Volvo S40 2007 News

The car brand trumpeted as the world's safest will catch up with the pack next month. Volvo is at last making sure every car it sells in Australia is equipped with ESP and traction control as standard. It has yet to confirm details of the ESP upgrade, including prices, though all Australian cars coming off the production line this month – which means deliveries in June once they are shipped from Sweden – will have the system. “We can confirm that dynamic stability control and traction control will be standard on all Volvo models from May production,” says Laurissa Mirabelli of Volvo Cars Australia. While Volvo is talking up its ESP upgrade, it is also working to finalise details of next year's model line-up after an upgrade last week in Europe. They should be here by October, and the all-new XC60 all-wheel-drive wagon will be the headliner. The most obvious change, on everything from the baby C30 to the C70, is a larger Volvo badge on the boot. It picks up the prominence of the badge on the XC60 and the latest mid-sized wagons. The only other change across the range, though not confirmed for Australia, is exterior mirrors that fold flat for parking. “There will be some minor changes to Volvo's MY09 line-up this year, as there is with its models every year,” Mirabelli says. “The MY09s won't be here until much later this year and we're not in a position to confirm the extent of the changes yet, given we're still going through the business case process.” She says there are only minor tweaks to the range, apart from the XC60, and nothing big on the technical front. In Europe, there are minor tweaks to nine models and one of the best is an optional system called Homelink. It uses buttons integrated into the sun visor to operate remote-controlled home appliances such as garage doors, house alarms and lighting. There is an upgrade of the optional satellite navigation on the S40 and V50, a hard load cover is now standard on all C30s and the climate control is upgraded in the C70 with the addition of the Powershift gearbox already fitted to the C30, S40 and V50. The S80 flagship gets heated washer nozzles and chronograph-style dials in the dash.  

It has also moved to create more differentiation from the V5 wagon which will more closely resemble the upcoming V70.A number of refining design cues position the Volvo S40 sedan a visual step nearer to Volvo's S80 large luxury sedan.There will be no price change and both models will get trip computers and the option of active headlights across the range.S40 gets a new colour-coordinated soft nose for a broader, lower stance.There is also a new grille with a larger Volvo Iron Mark, new headlamps and a lower air intake that sweeps across the entire front unlike the current model's three-part design.V50 also gets a new black egg-crate grille with larger Volvo Iron Mark, new headlights and three sculpted lower air intakes.The lower part of the tail lamp panel on both the S40 and V50 is 30mm higher than before and the lamps have a new graphic layout. The brake lights are now long-lasting LED and the new bumper features integrated reflectors in the lower corners.The entire lower part of the front door inside panels was redesigned to provide more space; and the audio system loudspeakers were reshaped to free space for a new, larger storage compartment with space for an A4 format book, an upright soft drinks can or a water bottle lying down. Space was also freed for an extra Dynaudio loudspeaker in the Premium Sound option.The slim centre console is available in additional decor versions such as the Nordic light oak real wood inlay.The handbrake has a more compact design, freeing up space for more storage capacity in the centre console.On the back of the console there is a flip-up holder big enough for a 1.5-litre bottle. 

Previous Bathurst 1000 Winners 1963 Harry Firth/Bob Jane Ford Cortina GT 1964 Bob Jane/George Reynolds Ford Cortina GT 1965 Bo Seton/Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina GT500 1966 Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden Morris Mini Cooper S 1967 Harry Firth/Fred Gibson Ford Falcon XRGT 1968 Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland Holden Monaro GTS

