A few comments...first a disclaimer, I am a Ford engineer and what I'm about to write is my personal opinion and in no way reflects anything official from my employer.

Ford is not "prostituting Volvo at every angle." True in this age of squeezed profits there are examples of collaboration - the goal seems to be to use the best of what's available though and still maintain brand identity. Consider that Ford committed hundreds of millions of dollars to safety research that is led by Volvo - why? - because Ford recognized Volvo is a leader in safety. The S40, although its platform was jointly developed with Ford/Mazda, retained Volvo engines and has Volvo-specific body structure components. Considering that the previous S40 was not known for being particularly good in any way and was a joint Mitsubishi/Volvo product, using the vehicle dynamics expertise of Mazda and Ford of Europe was arguably a better approach than what Volvo did for the S40 when it was independent. As another poster pointed out, consider the alternative - being a wholly-owned brand like Saab or even Jaguar where models are based on existing models from the owner (Jag X-Type, Saab 9-7X, etc) as opposed to the other way around (500/Montego based on the previous S80). The Fusion is another example where Ford took good things from one of its brands (Mazda in this case) and applied it to a Ford-badged car rather than forcing a Ford-engineered product onto Mazda (like the Mazda B-Series Pickup). Ford does in fact have a purpose, it's the same as the purpose of all (car) companies - they need to make money. But the purpose of each brand is well-defined - look at the "Volvo for Life" tagline, or "Zoom-zoom" for Mazda, or "Built Ford Tough" for Ford trucks. Am I happy to see Volvos using door lock switches that are shared with Ford vehicles, or seeing Volvo engines being built in Ford plants? No...but it could be a lot worse.

Now for the badge issue...Lee, you miss the point that Volvo needs to cater not to the tiny fraction of Volvo owners who are bashing Volvo in the forums but to the more common loyal Volvo owner who clearly isn't a VCOA member based on membership numbers, who probably isn't an online forum member, who was happy with their 240 back in the 80s, proudly displayed a metal badge on it, traded up to a FWD 850 and racked up 100k+ miles on it with the badges to prove it, and now is looking to display the first badge on their AWD S60 as it approaches 100k miles to continue the tradition - does this person care if it's a metal badge or a decal? I'm not sure, but they probably would be willing to pay for one if it came to that.

Zack
1980 245DL M46 285k
1988 745T+ M46 221k