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Volvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar, is an automobile maker that was founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden, as a spin-off from
roller ball bearing maker SKF. It was owned by Volvo until 1999,
when it was acquired by the Ford Motor Company.
Since the 1960s Volvo cars have had a reputation for safety in crashes, rather than speed or handling ability. The Volvo design team patented the 3-point seatbelt
but soon after released it to the public, making Volvo the first company to offer as standard equipment this restraint. Volvo
also was the first company to produce cars with padded dashboards starting in late 1956 with their Amazon model. In 2000, Volvo
introduced its Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), a safety device to prevent injury of front seat users during collisions.
However by the mid-1990s there was little to distinguish most manufacturers on safety when put through tests such as EuroNCAP. In the early 1970s Volvo acquired the
car-making division of the Dutch company DAF, and marketed their small cars as Volvos before releasing the Dutch-built 340 series.
Smaller Volvos are still built in the Netherlands.
Acquired by the Ford Motor Company
Volvo, one of the largest truck manufacturers in the world, took the initiative to sell its automobile manufacturing in 1998
in order to fully focus its efforts on the market for commercial vehicles. Ford on the other hand saw advantages in acquiring a
profitable midsize European automobile manufacturer, well renowned for its safety aspects, as an addition to its Premier Automotive Group. The buyout of Volvo Cars was
announced on January 28, 1998 and in the
following year acquisition was completed at a price of $6.45 billion USD.
Volvo now consists of two parts:
The Volvo™ trademark is now jointly owned (50/50) by Volvo and Ford. One
of the main promotional activities for the trademark is the sailing contest Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the Whitbread Around the World Cup. There is also a Volvo Baltic Race.
Car models
Volvo PV444
- Volvo PV
- Volvo PV36
- Volvo PV51
- Volvo PV60
- Volvo PV444
- Volvo PV544
- Volvo Duett
- Volvo Amazon/Volvo
122
- Volvo P1800
- Volvo P1900
- Volvo 66
- Volvo 140 (Volvo 142, Volvo 144, Volvo
145)
- Volvo 160
- Volvo 164
- Volvo 240
- Volvo 260
- Volvo 340
- Volvo 360
- Volvo 440
- Volvo 460
- Volvo 480
- Volvo 740
- Volvo 760
- Volvo 780
- Volvo 850
- Volvo 940
- Volvo 960
- Volvo S40
- Volvo V30
- Volvo V40
- Volvo S60
- Volvo S80
- Volvo S90
- Volvo V40
- Volvo V50
- Volvo C50
- Volvo C70
- Volvo V70
- Volvo V90
- Volvo XC50
- Volvo XC60
- Volvo XC70
- Volvo XC90
Engine types
- B4B and B14A - fitted into the Volvo PV and Volvo Duett from 1947 to 1956
- B16 (A and B) - fitted into the PV, Duett and Volvo Amazon from 1957 to 1960
- B18 and B20 - fitted into all Volvo models from 1961 to 1974.
- B21 and B23 - fitted from 1975
- PRV engine - developed together with Renault and Peugeot
- B230 - fitted to 240 and 700 series cars from
1985
- B234 - Twin cam 16 valve engine
- B30 - fitted to all 164 models
Gearboxes
- M40
- M400
- M410
- M41
- M45
- M46
- M47
- M50
- M51
See also
External links
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