the article is un the US, and AFAIK the V40 is going to be in the US, no?
and I am a Volvo owner and the family has owned multiple generations of volvo, from the base C30 2.4i FWD automatic to a fully equipped XC90 V8 passing by a 1989 740GLE that had over 640 000km on it when sold. They make very good cars but unfortunately they don't have the "badge factor" of the germans...
IMO they should bring diesel-plugin to Canada. That would be perfect for our distances.
US or Canada if one goes, the other goes with it too, even if we are in different "regions"... but again, a lot of SPECULATION at this point.
I am glad to see that you have had many Volvo's in your family. 3-4 years ago, a trade in came in..a MINT 1992 Volvo 940 Turbo Titanium... told my dad (who was 61 at the time) and he is in love with it. The car was bought new at Uptown and the gentleman had kept most of the bills and maintenance was done at the dealer (except for the last 2 years). I call it the TANK.
To my knowledge the US is NOT getting the V40..
It IS getting the V60 however.
What you say about the BADGE factor is pure bullshit... but bullshit that I will sell you because I KNOW for a fact that if you want to start comparing to the competition, and every-fucking one does it, Volvo is the one that makes the most sense. Without getting too technical, I can take a picture of something that came with my car in
1998 when NO ONE was talking about environement and social responsibility. Does that make it sound "GREEN" and "Hippie", a bit, but this goes to show you that Volvo thinks a HEAD of the curve and knows how to plan stuff out. Unfortunately, some ppl in the marketing department and Concept dept were sleeping for the past few years and Volvo has lost a LOT in terms of market share. Not being at Volvo anymore, I cannot give you the latest and greatest hush-hush news, but I do know from ppl in places of power that customers are coming BACK to Volvo.
A friend of mine has a colleague who bought an Audi A4 at Prestige in October. Got it for CHEAP moneys... I mean 450$/month Tax in for an A4 Quattro with Premium Plus and 1-2 options... Goes to Prestige St-Laurent for service and he tells me:"Worst fucking place ever... I had to go there 3 times to fix X problem. And get this, they would not wash my car!" I asked him.. "well, was it cold?!" He smiles and says: I went LAST WEEK (2 weeks ago). I mean, if you want a monthly payment and not want to have a car that won't fuck up on you... like the A4 or the C Class or the 3 Class, Volvo is your way to go. But like ALL GOOD THINGS, there is a premium to pay. And unfortunately, there are many dealers out there *cough Canbec *cough* that once you bought the car, they do not give 2 shits about you (Google search BMW Canbec Service) and get ready to laugh.
So in the end, it has to do with how much are you willing to pay to have: -Premium Car -Reliabiliy -Free Servicing (including brake job and BULBS) -Safety(Try City Safety, that is amazing.. use it once and it pays itself *(not an optional extra, but the price diff in car payment or price of competition should there be one) and comfortable drive.
