hora de querer realizar un viaje largo con él -de momento para eso están los híbridos-.

El C30 BEV contará con unas baterías de ión-litio que podremos cargar en cualquier enchufe convencional. La carga completa de las baterías se realiza en unas 8 horas. Como es lógico, al utilizar exclusivamente de electricidad para sus desplazamientos, necesita una batería de un tamaño superior que la que montan los híbridos enchufables (24 kWh).

Pese a que sólo alcanzará 130 km/h, su aceleración hasta los 100 kilómetros se hará en torno a los 11 segundos, un tiempo bastante aceptable. Tenemos que hacernos a la idea de que estamos hablando de un vehículo muy eficiente, no de un super-deportivo. Sus 150 kilómetros de autonomía, según han dicho desde Volvo, son suficientes para la distancia que recorren el 90% de los europeos en cada jornada.

En Volvo ya han probado algunos C30 BEV destinados a realizar pruebas. Parece que de momento el resultado de estos vehículos es muy satisfactorio. Pero todavía queda mucho para conseguir realizar un coche eléctrico que se adapte a las necesidades de la mayoría de los usuarios, haciendo especial hincapié en su autonomía y en los lugares en los que se pueda recargar el vehículo. En las grandes ciudades las personas solemos vivir en torres de pisos, y muchísimos coches duermen en la calle. Se necesita una infraestructura que me permita recargar el vehículo mientras lo dejo aparcado.

Volvo C30. Fuente: http://img.mundoautomotor.com/web/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/volvo-c30-ecodrive-00.jpg

Fuente> Mi Coche

Transmission intercepted by outside source….
Sending out identity hail…
DS14 responding…
Hb34ht9vy801uv…
Note attached as follows…

It should be noted that the transmission received by this station and as follows this interception was written by an exhausted, ill and over worked sub-standard agent. Please forgive the slightly lack lustre nature of this weeks transmission from Sol System. That is all.

…admiralty code attached…

Original transmission follows…

Transmission begins…

Although it would be easier to keep the little Abarth 500’s turbo on the boil with a paddle shift auto I can’t help thinking it would be less fun. The Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari may look good and go well, but really? An auto on a super hot 500? Really? Really, really?
Oh well.

Ferrari’s own 458 took allot of the attention. It’s certainly prettier than the 430, more efficient than the 430 and quite a bit quicker (in standard form) than the 430. Who’s betting the new McLaren will be just as good though?

And now for a question.
Can you think of a single car that’s looked better post-facelift? I can’t. The Punto Evo certainly looked better pre surgery, pre-Evo badge. Kia’s Ceed (verging on the good looking) definitely looked better last year. Why do they do it?
Oh yea.
Consumerism.
The need to have new stuff on show without doing too much work.
Yea. That.
Anyway;
Audi, terminally boring as they are, have released yet another sub niche car. Welcome in Audi A5 Sportback. The product of mixing A5 and A4 genealogy, we have Audi’s answer to royal style genetic barrel scrapping. How long before Audi’s product children become disfigured and stupid is anyone’s guess…

From the ridiculous to the sublime, I’m gonna go out on a whim and say the Lambo Reventon Cabriolet is better looking than the coupe. Somehow it just fits better. Seeing it in the flesh (if I’m lucky enough) could change my mind, but really, even the Reventon is irrelevant. What I’m really waiting for is next years Mercielago replacement. My eyes are watering in anticipation just thinking about it.

From the sublime to the sober, it can be said with certainty that EV’s or electric vehicles dominated this year’s show. Audi unveiled what amounted to corporate bullshit mock-up pictures of an EV R8. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great idea, but drawings do not a show car make. Much more promising was Ford and Volvo’s electric Focus and C30. Indeed neither showcased impressive figures but what they do show is that at long last Ford is on the road to electrification.

Albeit with the conventional drive-train, Mercedes also showed its new electric car. The new Gullwing will get full EV status by 2012 but in the mean time it stands as easily the best looking car Merc have made for ten, possibly thirty years. It maybe unashamedly retro but the Gullwing was right first time in the 50’s. No need to argue with that.

All of this though, all of this pales into insignificance. All of this is just the turning of cogs in the march towards consumer ideals. What’s the best news of the show? What mattered to me most?
I’ll tell you.
Come in close, now.
I’m going to whisper this very slowly.
Lotus.
Are.
Coming.
Back.
To.
F1.

Amen.

