|
Well, your ideas are wonderful (and I am not, in any way, being sarcastic)...I am just wondering if they collide with the "profitability" scheme that a car manufacturer is looking to follow. Look what happened to Nasser, at Ford; one of the mai reasons for his demise was the fact that when he took over he called in ALL of Ford's suppliers and told them if they wanted to keep Ford's buisness they better speed up their delivery and, most importantly, lower the cost by (I don't remember the exact percentage) some ridiculous amount. The suppliers, not wanting to lose the business of a giant like Ford, conformed. But guess what gave? Quality...with all the disatrous results and also disastrous end for Nasser.
To address some of your points:
* The replacement for the C70 will be smaller and probably along the likes of the current Mercedes C-coupe (as far as size). I seriously doubt (based on what I know from Sweden) that it will be RWD as Volvo is not going to go down that path anytime soon. Volvo does not have the necessary "halo", if you will, to be shielded against a drop of sales that would most certainly doom such a car were it RWD.
* This is where I disagree with you, the most. Not because I own one, but the current V70 is a truly beautiful wagon! I know that this is all subjective but I have been driving Volvo wagons since 1994 and only when the 2001 redesigned version came I started getting unsolicited comments in many places (primarily parking lots, stoplights and gas stations) on "how beautiful this wagon is", etc. But as they say, beauty is on the eyes of the beholder! I just don't see how this car looks..."beastly"! I think it is very aerodynamic, sporty and when you drive it it definitely does not feel like you are driving a wagon...
* The 40, as a namesake, is not going to die. What is going to die is the current model. They will not use the current platform but a completely new platform based on the redesigned Focus chassis. You will see temendous engineering innovations and some of them may and will be incorporated this Fall with the introduction of the XC90.
* I believe that the Haldex is right, since Audi/VW have been using it for at least 16 months, now. Making every car AWD? Doubt it and don't need to. But what will be significant is that you will see AWD being "available" in many more models in the Volvo line-up rather than being limited (currently) to the S60 and V70. I am surprised you are kind of pushing for that since I take it you like RWD.
* Volvo has been using concept cars very well in order to come up with some of its current models. The S80 is a great example. It is extremely hard to be unique in this day and age when a lot of car designers are using common design principles and/or are borrowing looks from each other. As Volvo's design team keeps getting younger, I am also becoming more hopeful that they will keep bringing us updated "looks". The last of the Mohicans, so to speak, was the S/V70 where an old car was freshened up. Then you saw remarkably different cars from a completely different team under Peter Horbury.
GM has not room to talk about desing. I think that they produce the ugliest cars in the US if not in the entire world (excl. Corvette which is a gem). Chrysler has tremendous ideas but they produce the least reliable (least safe) cars and Ford is somewhere in the middle but have been successful in the safety department. And only the Aztec was a monster? What about the Buick Rendezvous, the monstrous truck line of Avalanche/Escalade, etc...or the new and upcoming Cadillac CTS...they are so wrong about that idea of the new, aggressive front with the sharp lines that they are going to fall flat on their faces. They will alienate their broad base of older clientele (the people with the money) and will not be able to attract enough baby boomers to counter that. I think that they will be in trouble...
Yannis
--
2001 V70 T-5M, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., Sunroof, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17' 'Tethys' alloys
|
