Volvo Cars has chosen the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to launch its new signature premium sedan, the S90, underscoring its long term commitment to the U.S. market and providing a clear sign of its confidence in continued sales growth in the coming year.
Volvo sales in the U.S. increased 24.3 per cent in 2015, with an especially strong performance at the end of the year with sales rising 87 per cent in October, 90 per cent in November and 89.9 per cent in December, driven by continued strong sales of the XC60 crossover and the new XC90 SUV.
“There are strong indications that Volvo is back on track in the U.S.,” said Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President of the Americas at Volvo Car Group. “We expect this strong sales momentum to continue in 2016, helped by the new S90.”
The launch of the S90 highlights the ambition of the Swedish car maker, following an $11bn investment and the recent breaking of ground in Charleston, South Carolina, where Volvo Cars will build its first American production facility, employing around 2,000 workers.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7709951-kbb-naias-2016-detroit/
At the home of the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally and on the Col de Turini, site of some of racing’s most memorable moments, Groupe Renault today announced plans for a new Alpine sports car, and unveiled the Alpine Vision show car.
“Motorsports and sports cars are deeply rooted in the DNA of Groupe Renault,” Groupe Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said. “Earlier this month we announced our return to Formula One with a Renault team, and today we are announcing Alpine. This is an exciting next step in our strategy to leverage talent and technology between road and track, and we look forward to reaching new customers in the sport premium cars segment.”
The show car Alpine Vision combines sensual design with outstanding agility, true to the great Alpine A110 Berlinette loved and admired by enthusiasts around the world. Alpine Vision is powered by a new 4 cylinder turbocharged engine, built by experts at Renault Sport, and its low weight will allow the car to achieve 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4.5 seconds - the target for the future production model.
Alpine will be managed by a small team of passionate experts within Groupe Renault, with one sole mission – to meet and exceed the expectations of the demanding sport premium customer. Michael van der Sande will lead as Alpine managing director, and Antony Villain will head Alpine design.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7762651-groupe-renault-unveils-plans-for-alpine/
For decades, drivers have been accustomed to accessing and driving cars with physical keys. But no longer. In a ground-breaking move for the automotive industry, Volvo Cars plans to become the world’s first car manufacturer to offer cars without keys from 2017.
Volvo customers will be offered an application for their mobile phones to replace the physical key with a digital key. The innovative Bluetooth-enabled digital key technology, will offer Volvo customers far more flexibility, enabling them to benefit from entirely new ways to use and share cars.
The new Volvo app enables the digital key on the customer’s mobile phone to do everything a physical key currently does, such as locking or unlocking the doors or the boot and allowing the engine to be started.
This new technology will also offer customers the possibility to receive more than one digital key on their app allowing them to access different Volvo cars in different locations – according to their changing mobility needs.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7761852-volvo-phone-as-key/
For consumers in the market for a new car, it can be difficult to keep up with all of the new—and newly redesigned—models that have been released since they last bought a car. Autotrader’s editorial team is helping consumers narrow down the many choices on the market today by selecting the top 10 vehicles that shoppers should experience for themselves. Announced today, Autotrader’s Must Test Drive vehicle lineup for 2016 includes a wide range of body styles to ensure that no matter what kind of vehicle a shopper is considering, the list will point them in the right direction for their next purchase.
“We created the Must Test Drive Awards to highlight vehicles that are unexpectedly good,” said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. “We have a chance to drive a lot of cars, but few leave us certain that shoppers are missing out if they don’t take them for a spin. The 10 vehicles we chose this year did just that.”
A car is typically one of the biggest purchases a consumer makes, and a recent Autotrader survey showed that 84 percent of consumers say it is extremely important to test drive a vehicle they’re considering. The top three things they look for during test drives are performance, comfort and handling. While 30 percent wait to test drive vehicles until they know the exact model they want to buy, 44 percent get behind the wheel when they’re still considering a few options.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7790751-autotrader-must-test-drive-awards/
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are hybrids with high-capacity batteries that can be charged by plugging them in. Although PHEVs do not have to be plugged in to be driven, they will not achieve optimal fuel consumption or maximum driving range without charging.
For an accessible version of this video, please visit:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/transportation/cars-light-trucks/buying/16221
The Toyota Prius v is the only midsize car out of 31 evaluated to earn a good rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s first-ever headlight ratings.
The best available headlights on 11 cars earn an acceptable rating, while nine only reach a marginal rating. Ten of the vehicles can’t be purchased with anything other than poor-rated headlights.
A vehicle’s price tag is no guarantee of decent headlights. Many of the poor-rated headlights belong to luxury vehicles.
The ability to see the road ahead, along with any pedestrians, bicyclists or obstacles, is an obvious essential for drivers. However, government standards for headlights, based on laboratory tests, allow huge variation in the amount of illumination that headlights provide in actual on-road driving. With about half of traffic deaths occurring either in the dark or in dawn or dusk conditions, improved headlights have the potential to bring about substantial reductions in fatalities.
Volvo Cars is teaming up with footballing icon Zlatan Ibrahimović again for the European launch campaign of the V90 premium estate in advance of the European Championships football tournament. The campaign will go live tonight on national TV stations and on Social Media platforms.