Transmission Ends…

Hatchback. Golf, Focus, Astra, Cee’d. Ale także BMW serii 1, Volvo C30 i Audi A3. Samochody popularne głownie ze względu na walory praktyczne. Niewielki, więc łatwo zaparkować. Ale na tyle duży, że nie boisz się wyprzedać TIR-a na autostradzie/drodze krajowej/ czymś drogopodobnym. Samochody te czasem posiadają na tyle żwawe jednostki napędowe, że umożliwiają (niemalże) sportowe osiągi. Audi S3 mimo niewielkiej pojemności dwóch litrów śmiało pokona samochody z większym silnikiem. A teraz, gdy możemy się spodziewać RS3 prawdziwi sportowcy mogą czuć zagrożenie. Pod maskę hot hatch’a trafi dwu i pól litrowy motor znany z TT RS rozwijający moc 340 koni mechanicznych. Nowe auto, sporo lżejsze od niewielkiego coupe, dysponując taką mocą będzie przewyższało go osiągami. Tak więc przyśpieszenie może osiągać niższe wartości niż 4,6 sekundy do 100 kilometrów na godzinę. Czyżby niektóre samochody, których wartość przekracza 100 tysięcy euro mogłyby być zagrożone wyprzedzeniem przez niewielkiego hatchbacka? Dowiemy się już we wrześniu, na Frankfurt Motor Show.

Volvo have announced that they are planning on turning their little Volvo C30 into an electric car. It’s hasn’t been confirmed that this car will actually go into production yet…but it’s being built!

Apparently they will make a decision on whether or not they will put it into production in the future. It just goes to show how car manufacturers are embracing ‘green cars’.

A plug-in electric Volvo C30 will debut at the Innovation for Life event just after the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Volvo have focussed quite heavily on producing green cars over the years as proved by their e-Drive range.

Apparently The Times have suggested that Volvo could sell nearly 5000-10,000  green cars each year…so I could soon be seeing an electric Volvo C30 in Essex!

De sede nova, na Avenida Juracy Magalhães Júnior, no Horto Florestal, a revenda Rota Premium começa a vender o Volvo C30 com câmbio automático. O modelo é um hatchback no segmento de compactos de luxo e, a partir de agora, vem com a opção de transmissão automática.

O Volvo C30 automático tem preço sugerido de R$ 90.950, e completa a linha o veículo com câmbio manual, que sai por R$ 86.150. A marca decidiu aposentar a versão 2.4. A T5 (R$ 127,9 mil) e a T5 automática (R$ 133,5 mil) continuam em linha.

Como destaque do novo modelo, a Rota Premium destaca a transmissão automática com a moderna caixa Powershift, com dupla embreagem e seis velocidades. Desenvolvida pela Ford, o novo câmbio transmite maior segurança na pilotagem e oferece maior rapidez nas trocas seqüenciais no Volvo C30 2.0 de 146 cv. O modelo conta com dois anos de garantia, sem limite de quilometragem, além de dois anos de manutenção gratuita.

O C30 é o modelo mais vendido pela Volvo no Brasil e teve 1.437 unidades vendidas desde que passou a ser comercializado por aqui, em abril de 2007, até o mês passado.

Brandul suedez, Volvo intentioneaza sa dezvolte un C30 complet elctric, care va fi oficial dezvaluit la Frankfurt Auto Show luna viitoare. Cu toate acestea, Volvo nu a confirmat inca daca versiunea dezvaluita va intra in productie, insa cel mai probabil, va fi comercializata in urmatorii ani, imediat dupa hibridul dieselul plug-in V70, programat pentru 2012.

O sursa din cadrul companiei a declarat ca brandul suedez va lua o decizie cu privire la viitorul conceptului, dar a refuzat sa confirme daca prototipul va intra in productie.

Mai multe detalii despre Volvo C30 pe Auto.ro

I’m on my second Volvo, a car which I believe is one of the best possible buys I could ever have made. It’s good in the city, on the open road, at high speeds, economical, handy, comfortable… everything. But I’ll admit my main concern is fuel economy. So I was chuffed when Volvo launched an Eco-Driving challenge here in Portugal, where contestants would be asked to see how far they can go with a single tank of fuel in the new Volvo C30 DRIVe, a super-economical version of the normal 1.6 diesel. I signed up and have been waiting eagerly,and lo and behold, I get a mail saying the drivers are on their way. So I am terribly gutted by the fact I wasn’t even shortlisted for this challenge, it would seem they only chose people from Lisbon (as per usual in this shit-headed country) and who didn’t own a Volvo (after all, what’s the use of preaching to the converted?). I am severely pissed off.

In this quest for fuel economy, I came across an interesting piece on future small engine technology from BMW. Now as a principle, I’m not particularly affectionate toward the Big German Three. Their cars aren’t bad, but they’re rather unimaginatively styled and, IMO, ugly as sin. But the main reason I dislike them is their belly-scraping clientèle. In a country like Portugal, with a quasi-Third World mentality, most people think their status increases hugely due to the car they own, and the best way to do this is to buy an overpriced Audi, BMW or Merc. Then they all drive like animals. And they look down their noses at people who drive Volvos (too boring and safety-conscious) or Citroens (cheap, French and unreliable). But I digress. The aim is to produce three and four cylinder engines that range from 1.3l to 1.8l, but with a great power output. Given these data, and considering how the evolution of the internal combustion engine has turned out, this will translate to great fuel economy and low emissions. So it’s good news.

