Why Volvo Has Lost Their Way: an unsolicited opinion piece

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 08/30/2015 at 13:53 • Filed to: I roll, volvo

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Look at that. It’s brash. It’s aggressive. It’s an affront to what makes Volvo, well, Volvo. Lately Volvo has been making some of the best cars they have ever made, but there’s something missing. Or rather, something present that wasn’t there before. Panache. That’s not the Volvo that we all grew up with.

The reason that Volvos of yore were such good cars was because they were a blank slate. You start with a neutral, almost indifferent car, and any personality that it gains comes solely from years of loving ownership, as well as any personal touches and modifications that come with that. It is your car, and it reflects upon who you are.

It’s an incredibly personal ownership experience. Your Swedish slab is a giant brick of clay, and you get to shape it into something more. A Volvo can be anything you want it to be. A dowdy family hauler? A kayak-lugging lifestyle vehicle? An unlikely autocross candidate? You name it, your Volvo will become it for you.

Not so with these new cars. They’re too stylish, they have too much character. I want my boring Volvo back, please.

LongbowMkII > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:03

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Aside from the flare on the headlight corner there is nothing aggressive in the least about that XC90. It’s probably the most brick like Volvo since the 740.

Vicente Esteve > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:03

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The XC-90 brash?

I think it is the most restrained and elegant SUV currently.

If that is brash, then what do you think about the GLE Couple?

Big Bubba Ray > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:04

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While I love boring Volvo, new Volvo is knocking it outta the park with their cars. Have you seen the new XC 90 in person? Friggen gorgeous cars.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:09

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This post is definite proof that no matter what a car company decides to do or how well they are doing it, there will be someone complaining that they don’t like it and want it a different way.

Wobbles the Mind > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:11

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I just see it as Volvo and Saab did the Piccolo-Nail style fuse in order to better combat the Germans. I’M just waiting for Volvo to go standard AWD (for safety and due to the increasing use of electric motors).

Slant6 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:14

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My dad bought a XC90 First edition exactly like the one pictured because it was the least flashy in the luxury SUV segment.

dogisbadob > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:16

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Volvo really lost their way once they threw their safety reputation out the window with these new Chinese cars they’re bringing over. They’ll make Takata airbags look effective, paper fan crash structure :(

The best Volvos are the 2000-04 S40/V40 and the 850.

facw > LongbowMkII 08/30/2015 at 14:16

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XC90 is definitely brash. Its increased boxiness definitely makes it less elegant and refined than the old one (on the outside, the interior of new one is spectacular).

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/30/2015 at 14:18

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That’s just true of humanity in general.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:20

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True enough.

Hoccy > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:24

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Volvo still has that neutral, slab of a wagon. And I guess that you don’t get the ribbed budget models that they still sell in Europe. They can’t compete on price in the US, so they have to be a more premium brand.

Leon711 > dogisbadob 08/30/2015 at 14:29

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Wat?

El Rivinado > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 14:32

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I can’t tell if this is satire or said in earnest.

Either way, it's pretty good.

dogisbadob > Leon711 08/30/2015 at 14:33

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Yup, they’re selling Chinese S60’s and XC90’s now.

Leon711 > dogisbadob 08/30/2015 at 15:03

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What’s the big deal? they are still swedish designed cars, they aren’t slapping Volvo badges on some unsafe heap. I don’t get to experience Chinese Volvo’s because they aren’t available in RHD, so we get them wherever they are made in Europe be it Sweden or Belgium. Do you hold Mexican Toyota in the same disdain?

dogisbadob > Leon711 08/30/2015 at 15:29

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Maybe, but Volvo is owned by the Chinese. Mexican Toyotas may very well might not be as good as American and Japanese versions. And Mexican > Chinese anyway.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 15:48

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I do wish they were still more utilitarian, but with the Defender being retired we can’t even depend on Land Rover for that.

Leon711 > dogisbadob 08/30/2015 at 16:24

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I dunno about Mexican>Chinese Chow mein is better on my digestive tract than say Tacos. Back to cars, I don’t think there’s been an appreciable drop in quality since the ford days.

MultiplaOrgasms > dogisbadob 08/30/2015 at 16:26

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Well trolled my friend.

Richtofen, Baron von Pickup > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/30/2015 at 17:42

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You can hand some folks a gold bar and they’ll complain it’s too heavy and too yellow.

coqui70 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 21:22

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No ... we love our V60. It’s damn near perfect. Good performance and fuel economy, very stylish, comfortable (best seats I’ve ever had in a car). It’s a fantastic roadtrip machine and it’s affordable to boot. Would you rather they dissappeared as a car company? I think not. However I do think that there perhaps may be room in their model line for a more simple offering - something useful but in the 20-25K range. This could have some more of the 70’s - 80’s heritage styling. It would have to be built in China but then again it could be a strong offering there.

boxrocket > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/30/2015 at 21:42

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I’ve owned 2 Volvos, both 700-series wagons. I love their recent styling, and the new 90-series (XC,S, V? C?) appears to be very good as well, as a whole.

I do think they’ve lost their way to an extent. Not in design, because that’s important now (and modern Volvos are achingly handsome), but in propulsion, specifically, losing their RWD availability. While most consumers don’t know/care what wheels propel their vehicles (until they slip), and as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes have proven with their FWD entry-level vehicles that are sealing absurdly well, FWD vehicles aren’t unacceptable in luxury/near-luxury vehicles, the more prominent offerings almost need to be RWD or RWD-biased AWD, like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, Bentley, Roles-Royce, Porsche, etc. Volvo’s lumped in with the far-less-popular and less-prestigious FWD-dependent (with available AWD) brands like Lincoln (not including the Navigator) and Acura. Less dynamically interest and capable, and arguably less predictable due to the powertrain being over the drive wheels, plus the increased turning radius that comes with such packaging. Volvo builds the supposedly safest mass-production ICE vehicles in the world, and offer the best automotive seats I’ve yet encountered (including Rolls, Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, etc., but haven’t yet tried McLaren’s), but since the death of the original S/V90 series - R-cars notwithstanding - Volvos are hardly dynamically interesting, and have lost a significant amount of prestige. They need to return to their RWD roots - RWD-biased AWD is acceptable, too - ASAP. Consumers may not realize they care much about the driven wheels, but offering RWD for 60-series cars and greater will put Volvo on a more even footing with their most-direct and intended competition.

Oh, and put the fuel door( or doors, for plug-in-hybrids) on the respective driver’s sides of the vehicle. It’s not a big thing, but I’ve seen enough customers opt for a Lexus instead of a European car because they didn't want to walk around the car to fuel it.

Amoore100 > boxrocket 08/31/2015 at 22:21

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RWD doesn’t even annoy me that much in comparison to the loss of T5 and T6 engines...yes, I know the original bricks had I4s but the T5 and 6 are a part of Volvo culture of the last thirty years, distinctive and quirky, and I can’t stand to lose another part of their heritage...