The new campaign shows the former Paris Saint-Germain striker, a long-time Volvo driver and fan, looking back at his rise from humble beginnings in one of Sweden’s toughest neighbourhoods in Malmö to international sporting stardom.
Zlatan, who is currently preparing for the European Championships feels a close affinity with the Swedish car brand.
“I’m happy to be working with Volvo Cars again. I’ve seen the new cars, I’ve driven and tested them. And I think they’re fantastic. Just like me, Volvo has gone their own way and dared to think differently. The previous campaign we did was good, but this time it’s Made by Zlatan,” said Zlatan Ibrahimović.
“The campaign is a celebration of the independent mind, of the power that lies in the ability to think differently. There are many similarities between Zlatan’s and Volvo’s journeys. We haven’t gotten to where we are now by doing the same as everyone else,” said Anders Gustafsson, Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa at Volvo Car Group.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7848551-volvo-cars-v90-campaign-zlatan-ibrahimovic/
Rare examples of classic cars can attract enormous interest from buyers, regularly breaking sales price records. Lauritz Lauritzen is the owner of one such car, Mercedes-Benz, cabriolet type B, model 320 from 1938 is the only one in the world produced at Mannheim Mercedes-Benz. Lauritz is excited about what price the car might fetch when it goes under the hammer in Denmark on June 26. The Mercedes represents the pinnacle of the German marque and only thirty-four cars were ever built.
This 1938c car is even more special as it is a top of the range ”Mannheim”-car further equipped with everything Mercedes could think of. In its time, it was probably one of the world's best cars. Today it presents itself accordingly - but only because the enthusiastic owner has put thousands of hours into it. Lauritz Lauritzen found the car in a barn in 1980 as a complete wreck, and the skilled Mercedes mechanic took on the challenge of restoring it to its former glory. Eleven years later the car was running again.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7861151-mercedes-resurrected-after-bomb-attack/
Volvo Cars has revealed performance-inspired R-Design models of the new S90 sedan and V90 estate.
Central to the S90 and V90 R-Design is an advanced sport chassis that delivers an energetic, road-hugging drive.
“R-Design delivers an edge to our elegant estate and sedan models in our 90 Series, with a winning combination of a sportier, more responsive, drive with clearly visible performance styling,” said Björn Annwall, Senior Vice President Marketing Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Cars.
Sporting a new front-end design with spoiler-integrated fog lights, the R-Design models come with a unique grille and piano black trim on both front and rear. A new 5-spoke matt black diamond-cut wheel adds to the performance feel.
A wide range of styling cues are included on the inside – from unique deco trim, pedals and mats, to the sporty contour seats and special steering wheel, including a high level interior illumination package that radiates attention to detail.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7866051-volvo-reveals-s90-v90-r-design-models/
Volvo Cars has revealed performance-inspired R-Design models of the new S90 sedan and V90 estate.
Central to the S90 and V90 R-Design is an advanced sport chassis that delivers an energetic, road-hugging drive.
“R-Design delivers an edge to our elegant estate and sedan models in our 90 Series, with a winning combination of a sportier, more responsive, drive with clearly visible performance styling,” said Björn Annwall, Senior Vice President Marketing Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Cars.
Sporting a new front-end design with spoiler-integrated fog lights, the R-Design models come with a unique grille and piano black trim on both front and rear. A new 5-spoke matt black diamond-cut wheel adds to the performance feel.
A wide range of styling cues are included on the inside – from unique deco trim, pedals and mats, to the sporty contour seats and special steering wheel, including a high level interior illumination package that radiates attention to detail.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7866051-volvo-reveals-s90-v90-r-design-models/
Modern technology is an amazing thing. We’ve been able to land a probe on Mars. We can clone animals. We have self-driving cars. There have been significant technological advancements in the past decade, but many people see workplace technology lagging behind.
Vonage’s new marketing campaign, “It’s About Time,” illustrates how Vonage is bridging this gap by providing modern, adaptive and intuitive communications solutions that enable businesses to communicate faster, better and smarter. To bring the campaign message to life, Vonage (NYSE: VG) executed a technology takeover at an office building in Atlanta.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7872651-vonage-business-tech-takeover/
Not a single small SUV out of 21 tested earns a good rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s headlight evaluations, and only four are available with acceptable-rated headlights.
Among the 21 vehicles, there are 47 different headlight combinations available. More than two-thirds of them are rated poor, making this group of vehicles even more deficient when it comes to lighting than the midsize cars that were the first to be rated earlier this year.
Headlight performance in today’s vehicles varies widely. Government standards are based on laboratory tests, which don’t accurately gauge performance in real-world driving. The issue merits attention because about half of traffic deaths occur either in the dark or around dawn or dusk.
As with midsize cars, the IIHS evaluations of small SUVs showed that a vehicle’s price tag doesn’t correspond to the quality of headlights. More modern lighting types, including high-intensity discharge (HID) and LED lamps, and curve-adaptive systems, which swivel in the direction of steering, also are no guarantee of good performance.
