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Volvo Nordic light – trend in wood décor

admin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:29:58 +0000

Natural-looking interior wood décor is a growing trend. It sets the scene with an aura of authentic craftsmanship inside the car. Volvo Cars leads aesthetic developments in this field.
“Wood is an honest material and it generates a feeling of authenticity. It reinforces our image and our Scandinavian design heritage,” says Anders Bergström, designer and trim specialist at Volvo Cars.
Wood has almost always been used as a decorative material in cars. For the most part, however, it has taken the form of dark, lacquered and treated varieties of wood such as walnut and mahogany which impart an air of exclusivity and luxury.

In recent years, however, Volvo has introduced new décors that show the wood just as it is. Today there are two “natural” wood décors, one called Nordic Light Oak and the other which is Modern Wood. They both look incredible, and can really improve your car’s looks without affecting, say the overall theme of the vehicle or even your Aviva car insurance quote. Increasing numbers of customers are specifying these options.

“It’s great to see that so many customers are opting for the natural décor trim. People today have a longing for things that are genuine,” says Anders Bergström.

Today’s natural-wood trend with its yearning for the authentic does not apply only to the auto industry. Wood is making a comeback as a material for hi-tech gadgets such as TV sets and mobile phones.
Earlier this year saw the unveiling of the Volvo S60 Concept Car, a clear indicator of Volvo’s future design direction. In that car, the upper part of the doors is made of genuine light birch wood, the same colour as the salt- and sun-bleached piers and driftwood that are such a characteristic feature of Scandinavia’s coasts. Volvo thus marked yet another step on the road to natural wood décor. Anders Bergström feels it is perfectly natural for Volvo to lead this trend. Wood is a very Swedish material and Volvo Cars rests securely on its Swedish heritage. Much of the inspiration for the various wood décors comes from the Scandinavian wood and furniture industry.
“I believe firmly in future development of even more Scandinavian flavour in the choice of wood in our cars. I see ahead of me décor in blond wood varieties such as elm and ash,” says Anders Bergström.
Anders Bergström does not believe that the car industry will adopt a pinewood trend like the one that characterised Swedish furniture design in the 1970s and ’80s.
“We work with wood veneers and have high demands on quality. Veneers from most coniferous wood varieties are too thick and brittle to be shaped as we want.”

Integrating wood décor in cars involves much more work and craftsmanship than working with most other materials.
“We cannot have wood whose grain pattern does not match our design – the interior would end up being too fussy. Compared with the furniture industry, for instance, we work to far higher standards,” says Anders Bergström.
These high demands also stem from the car industry’s long tradition of demanding that all the materials used must be perfect in appearance. And they are not to age during the car’s entire lifetime.
“That’s a bit of a shame. Sometimes we would like to use materials that offer a bit more patina,” comments Lena Jiseborn, design director.
History has also given Volvo’s designers vital expertise. It was back in the early 1990s that the company first introduced a wood décor with a natural finish, offered as an exclusive option on a variant of the Volvo 850 known as the 850 T5-R. That car could be specified with a wood décor in genuine Nordic Silver Birch.

“That time we were unfortunately a bit ahead of the times. Not many customers specified that option. A few years later, other car manufacturers offered the same feature when the time was riper,” says Lena Jiseborn.

Volvo S40 DRIVe Green car of the Year

admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:14:09 +0000

2007 marked the beginning of what has proven to be a highly successful project at Volvo Car Corporation. Engineers faced the challenge of developing cars that would meet the levels required for government incentives of below 120 g/km of CO2 emissions. The team at Volvo Cars was convinced that it was possible to achieve efficiencies to bring the Volvo cars to the same emission levels as in smaller sized vehicles.

So far, Volvo Cars has presented two generations of the so called DRIVe range – models that are extremely fuel efficient with low environmental impact. And today, as a testament to the projects success, the S40 DRIVe has been awarded the prestigious What car? Green car of the year.

“Our target was set right at the beginning – we were going to do better than 120 grams, and we were going to do it without compromising the way the cars behaved. And that’s what we’ve done,” says Ulf Nordström, Industrial Project Leader for the DRIVe- initiative.

The project was given high priority by the executive management at Volvo Car Corporation and resources were available to quickly move from planning to testing and development.

No part of the car was left un-scrutinized when the project started working from an existing C30 with a 1.6-litre diesel engine. Aerodynamics, the powertrain, parasitic losses – all areas had to be looked into. The team started experimenting with modified spoilers, design changes to the front and rear of the car, and introducing underbody panels to improve the air flow. The chassi was lowered by around ten millimeters and air intake from the grill was reduced.

“The engineers in the aerodynamics group were incredible. They were given hammers and aluminium profiles and let loose to do what it took to get results,” says Ulf Nordström.

No performance sacrified
Throughout the project, it was important to the team that handling and performance should not have to be sacrificed for lower emission levels.

“We kept customer benefits firmly in mind throughout the process”, says Jonas Caspersson, Chief Powertrain Program Engineer.

Customers should be able to have a car that was highly efficient, with low impact on the environment and still fun to drive. In the end, many of the test-drives reported better acceleration, improved road-handling and higher comfort.

Start/Stop techinque added
During the process that led to the first launch of the C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe, the project team became convinced that it would be possible to improve results even further. In March 2009, at Geneva Motor Show, the next step was presented with the cars reaching emission levels of 104g/km through added Stop/Start technique and regenerative charge.

The second generation of S40 DRIVe is the car that has now been awarded with the Environmental Car of the year award from What Car?.
The project of improving conventional powertrains is part of delivering Volvo Cars ambitious roadmap in reducing CO2-emissions. The vision is to work towards a future that is entirely emissions free.

“This is an important step of the journey to reach the targets we have set in CO2 reductions and we will continue to look for improvements on our existing combustion engines. Combined with our electrification plans and the launch of the plug-in hybrid in 2012, Volvo Cars will be at the forefront in environmental care,” says Peter Ewerstrand, CO2 Director.

Volvo XC70

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:58:24 +0000

This car Volvo XC70 provides a wonderful Swedish flair with ample cargo capacity, supportive seats, lots of safety features and a standard all wheel drive. As far as its performance is concerned, Volvo claims that the car will reach the speed of 60 mph in just 8.5 seconds, the speed which is same as a full size SUV.

The fuel economy of the car says that it is 15 mpg in city and 23 mpg on highway. All in all, the Volvo XC70 provides a refined and smooth ride that befits the premium status of the car. The light steering, elevated gravity center and ample body rolling make it easier to handle any kind of terrains.

Because of its compact size as compared to other SUVs, it can be easily maneuvered in congested spots. Coming at a price of just $37,250, it will prove to be a great purchase for you as well as your family.

Volvo Nordic light – trend in wood décor