The perennial quest to make sportier Volvo models continues at Geneva.
Here are the first official pictures of the “all-new” Volvo S60, which the company claims is sportier and more dynamic than any previous Volvo model.
It carries over the themes of the existing car and, as is the trend, raises the beltline and cuts down on the glass area.
The S60 is being unveiled to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in early March next year. Production of the sporty sedan model will start in early summer 2010 at the Volvo Cars plant in Ghent, Belgium.
The S60 can be equipped with Pedestrian Detection – a potentially important safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver does not react in time. It is currently in testing in Europe.
We'll have to wait and "see" about the visibility and rear seat headroom.
“The S60 looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car’s technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel,” says Stephen Odell, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.
What organization Odell will be working for next spring is unclear, as are the effects of a Volvo sale on customers.
Parent Ford Motor Company has confirmed that a consortium led by Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. Ltd. is its preferred bidder in the ongoing discussions concerning the possible sale of Volvo Car Corporation.
Ford said that while it will be engaging in more detailed and focused negotiations with Geely, no final decisions have been made.
Intellectual property, Volvo engineering and a guaranteed supply of parts to Ford after the sale appear to be the difficult areas that need to be addressed.