A versão de entrada do C30 sai por R$ 86.190

A oferta de hatchs cresce no Brasil. Quem gosta de design arrojado, mecânica robusta e itens de segurança tem um olhar diferenciado para o Volvo C30. O modelo está sendo vendido dentro da promoção de IPI reduzido com preços mais baixos até o próximo dia 30 de junho.

O Volvo C30 com câmbio manual de cinco marchas sai por R$ 86.190. Já a versão com transmissão automática de cinco velocidades está sendo vendida por R$ 89.900. A oferta está em toda a rede de revendas do País.

A versão de entrada do C30 vem com motor 2.0 de quatro cilindros e câmbio manual. Traz faróis de neblina, brake light, sistema de freios anti-bloqueio, sistema inteligente de informações, cintos de segurança com pré-tensionadores, airbags, sistema de proteção de impactos laterais, assentos revestidos em couro, entre outros. Entre os quesitos de tecnologia e segurança, destaque para o sistema de controle de estabilidade, dynamic chassis, piloto automático e computador de bordo.

Hace unos días, Volvo mostraba el restyling del C70. Ahora le toca el turno al C30. Destaca por su nuevo frontal, muy parecido al del descapotable, y la nueva combinación de colores y llantas. Será presentado en el Salón del Automóvil de Frankfurt, que comenzará el próximo martes.

Volvo ha decidido darle un aire renovado a su compacto, el C30. Se diferencia del modelo anterior por su nuevo frontal, que acopla faros, muy parecidos al del S60 Concept, guardabarros y calandra de nuevo diseño.

En la parte posterior, los guardabarros pueden ir pintados en negro, en el mismo color de la carrocería o en diferente color, a elegir entre cinco. La marca sueca la ha denominado a esta selección “C30 Contrast Colour Collection”. La gama de tonos se amplía con el nuevo Orange Flame Metallic. El tubo de escape en los modelos D5 y T5 es doble y está realizado en acero inoxidable pulido. Además, el C30 recibe nuevos modelos de llantas de aleación, entre ellas unas blancas.

El interior acoge nuevas combinaciones de colores y materiales. Los paneles de las puertas y los asientos pueden adquirirse en naranja, verde o azul. Si están forrados en piel, el cliente puede elegir el nuevo Cranberry. Como en el modelo de 2006, la consola central es flotante. En el nuevo C30 puede ir decorada con la nueva variante Oyster Burst. El equipo de diseño de Volvo se inspiró en la textura de las guitarras suecas Hagström de los años 50.

La gama de motores la forman cuatro de gasolina, un 2.5 de 220 CV (T5), 2.4i de 170 CV, 2.0 de 145 CV y 1.6 de 100 CV, y tres diésel, 2.4 de 180 CV (D5), 2.0D de 136 CV y 1.6D DRIVe de 109 CV. Este último propulsor puede acoplar el sistema de arranque/parada con lo que el consumo de carburante desciende de los 4,4 a los 3,9 litros a los 100 km.

Dependiendo de la motorización, la fuerza del motor se transmite a las ruedas a través de una caja de cambios de seis velocidades (T5 y 2.0D), automática Geartronic de cinco marchas (1.6, 2.0, 1.6D y 2.0D) y automática Powershift de seis relaciones para los motores de gasolina 2.0D y 2.0. Éste último bloque sólo estará disponible en Asia.

En todas las versiones menos en el 1.6D DRIVe, se puede montar un chasis más deportivo. La suspensión es más rígida y la dirección es más precisa gracias a la instalación de nuevos bujes.

Ha llegado la hora de darle un retoque al menor de los Volvos y en Frankfurt será presentada su nueva cara retocada y lavada. Nunca he sido muy entusiasta del C30, siempre me pareció que tiene cierto parecido con el Pacer o el Gremlin por lo menos en la forma. El facelift me parece que le dio una imagen más seria, lo que lo hará el hatchback ideal para los señores de 40 para arriba que no están listos para renunciar a la idea de la juventud comprándose por ejemplo un Passat, pero tampoco quieren vivir fuera del halo de seguridad de Volvo. Lo que si no era necesario era integrar el naranja a la paleta de colores. Eso se llama violencia visual innecesaria.

Szwedzi ostatnio zalewają nas potopem nowość. Co bardzo mnie cieszy bo jestem fanem aut północy, a premiery to dla Szwedów są rzadkością. Ostatnio firma Volvo zaprezentowała nowe c70, teraz przyszła kolej na c30. Tym razem nie jest to “C” jak cabrio, ale ”C” jak hatchback. Trochę dziwne, ale któż zrozumie ten naród i jego oznaczenia. Nowy kompakcik jest z przodu uderzająco podobny do c70. Ciekawy grill, eleganckie lampy oraz obniżony zderzak czynią go bardzo eleganckim, choć z drugiej strony patrząc na nowe c30 mamy wrażenie, że to stary model z dokleionym na siłę przodem. Jednak mimo to, twierdzę, że auta szwedzkie nie zawsze zachwycają na pierwszy rzut oka. Jednak gdy już się do nich przekona, to zaczyna się je bezgranicznie uwielbiać.