Just read it in the news today.

Both Volvo & Saab requested Swedish government for financial assistance.


JPN

 

Hi JPN,

I would not be surprised to see this happen. There have been rumblings in the past regarding this, though nothing I have heard on the news here in Detroit in the past few days. Given that it has been talked about in the past, and considering the financial straits that the big 3 are in, you can bet that it is a consideration that's being discussed, and likely to happen. Ford certainly needs the cash and if theycan sell off the division, they will. No advantages to hold onto them at this point. There has even been talk of Ford selling off the Lincoln Mercury brand, soit's not a huge leap. Makes you wonder though, since Ford put a Ford guy into the Volvo top slot, will heget the boot once Volvo goes independent again?...

Having been intimately involved with this industry for over 20 years, my opinion is that these mergers / acquisitions (Volvo, Saab, others) should never have happened in the first place. But like the arrogance exhibited by the CEO's of the Detroit auto makers during the congressional hearings acouple of weeks ago, those decisions too, were more ego driven and followeda "me-too" mentality than they were based in common sense. Too bad we have to bail them out now, though for the good of the supplier base and millions of hard-working folks, it's the right thing to do.

 

Hi BMB,

Thanks for your reply.

I hope Volvo & Saab stay in business. The industry would be so boring, or even unbearable without those two Swedish mfgs.

I agree that Ford should not have bought so many auto mfgs around the world. On the other hand, Japanese mfgs are screwed up too. They keep laying off workers. Did they think of reducing the execs’ paychecks? I think not.

I hope to see Volvo coming back with true "R" models, now that they are to become independent once again. Or would they be bought by someone else? The time will tell.


JPN

 

Wait I think I missed something... When did Ford buy Volvo??? I knew that GM owned them for a while, then I thought they went independent.

 

Late 90's I think. GM never owned Volvo. They do own Saab, however. That may be what you are thinking about.

 

The sooner that happens the sooner the Volvo brand regains some of its former prestige.

 

I hope you're right about Volvo regaining its prestige once Ford sells them off and want to see it happen myself, justdon't hold your breath that it will happen overnight.

Volvo is cash strapped with poor sales volumes in the U.S. due to the weak dollar (it has started to come back more recently but that doesn't help the past two years) and low margins on products it sells in Europe. Couple that with Volvo having become homogenized with Ford due to Ford purchasing's global influence and you have a company that will take some time (and money) to become their own independant brand once again.

Back when AMF sold off Harley Davidson, HD was able to make some things happen pretty quickly because they were still a motorcycle company and not tainted by AMF, except for very poor management decisions of course. AMF was into sporting goods, so there wasn't alot of influence in HD's product design and homogenized materials purchasing that needed to be undone after they went independant,but that's not the case with Volvo, unfortunately.


I agree the Volvo name will carry them along, but that alone won't be enough to get them to the finish line. They'll either need cash infusion from the Swedish government (already being talked about), or for someone with deep pockets to buy them so they can fund the necessary r&d, styling cuesand engineering and advertising to make them truly unique again.

All that said, I can't WAIT for Ford to sell them off either!

 

 

Well you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info jks2.

 

Maybe if these Presidents Vice PresidentsCEO's & FCEO's & every other title thats invented to leach money from a corporation are forced by the govmnt to stop paying themselves more than the company is worth & the fact of owning more 3 & 4 mansions which I find to be so silly cause how many rooms can an average CEO occupy in those oversized house's, Then the fact of flying rather than driving the products they make. These companies lose money because they miss manage everything even the secretary has assistant administrative secretaries cant the secretary just do her work with out 6-7 assistant secretaries. I recently got into a Volvo & really like the car I'd hate to see them dissapear

 

↑I believe 96% of us here would agree.

A few days ago, I read another news that a Chinese auto mfg may buy Volvo...

.....[:@][8D]

.....I can only imagine the following:

- CEL on for 70% more often.
- ABS/TRAC warning on for 80% more time.
- Your tranny would fail 3 miles from the dealer after you boughtthe carbrand-new.
-Mysterious clang, click, thud, ding... hey, what was that I saw in the rear-view mirror!?
- Timing belt failing within the first 7,000 miles instead of 70,000 miles.
- Don’t even think about the evaporator, because you would go insane.

Mazda (also a part of Ford empire) should have bought Volvo, as Mazda seems to have contributed some technologies to Volvo (assuming something to do with the emissions control related, which is probably the major strength among Japanese mfgs).


JPN

 

What is up with Ford? Can they do anything right these days. Sell to the Chinese? It just seems like to me that the best brands in the world just keep getting passed around like afive dollar hooker...

I think we all here at volvoforums.com need to pool our money together and make a bid. lol Seems those of us that are love Volvo have more respect for Volvo than those who own Volvo.

 

That's because the worst brands are too big to fail. A conspiracy theorist might say it has something to do with the complete lack of anti-trust enforcement in the last 16 years (under both Democan and Republicrat administrations). But nah, that's just crazy talk. Everyone knows monopolies, oligopolies and cartels work better than free markets.

 

This might be wishful thinking but what if Volvo went Independent? I know it would be an upward battle for them to get back to where they were funds wise but maybe if they went Indy they could lower the price on them as well as make the cars more reliable so that they can beat Scion for the most reliable car out there. Don't get me wrong Scion is a good car, but until I bought my S80 I was going to be a Scion TC driver. Luckly Volvo has changed my mind drastically about that. LOL A Scion TC does not have Dolby Surround Sound nor have a button in the cab that can fold down head rests other wise known as my BSDB (Back Seat Driver Button).[sm=badbadbad.gif] From my experience with my First Generation S80 I've had a some problems with it. However, I did get it 9 years after it was made, but that is besides the point. The point is that maybe Volvo can come out of this on top and become their own company and blow everyone out of the water! But like I said above this might be wishful thinking.

 

Gotta love that button for the headrests. [8D]

 

Indeed. [sm=badbadbad.gif]

 

Scion is a brand by Toyota that targeted younger generations.

Toyota is currently in a significant debt and has discharged thousands of temp workers (same goes to the rest of all J@p mfgs). Toyota kept on going by bullying the parts suppliers and now it istheir time to pay.

Toyota is probably the best in terms of quality and durability, but I would still go for Volvo.


JPN

 

And that is what I did. LOL I think whenever my car meets it's final death, I will get a new Volvo. Probably another S80 but I like the C30, but that is if they can stay a float after this mess is over.

Does anyone know when Ford will sell Volvo or have they rethought the error of their ways and decided not to sell?

 

I have to agree with Toyota making the best cars.

Its all opinion though.

I had a 90 Celica that had way over 200k on it when I sold it. Looked like hell from an accident and had an oil leak (like every 5SFE 2.2L Toyota engine), but I still would have trusted it anywhere.

The SC is rock SOLID.

No problems. You can't even see the engine move at ALL when you pop the hood and marvel at its quality. I have a little over 174k on her right now.

Battery died...lol gotta get a new one. previous owner stuck this dinky *** battery in there. I am surprised it lasted that long.

 

Oh but as for VOLVO...lol.

If sold to the Chinese I would be disappointed.

China makes worse stuff than the US does as far as mechanical items go.

But then again, I don't own a newer Volvo. But parts would scare me.

If that were the case, I'd be sold on just buying from CarQuest exclusively.