A question for the community: Volvo has just brought back its old CEO. What advice would you give him?
Some articles from yesterday:
Volvo Cars's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Rowan, will step down today. The company’s board of directors voted to replace him after three years at the helm of the Swedish automaker. Rowan, who was also the automaker's President, will be replaced by Håkan Samuelsson, who will serve a two-year term starting tomorrow.
- <https://insideevs.com/news/755067/volvo-ceo-rowan-steps-down/>
Samuelsson, who led the Swedish automaker for a decade from 2012 to 2022, helped to revitalise the Volvo brand and oversaw the company's initial public offering in 2021 on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Outgoing CEO Jim Rowan... joined in 2022 from Dyson without any car industry experience.
Rowan was an unconventional choice with a three-decade career in the consumer and technology sectors. But at the time, the automaker said Rowan's experience of digitalisation, disruption, innovation, engineering and supply chains would be valuable.
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volvo-goes-back-car-industry-163302812.html
Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST), majority-owned by China's Geely (Reuters), [has had its] share price [drop] almost 70 per cent since it was first listed in 2021. Things are about to get even more tricky for the car industry too, with US tariffs on imported cars and parts coming into play. Thanks to its Geely ownership, Volvo will also be affected by the US decision to ban Chinese tech in cars on its roads. (TopGear).
One must hope for the best!
ReplyDeleteOne change I'd like to see is LESS technology...buttons and knobs instead of these stinking touch screens...
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! My XC60 has far too much technology. It's a car, not a video game. If it weren't for the copious amounts of tech my car would be a 10 / 10. I love it otherwise!
DeleteAgree!
DeleteYes to that! Julia
DeleteNot just on Volvos but all modern cars
DeleteThe days of “keys and à heater” are long gone, sadly.
DeleteIf you can't do it with a push button, knob, or slider, it doesn't belong on the dash. And each control has to provide tactile feedback — nothing to pull your eyes away from the road.
DeleteSince I'm positively antediluvian, I would like to see the 240 return without all of the tech. Heated seats would be okay though. Julia
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeletePlease bring back the XC70.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes! Loved that car!!!
DeleteLonging for a 240 Nostalgia edition. If Bronco can do it…at a minimum, overhaul that screen/console - least intuitive system in any major car. Try not to mess with the XC90s. The ethos of the XC90s mimics that of the 240 at the height of its powers. But please fix that screen.
ReplyDeleteFantastic idea ; an updated 240 would be hugely acceptable.
DeleteIt would be great if Volvo could be Swedish owned again . Quality and reliability would be the result . Happy customers again !
DeleteIf we're going to get nostalgic, I'd like to see them license the Saab label and bring back the 900/9-3. A guy down the street from me still has one, and I'm a bit jealous.
DeleteOh man, where to start:
ReplyDelete- No model should be sold with wheels larger than 17", or tires with sidewalls shorter than 3". Huge wheels with teeny tiny tires make no sense.
- Warm up your interiors. The insistence on off white leather is not at all functional or welcoming.
- Build a wagon to compete with the Subaru Outback. If the Japanese can build an AWD wagon in Indiana for $30k, so can you. It's fine to have some higher trim levels, but starting your base models at $50k leaves a huge market segment behind. As the Outback looks more and more like an SUV, there's room in the market for a real wagon at a reasonable price.
- Hybrids are going to be a large section of the market in the US for the foreseeable future. Change comes slowly, and if hybrids are a bridge technology that bridge is long. Invest in hybrids.
Those volvo wagons used to be everywhere! Hardly ever seen them now.
DeleteThose I knew that owned one reluctantly switched to the outback. I'd love to be able to afford one.
Why not just buy an Outback (or the very-well rated Forester)? Cheaper to purchase, cheaper to maintain, and very long-lasting. I've never understood this community's fascination with Volvos (except for the P1800).
DeleteImagine driving around riding a Dyson...
ReplyDeleteThere is a Dyson hand dryer in the men's room of my office. I think it's called an "air blade." The air blows down, blasts the water off your hands and onto the floor, creating a puddle of H2O and slipping hazard for all involved. I suppose we should at least be thankful it doesn't require an app.
DeleteI'm familiar with those and not only do they deposit the water from your hands onto the floor but they will also deposit it onto the front of your trousers depending on how near you stand. Makes it look like you may have had a little accident!
DeleteWell you can just vacuum it up!
