"The Common Gearhead" (thecommongearhead)
02/27/2014 at 12:35 • Filed to: Volvo, Sexy, Shooting Brake
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"The Common Gearhead" (thecommongearhead)
02/27/2014 at 12:35 • Filed to: Volvo, Sexy, Shooting Brake | 2
| 6 |
When will Volvo give us a chance to breathe? After making us swoon with the stunning !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! released just months ago, our fair-skinned friends from the great Scandinavian phallus drop this bombshell on us.
It's no secret that Volvo has been struggling as of late. The Swedish carmaker, famous for it's safe, reliable, boxes driven almost exclusively by hippies, moms, and tweed-laden professors, is butting heads with it's new Chinese parent company, Geely. The Chinese overlords want Volvo to compete directly with Mercedes and BMW, but Volvo would rather stick to its quirky, meatball and lingonberry roots, and stay loyal to its customer base. But regardless of whose vision is better, Volvo is still bleeding out profusely. Their sales slipped from 140,000 vehicles in 2004 to around 60,000 in 2013.
But this beautiful brown shooting brake, the third and final concept in Volvo's new design studies, is a beacon of hope that maybe things aren't so bad after all. In fact, they're drop-dead sexy.
Thomas Ingenlath, Senior VP of Design at Volvo, is responsible for all three concepts, and this is the pinnacle of his work. It represents a new direction for the ailing brand, and it's a strong return to many of the qualities that have made Volvos desirable to so many for so long. It is clearly a modern interpretation of the fantastic 1970s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but possesses so many characteristics that point to an exciting future.
The t-shaped LED headlights are as strong a signature as Thor's Hammer (I really hope that was the inspiration behind them), and the taillights are distinctive, elegant, and strictly Volvo. I think the panoramic glass roof is one of the best I've ever seen, because it looks essential to the design of the car, not simply tacked on to illicit oohs and ahhs from people who presumably haven't looked up at the sky before.
But as elegant and distinctive as the exterior is, the interior is even more promising. Volvo says that this interior design language is essentially a direct preview of things to come, and if so, me likey. The center touch screen is well placed and sized, and is integrated seamlessly into the flow of the dashboard. Nothing is outlandish and terribly bold, but everything is ergonomic, sleek, and practical, as we've come to expect from the nation famous for IKEA.
Perhaps this is a sign then that Volvo is alive and well and poised for a roaring comeback. They have clearly put the right people in charge of design and brand identity, and assuming they stick to their roots and soldier on, it's safe to say they have a future as bright as summer in the Arctic Circle.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to lie down on my couch for a minute. And yes, I bought it at IKEA.
EL_ULY
> The Common Gearhead
02/27/2014 at 12:38 |
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there was a managers meeting in Vegas last weekend where the finally completed production version of the XC90 was reviled. I asked my boss first thing on Monday who did it look. All he said was, "Wow... i'm telling you it is just incredible" No cameras were allowed obviously but suuuuper psyched!!
spanfucker retire bitch
> The Common Gearhead
02/27/2014 at 12:39 |
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It's like a C30, except I actually want to own one.
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> The Common Gearhead
02/27/2014 at 12:45 |
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Should they build this, I'd be seriously tempted to buy one. Even if they won't let us have a manual.
duurtlang
> The Common Gearhead
02/27/2014 at 13:22 |
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Volvo is still bleeding out profusely. Their sales slipped from 140,000 vehicles in 2004 to around 60,000 in 2013.
The US market continues to confuse me. In my tiny country of 17 million people Volvo went from 19,250 cars in 2004 to 24,500 in 2013. It was the #6 brand in 2013, closely behind #5 Toyota and ahead of #7 Kia and #8 Opel (GM). Their 2013 lineup was better than their 2004 lineup...
evilfacelessturtle (Hooning a Ford is Domestic Abuse)
> duurtlang
03/02/2014 at 20:18 |
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I don't understand it either. It seems like now, more and more people just buy whatever their friends recommend to them. So all the interesting or unique cars just get overlooked.
joekitch
> The Common Gearhead
03/03/2014 at 02:29 |
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ok, this is a straight up beautiful interior