Volvo Cars History

Volvo Cars History

Volvo Cars have a long and amazing history that spans over years and decades. Starting from 1927, to today, they have been manufacturing cars for over eighty years. And over the years, they have only improved.

Volvo Company, founded by Assar Gabrielson and Gustaf Larsson, produced its first car in a small factory at Hisingen, Gothenburg on the 4th of April in the year 1927. It was an open car with a four- cylinder engine and was called the Volvo OV4. They also produced the PV4 saloon. However, they were not successes and only 297 models were sold in that year. This was followed by two successful years with the PV651, the TR671 and the TR672 being released. Also, a more luxurious version of the PV651, called the PV652 was released. Volvo also bought the Hinsingen Factory where the cars were made.

In 1932, they passed a manufacturing landmark when they manufactured the 10,000th car. They made the first Volvo bus as well, which was called the LV70B. From 1933 to 1943, many new cars, buses and taxis were released. These were more modern and had many features that are seen in cars today. However after this, there was a difficult period for Volvo. The Second World War had broken out and this restricted the production of cars. But the year 1944 saw a significant change in the form of the Volvo PV444 and PV544. These dominated the Volvo car production till around the mid 1960's and even caught the interest of the American market. They also released the popular Volvo 120 which was also called the Amazon.

These cars were far safer and security was even then, a main concern. The first car produced the Volvo company was the P1800, which rose to fame with Roger Moore. By 1964, the Volvo Company was pretty much booming. They had set up a company in Sweden that was capable of producing 200,000 cars a year. In 1966, the Volvo 140 family came into the market and the company hoped to secure their position with them. There were both saloon and estate models of these released, hoping to catch different people in the market.

The Volvo Company was also evolving and many new features like crumple zones, rear facing child seats, collapsible steering columns, side collision protection, and three way catalytic converter. In the 1970's, Volvo sales soared with the release of the Volvo 240 and Volvo 340 series. In 1982, the Volvo 700 took the company into an exclusive market. The Volvo 400 replaced the 340 series and was extremely popular as it had more interior space and excellent road handling facilities.

In 1991 a new Volvo was released called the Volvo 850. It was the first front-wheel executive car and had a five-cylinder engine. It was a pleasure to drive and won great praise. They had proposed a merger with Renault but that did not come through. However, this turned out to be a boon for Volvo. This allowed the Volvo Company to develop the sleeker and smoother S40 and V40, which were instant hits. They merged safety, style and comfort and all of the other traditional values of the Volvo Company. With the 1998 Volvo S80 sedan the 1999 V70 wagon, they brought new meaning for the phrase 'traveling in style'. In 2000, the Volvo S60 came out and in 2002, the Volvo XC90 was released. In 2003, the Volvo S40 and V50 were produced and in 2005, the C70 was released. The year 2006 saw the release of the Volvo C30.

A Look At The Latest Technology And Import Dominance Of Cars

A Look At The Latest Technology And Import Dominance Of Cars

Honda is a dedicated automobile and motorcycle manufacturer that has gained a solid reputation when it comes to reliability and fuel economy. These characteristics have remained true even in this day of technological advancements and material improvements. Modern cars now come equipped with electronic nanny systems that will prevent you from crashing to a nearby tree and satellite navigation systems that try to ensure that you will not get lost in the process.

Import car manufacturers have strangely become the default choice of those who want a solid piece of engineering designed to conquer the roads with minimal fuel consumption and negligible maintenance costs as well. Toyota has become the worlds biggest car manufacturer and has eclipsed General Motors for dominance in the automotive market.

Honda in particular is one of the most favorite imports that offer safe, reliable and durable cars. The above mentioned characteristics are also present on popular imports such as Toyota, Mitsubishi and even Mazda. In fact, import cars share a common trait that is not found on most European and American made cars: the pocket friendly price. Hyundai is one such example of a rising star in the luxury and sporty class. Imports are known to provide more for the money and offer an impressive driving experience in the process.

Among popular imports offered in the market, Honda is considered different when it comes to engineering and design execution. The unique, quirky shapes are obviously the result of an engineers fascination with the local anime scene in Tokyo, Japan.

Consumers might not be made aware by the extent of engineering that is found on each and every Civic manufactured but the 8th generation Civic was designed inside and out to dominate the compact class. Couple this with the funky dashboard, electric power steering and drive-by-wire throttle control system and the competition stands no chance against this onslaught of technology.

The 8th generation Civic will be replaced by the much anticipated 9th generation model due for launch in late 2011 or early 2012. The sporty profile is designed to bring back sporty pretensions that were lost when the 7th generation Civic was launched in 2006. Expect more innovative and eye catching technology that Honda is known for upon launch. This is obviously an effort by Honda to inject more sportiness into the brand and abandon any sort of association with dullness.

Fans would have to settle for the S2000 until new wave of next generation automobiles are launched in the market. It is a common fact that Honda cars are now the preferred choice of yuppies and the older generation probably due to the easy to drive nature that is inherent in every single Honda that is sold in the market.

All of that will change once the company sorts out their priorities and finally come up with cars that stir the souls, similar to what older generation Civics are capable of. All of this is well and good as imports primarily serve an important purpose in the automotive scene: to prevent other manufacturers from becoming complacent and coming up with mediocre cars.

View Formula Honda's great variety