The car industry uses a web of alliances to survive.Lust, affairs, one-night stands, engagements, marriages and divorces — it can be hard sharing your love. It can also be expensive, especially if the human analogy is applied to the car business.DaimlerChrysler's recent divorce cost the now-solo Daimler AG a cool $33 billion.Daimler and its former partner, now known by her maiden name of Chrysler Group, still share the kids.These include shared components and manufacturing, including the Chrysler Crossfire (based on the previous Mercedes-Benz SLK) and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which uses Mercedes' V6 diesel engine and transmission.Daimler-Benz and Chrysler courted in the late 1990s, sealing their association in 1998 with a new name, DaimlerChrysler.The marriage was mutually beneficial. Daimler gained economies of scale and a new customer for engines, transmissions and an outlet for its old platforms. The previous Mercedes E-Class shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300C.Chrysler gained unprecedented, cost-effective access to the drivetrains used to power its distinctively styled cars.Of the divorce, shareholders of Daimler- Chrysler spitefully said “I knew it wouldn't work”.Marriages may be difficult, but alliances are what keep many car companies afloat.All these inter-relationships are spurred by one goal — profit. So competitive is the car industry that every dollar counts.Making cars cheaper improves profits, even if that means relocating factories to countries with low labour costs, non-existent unions and tax-free government incentives.Few would know that 10 models on the Australian market are made in Thailand. South Africa makes five, there's one from the Czech Republic, three from Slovakia, one from Poland, four from Malaysia and one from Indonesia.Build quality in most cases is as good as you'd expect from a country-of-origin factory.The biggest difference is manufacturing costs. Building a Volkswagen Golf in Germany, for example, costs substantially more than building the same car in South Africa. Sharing components such as engines, transmissions, platforms and bodies with a rival company — or at least one perceived as being a rival — is big business.The platform of the Mazda3 is similar to the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Ford has a big chunk of Mazda's shares and owns Volvo outright.The Toyota Aygo, a one-litre hatch soon to be sold in Australia, is built in the Czech Republic with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. The only differences are interior trim, grilles, head and tail lights. Everything else, except the badge, is identical.General Motors has a giant web of ownership, component sharing and minor shareholdings. It owns Saab and Hummer, and rebadges cars including the Daewoo Matiz as Chevrolets.GM owned 20 per cent of Fiat until it dissolved the relationship in 2005. But retains component sharing deals and owns 50 per cent of Fiat's JTD diesel engine technology.GM also has 3 per cent of Suzuki (it had 20 per cent until selling down in March 2006) and 7.9 per cent of Isuzu.This relationship crosses with Fiat. Suzuki buys Fiat diesel engines for its European cars but also buys diesels from the PSA group (owner of Peugeot and Citroen) and Renault. Fiat this year will also supply diesel engine's to Saab.The Suzuki Splash, to be launched in Europe later this year is based on the Swift/SX4 platform, but will be rebadged the Opel/Vauxhall Agila for European sales.Fiat sells the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici in Europe.Suzuki also owns 11 per cent of GM-DAT, the Korean-based company that makes the Holden Epica, Captiva, Viva and Barina.GM sold its 20 per cent of Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, in 2005. Fuji bought back most of the shares, though Toyota bought in and now owns 8.7 per cent of the company.Toyota also owns Daihatsu and has a big stake in Yamaha. Yamaha has an engineering alliance with Toyota — twin-cam engine and multi-valve heads included — and recently created the V8 engine for Ford-owned Volvo.GM also gets its Saab plant in Sweden to make the Cadillac BLS mid-size car, alongside its Saab 9-3 and 9-5.The Hyundai Sonata's 2.4-litre engine is shared with the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Outlander.Renault has an alliance with Nissan and owns Samsung (Korea) and has a joint venture with Mahindra (India).Porsche's Cayenne SUV is built in Volkswagen's factory in Slovakia alongside the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. Porsche's Cayman is built in Finland. That's just the tip of iceberg.Peyton Place has nothing on these guys. 

Improvements to the S40 sedan and V50 wagon include a power boost for the turbo petrol T5, a six-speed manual for the diesel D5, cosmetic changes and better safety features.When the new models arrive in Australia later this year, the diesel D5 will come with a six-speed manual transmission option.When the D5 was introduced here in March, it came only with a five-speed automatic transmission. The manual transmission can handle the engine's full 400Nm of torque, compared with the 350Nm of the automatic gearbox.Volvo Car Australia public relations manager Todd Hallenbeck says the first allocation of diesel variants was small but has already sold out.“The idea of a performance diesel is still very foreign in Australia; where in Europe it is a growing segment above the larger diesel segment,” he says. Meanwhile, the new turbo-charged petrol T5 S40 and V50 models will come with a 7.5kW power boost.The sedan now resembles the new Volvo S80 saloon with a more profound nose, chrome-framed egg-crate grille, clear-lens headlights, 50 per cent larger Volvo badge and one-piece air intake with fog lights.At the rear, the smaller tail lights have light emitting diode (LED) brake lights and sit 30mm higher, while the exhaust pipes are larger and integrated into the rear bodywork for a clearly sportier look.The V50 Sportswagon gets a similar restyle, but retains the three-piece front air dam.Inside, the iconic Volvo floating centre stack has new controls. The armrest is now longer, flips 180 degrees to act as a table for rear passengers, has more storage and the iPod or auxiliary input connector is now underneath.There is also a more compact handbrake and the front-door storage has been increased.Instruments have been restyled, the Premium Sound system gets the Dynaudio speakers available elsewhere in the Volvo range and a redesigned remote key fob with automatic opening and closing for all windows and sunroof. The S40 and V50's safety improvements include hazard lights which activate when airbags are deployed.