Tag Archives: Geely

Car Reviews

2017 Volvo S60 T5 AWD Dynamic

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Volvo S60 OK, but doesn’t distinguish itself …2017 Volvo S60

Volvo’s S60 is a fine, but underwhelming, compact, entry-level luxury car.

The S60 is nice looking and has all-wheel-drive, which will make it more useful to drivers in northern climes. It performs well, although its ride is rough, yet nothing really stands out.

Some will argue that its safety features stand out. That’s what Volvo, now owned by Geely, a Chinese firm, has hung its woolen winter cap on for years. Certainly the S60 T5 AWD Dynamic (quite a mouthful) that I tested had safety equipment, about what you’d expect on any car or crossover costing north of $40 grand.

For instance, there’s lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, collision warning with automatic braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection also with auto braking, plus distance alert. All those are swell, but are not standard. They’re part of an optional $1,500 tech package. It also adds active high beams, rain-sensing wipers and the ability for the car to read road signs so you’ll always know what speed you should be going.

I’m not pooh-poohing these devices, but nearly all car makes have these now.2017 Volvo S60

The test car also added an optional $1,950 vision package too that added a blind-spot information system (BLIS), plus rear park assist, cross-traffic alert, rearview camera, and a few other features. Again, others have these systems too, some come standard on other luxury, and non-luxury, lines. Continue reading 2017 Volvo S60 T5 AWD Dynamic →

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Car Reviews

2015 Volvo V60 T5 Drive-E

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Volvo nails the sports wagon with its new V60 Volvo2

First, there aren’t many true wagons anymore. Second, Volvo absolutely nails the V60, if you want your wagon to feel like a sports sedan.

I could have sworn I was in an Audi or Mercedes and barely noticed this was a wagon thanks to this Volvo’s generous power and nimble handling abilities. My gorgeous light “power” metallic blue V60 T5 Drive-E was a rocket, but one that would chop off corners and stick to the road like it was designed mostly for a spin around Road America.

The V60, which is an early release 2015 model, features a 2.0-liter direct injected turbocharged I4 engine that creates 240 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. You touch the gas pedal and it jumps to life, one of the livelier power plants I’ve driven lately.

The V60 is one sleek looking wagon!
The V60 is one sleek looking wagon!

The front-drive wagon has good grip too, thanks to 19-inch R-rated low-pro Pirelli tires. Pushing the car hard into high-speed corners it hunkers down and sticks like a racer. The down side is that the ride is overly firm, which could be a drawback to some families. However, 17-inch tires are standard and without the car’s Sport Package ($1,500) that includes fancy wheels, a sport-tuned chassis, plus paddle shifters on the steering wheel and overly tight sport seats, the ride might feel just fine.

Shifts from the 8-speed Geartronic automatic are fairly seamless and feature Start-Stop technology that shuts the car’s engine off at stoplights or any time it sits motionless for a second or so. You’ll notice it at first, but this Volvo system offers a less abrupt shutdown than the pricier Jaguar XJL I drove earlier this year. These type of systems are already being used on hybrid cars. Continue reading 2015 Volvo V60 T5 Drive-E →

Promo Models

Promo models from the country that gave us Saunas

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The U.S. isn’t the only country which likes making promo models

promotional model cars, volvo, savageonwheels.comSay what? So I’m perusing the model car auction sites, as I almost always do to see what’s up for auction and what cars in my collection are worth, when I come across a couple of Volvo’s, yup Volvo’s. Not from one of the plastic model makers here but actually made in Finland. By the way did you know that besides saunas the country is also famous for inventing ice skates, and virtual air-guitar. Bet you didn’t. But it’s most famous claim to fame is that it is the homeland of Santa Claus. That has to be pretty busy right now.

A perennial money-loser in a country with strong labor unions

promotional model cars, volvo, dealer promo modelsThe company started in Sweden which by the way claims on its web site “Discover a country where the moose is king, Pippi Longstocking is a hero and innovation rules”. OK, I guess that works for them. The car company was then sold in the early 30’s to, SKF, a huge company that makes tons of other stuff. Famous for safety innovations it was then sold to Ford Motor Company for $6.45 billion in 2000. Everything was hunky-dori until Ford decided that it wasn’t such a great idea to own the company and sold the Volvo Car Corporation in 2010 to Geely Automobile of China for $1.8 billion. The saga continues. I mean they make some really cool cars. Forbes magazine judged the 2013 Volvo S60 R-Design one of its top picks for “Fast Cars under $50,000”. It will go 0-60 in just over five seconds. That’s pretty quick.

Own a part of Volvo history

volvo cars, volvo, promotional model carsvolvo cars, promotional model cars, finnish promotional model carsRed Volvo right sideThe cream-colored one looks like a 240 GL, Volvo’s best-selling car from 1975 until 1982. The promo model has some nice details to it like the wheels and recently sold for around 30 bucks. The red one, maybe a two-door version went for much more, around $140. Note the stamping on the bottom. I had to contact the Volvo bottomvolvo promotional model cars, dealer promotional models, promo modelsseller eBay seller, edgedeepgreensea, to see how they got a hold of these cars who replied, “Yes interesting estate purchase the collector was in foreign services and lived in Italy for I think 9 years. He purchased lots of cars from all over the world. The collection was massive and I was only a buyer of a fraction of what he had. He seemed to love all cars”. He finished (no pun intended) by telling me that he has more cars on the way, this time from Russia. Can’t wait to see those.

Let’s end this blog entry with a language lesson

Anybody out there up on their Finnish? I liked this saying, “Älä osta sikaa säkissä.” Translated directly it reads “Don’t buy a pig in a bag.” OK, I guess, I get it, a saying, “Always make sure you know what exactly you are buying”. In this case it would be a promo model not built in America.