Volvo Exec Confirms S60 and S80 Facelifts for 2013, New XC90 Coming in late 2014

The press days of the 2012 Mondial de l'Automobile in Pars are long gone, but the first major car show of the fall season continues to provide us with news on future models.

Speaking to Autonews Europe on the sidelines of the show last week, Doug Speck, global head of marketing and sales for Volvo Car, said that the Swedish automaker plans a "major refresh" for two of its sedans.

These include the mid-size S60 that was only just presented in 2010, and the larger S80 that has been in production since 2006 having been modestly updated in 2010.

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Volvo XC90 "Delightfully Refreshed" for 2013 Model Year, Prices Start from $39,500*

Another new model year, another string of tweaks for Volvo's XC90 SUV that has entered its tenth year in production with no replacement in sight.

For the 2013 model year, Volvo claims that the mid-size SUV has been "delightfully refreshed" (their words, not ours), and that the result is "the most significantly updated XC90 since its launch a decade ago".

Apparently, someone at Volvo forgot about the 2006 facelift that brought several visual and mechanical upgrades including a redesigned snout and the introduction of a then new straight-six engine.

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C&D Nabs Official 2014 Volvo XC90 Design Proposals

By Volvo’s own admission, the XC90 was a “latecomer” in the luxury SUV market as it was launched in 2002 – some five years after the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and three years later than the BMW X5.

Nevertheless, Volvo claims that the XC90 has become “Sweden’s most valuable export product”, selling a record 85,000 units in 2005 and bringing in about US$6.2 billion to the company in its peak years. The U.S. has been the XC90’s number one market with 38,800 units sold in 2004 and 36,200 in 2005.

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2012 MY Volvo XC90 Receives Mild Updates in Europe

Despite being launched way back in 2002, the XC90 is still holding on in the sales front –even recording its best-ever year in the UK in 2010 with 7,000 units, and global sales of 37,000 cars. Now Volvo has decided to introduce some mild updates for the 2012MY.

Exterior modifications of the 2012 XC90, which will be available in October, include new LED day running lights in the lower front bumper, LED rear brake lights, a redesigned bumper bar, new six-spoke 18-inch alloys and, finally, the addition of roof rails to the standard specification of all trim models.

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Report: Owners Leasing Cars May Be Able to Make a Profit

With the recent surge in used car prices in the U.S., many people leasing vehicles have discovered the surprising fact that the market value of their automobiles is greater than the dealer’s quoted residual (buyout) price.

All a would-be lessee needs to do is buy the car from the dealer and sell it on privately. The dealer gets the residual amount and the former lessee pockets a tidy sum.

Take the example of a 2008 Volvo XC90. With more than twelve months left on the lease, the dealer’s buyout price was a quoted US$18,500. Compare this to the amount the lessee was likely to get by selling the car privately: a far more substantial US$27,000. That’s a profit of US$8,500!

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Heico Sportiv Redoes the Volvo XC90 SUV, Launches New Styling Package

Seeing that Volvo will be holding on to the XC90, which has been in production since 2002, for a few more years, tuning firm Heico Sportiv decided to update its styling offerings for the crossover model.

The newly developed bodykit is made from PUR-R-RIM plastic and consists of six parts. These include new front apron that replaces the series-produced central and side panels and has a stainless steel stay located in front of the cooling air outlet, side skirts that are mounted on top of the original parts and a new rear apron that accommodates the four-pipe sports exhaust system with oval chrome end tips.

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Volvo Introduces New 2.0-liter Five-Cylinder Diesel, Upgraded Six-Cylinder petrol engines

For the 2011 model year, Volvo is introducing a new five-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo diesel that will be available throughout its range while the Swedish automaker also upgraded the six-cylinder petrol engines offered on the S80, V70, XC70 and XC60.

The new five-cylinder diesel unit is in principle the same engine as the 2.4-litre diesel, but its displacement has been reduced (with a shorter stroke) to 2.0-liters. It will be offered in three different variants in terms of output.

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2012 Volvo XC90 - Allegedly Official Screenshot of Next-Gen Crossover

Since we don't like jumping on any 'bandwagon' without sufficient additional information, we not too eager to adopt Swedish car magazine Teknikens Varld's claims that this rather simple rendering depicts an early illustration of the next-generation Volvo XC90 SUV/Crossover. The screenshot allegedly comes from an internal video presentation and it appears to show a larger model than the XC60 crossover model with an even more station-wagon profile.

Via: Teknikensvarld

Volvo XC70 Pickup Truck Spotted Outside Volvo’s Museum!

A watchful reader over at our Swedish pals at “Bilfeber” scooped these pictures of two Volvo pickup trucks parked in front of the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden. While the six-wheeler XC90 LWB pickup truck is something we’ve seen before, the XC70 “El Camino” is a first –if you’ve seen it anywhere else, feel free to drop us a line.

From what we managed to find out, both of these cars seem to be the work of a Swedish coachbuilder called “Dalbo Fordonsteknik”. Call us weird, but we found the XC70 AWD El Camino’s design somewhat appealing. Maybe FoMoCo should look into building this one itself. What do you think? –More pics after the jump

Via: Bilfeber

2009 Volvo S80 & XC90 Executive Models

For the 2009 model year, Volvo is enhancing its most exclusive line-up, the S80 and XC90 Executive models with the addition of massage and ventilation functions in the front seats along with a range of improved materials and trim details.

Though it would have been nice if Volvo offered a nice tall Swedish blonde gal to do the massage, the front seats are actually equipped with five built-in inflatable pockets built that pump and drain sequentially to create a wave-like motion (adjustable at two hardness levels) that massages the lower back. -Continued

Other upgrades on the S80 and XC90 Exclusive models include new upholstery in perforated soft hide; new lumbar support setting that uses the same inflatable cushions for adjusting the massage function; centre console cover in soft leather; 8" wide VGA LCD screens integrated into the rear of the front seat headrests instead of the previous 7" units and a new analogue clock set into the wood inlay in the instrument panel.

Furthermore, S80 Executive gets additional ambient lighting in the door panels and storage compartments, and in the front cup holders and along the floor by the front seat, aluminium sliding cover in the front console and updated crystal glasses with an engraved Executive emblem. Finally the XC90 Executive features new hand-sewn leather in the door handles.

Geneva Show: Volvo “Ocean Race Edition” Models

Volvo has launched a series of specially designed cars dedicated to the sailing competition, “Volvo Ocean Race”. The new “Ocean Race Edition” range encompasses three models the V70, XC70 and XC90. Available in two exterior colors, Ocean Blue and Electric Silver, the special edition models feature full leather upholstery in Soft Beige or Offblack, with the centre console and other details in a silk matt aluminium finish. Additionally, the stitching on the upholstery traces its roots to sail making while the aluminium detailing on the mats resembles clews. -Continued

When Volvo organised the Volvo Ocean Race the very first time in 2001-02, the company sold 4,500 special edition Volvo V70s and X70s. In conjunction with the 2005-06 race, the Ocean Blue family was extended with the Volvo XC90 and sales increased to 8,600 cars. The most recent Volvo Ocean Race Edition will reach dealers in June 2008 and Volvo expects to sell about 9,000 cars. The five largest markets are Germany, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and Japan.