DeleteAndrew, isn’t that called a Tesla! :)
Delete@Sartresky, yes perhaps Dyson, bearing in mind their original product, should put a reverse button on the air blade so that once it's blown water all over you it can the suck it back up lol. What was wrong with paper towels?
DeleteAnd vigorously aerosolizing everything left on your hands and in the machine...
DeleteLess tech and fewer “features.” Instead, focus on better materials and build quality. Nobody ever regretted owning a reliable vehicle.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is still distraught over trading in her 20 year and 300k + miles 940 wagon even though she loves her XC70
ReplyDeleteI believe there are several beloved older cars that ought to be brought back in a way that looked, to the fullest extent possible, like the originals. A riff like newer Mustangs, Camaros, and Chargers does not cut it. The 240 would be on that list but so would be the old VW Beetle, the Mercedes pagoda, the Jag XKE, the BMW roundie, and the Porsche 356. Internally they can be as modern as they like.
ReplyDeleteThe old VW Beetle was my first car. (Mine was a 1964 with a 40 hp engine). It was loud and slow and required frequent maintenance (mostly oil changes and valve adjustments). Yes, it was inexpensive to purchase, good on gas, and easy to service. Would I want to own or drive one today? Heck no.
DeleteI would not buy another VW as they were in the sixties, but if the engine, suspension, interior, etc. were twenty-first century, yes, I'd like one.
DeleteGood news.
ReplyDeleteNow let's start building a (slightly) updated 240 without frills in America. Just a solid four-cylinder SWEDISH car at a reasonable price ... would be a big seller.
I'm in for that. Julia
DeleteI miss my old 242, now long gone, and I heartily agree with all of the pleas for lower tech and real buttons and knobs.
ReplyDeleteBring back the XC70, retro model, with less technology, while retaining some of modern comforts (heated seats, heated steering wheel, etc.).
ReplyDeleteThis.
DeleteBring back to trad 240 wagon, but include the spectacular Bowers and Wilkins sound system. No need to be complete neanderthals.
ReplyDeleteA wagon that lasts for more than 40,000 miles. No turbochargers needed, less tech, less software, etc.
ReplyDeleteBuild a 250k-mile, bulletproof station wagon with roll-down windows, manual seats, stick shift, and analog clock, and I will be first in line at the dealer!
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and lots of my parents' friends had Mercedes wagons that seemed to last forever--as in, it was their daily driver for decades on end. Recently, I asked a European car mechanic, "What's the equivalent car today? What car could I buy new and still be driving daily in thirty years." He said, "There's no such thing. Every car today is built to be disposable." Ugh.
@10:56AM, I'd say that the P2 platform 70 and 90 series Volvos have lasted really well, especially with the 2.5 and 3.2 engines. They were the last of the real Swedish Volvos, and lots are coming up on 20 years old now. Between the V70, the XC70, and the XC90, there must be a dozen in my little neighborhood, and they just seem to keep going and going as long as the owner does the maintenance.
DeleteI drive a mid-90's black 240 wagon ... and I love it. Despite its age, it has relatively low mileage. It's only nod to modernity are its electronic windows. Other than that [convenient] feature, it is as pure and chaste as the new fallen snow. But, I worry that the time will come when it cannot be repaired ... or, even worse, when my mechanic retires. My fantasy has been that Volvo produces some sort of "Reproduction" of my old classic. Maybe this fancy just might now come to fruition. Every time I am out and about, without fail, someone offers to buy mine and/or engages me in conversation about his/her regret in having sold theirs. It is a classic ... as always, collars up !!!
ReplyDeleteI will never buy a Chinese car so no more Volvos for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'll stick with my Subaru. Julia
DeleteNot a worry my friend, with these new tariff, the only car left to buy will be a retro-fitted Chevy Camaro with a hula skirted dash mount holding a Volvo emblem!
ReplyDeleteAh for the glory days! That is why we still keep our old, but very tried and trusty 240's, on the road!
ReplyDeleteThey need to put the chrome trim back on the XC60.
ReplyDeleteI think these new ones look awful.
The mirrors are black and no chrome around the windows or grill.
Please bring in a new design team!
Swedish owned
ReplyDeleteBring back a convertible
Among my fond memories of my two 240's was the tight turning radius. That car could make a U-turn in the narrowest of streets. I think probably due to it being rear wheel drive with the front end being unencumbered by any drive train. They were the last cars I owned that I could do most of the work on myself.
ReplyDeleteKeep making estates....That is all I need from them.
ReplyDelete