An Interview with John Maloney

[seattle]

I'm not saying that this was an "ambush" or that Mr. Maloney wasn't aware, on some level, of what Swedespeed is. I just didn't get the feeling that he really cared about what some stupid message board nerds thought. It may very well be that Mr. Maloney's job is to do whatever it is that Mr. Jacoby says to do and say whatever Mr. Jacoby tells him to say. That could very well make one a bit robotic sounding like that part where he refused to open the pod doors...................... It all just read like the he was talking to his secretary's 5th grade son who was doing a report for school. The absence of vocal and facial variation does make it harder and I'll take our intrepid webmaster's word that there really was some enthusiasm in the room.


As for the assertion that Mr. Maloney is bad news simply because of his Ford career, I won't go that far. The press Bio does seem to indicate that he is, in his personal life, a Volvo fan and owner. I'm sensing more that he has not been given permission to speek freely. Still, Ford's last few years haven't been all that bad. They have acted like a car company that really gets where they went wrong and is on the right path forward. All this without either Emenem, Clint Eastwood or magically appearing gospel singers

You know who I'd really like to hear from is Doug Speck. It would be very interesting to know how he views VCNA from the other side of the pond as well as get his take on the North American Product Decisions.

[volvobuff]

As for the assertion that Mr. Maloney is bad news simply because of his Ford career, I won't go that far. The press Bio does seem to indicate that he is, in his personal life, a Volvo fan and owner. I'm sensing more that he has not been given permission to speek freely. Still, Ford's last few years haven't been all that bad. They have acted like a car company that really gets where they went wrong and is on the right path forward.

Granted, Ford has done better than GM or Chrysler in recent years, only because they sensed their problems sooner, albeit still too late. They did avoid the ignominy of a strings-attached Federal bailout, much to their credit. But Maloney was part of the old Ford, not the new Ford that "gets where they went wrong..."

Let me have a go at this issue from a different perspective. For the past three and a half decades, I have served as a design and marketing consultant to a number of European firms, all a lot smaller than VCC. These firms were run by intelligent people, smart businessmen, and had a more-or-less viable product lineup. Yet they were not succeeding in selling into our market, largely because they really didn't understand the American market and the American consumer. Even the few that spoke some English and had spent a bit of time over here, mostly on vacations, were totally clueless about the American élan, the dynamics of the American marketplace, and what motivates an American to buy or not buy their products. They looked simplistically at the size of the population in North America vs., say, Germany or Switzerland and saw only a huge potential market.

What they really needed was not just a tweaked product line but what the Germans call a Makler (=Swedish Mäklere), a go-between who understood both sides of the Big Pond and could help them bridge the two cultures. Some of my clients heard what I was trying to tell them, others unfortunately didn't. One of the latter went belly up about five years ago, even after having spent a fair chunk of change trying to sell their stuff over here. They just couldn't get their minds around what they were doing wrong.

Bottom line: what Volvo needs over here is someone in the driver's seat, be he/she American or not, who speaks Swedish and English (figuratively, not necessarily literally) and can see the landscape from both sides of the Atlantic. Who knows, maybe Doug Speck might with time even grow into that position.

[Excimer]

The problem is that now (as opposed to before) the go between will need to be fluent in American, Swedish and Chinese culture and language to succeed. The ability to be appropriately passionate and persuasive in all three cultural mileau is going to require a complete and comprehensive understanding of what America really is about. I think one may need to start listening to the US consumer a little more closely and then aligning with that consumer. Any one hear any of us saying give us fewer cylinders for more money?? Need to get my hearing checked.

[seattle]

Mr. Speck is now head of Marketing Worldwide - he better grow into someone who gets both sides of the ocean.

[Sausca]

VCNA should send us a $5,000 coupon for all the free advice we give them. If they were getting this from a focus group it would cost them that much.

[Excimer]

Really do not want the money - I WANT THE DIESEL! AND I WILL PAY FOR IT. Sorry I just am so tired of being told what I do not want and can not have. And all the really lame reasons why. Shutting up.

[chris@swedespeed]

the 3.2 along with a diesel

Now extend the diesel into the XC70 and the XC60.

Is there really some evidence that a whole new cadre of buyers will NOT be knocking on the dealer's doors? I am shopping an Audi Q5, a BMW X3 and a Tiguan and BAM it hits me that the XC60 diesel is all that and a bag of chips (figuratively speaking).

After owning a Touareg TDI, a diesel in a SUV makes sense and it is a very enjoyable powertrain. I was getting 21mpg city and 30mpg highway in the DC metro area, not bad for a 5000lb vehicle. Torque is what the larger vehicles need and the 3.2 does not provide enough in the XC90 or other AWD Volvo vehicles.

Jacoby knows the trials and tribulations of the getting the TDI into the US, if there is a case to made, I would like to think he could make it.

[chris@swedespeed]

VCNA should send us a $5,000 coupon for all the free advice we give them. If they were getting this from a focus group it would cost them that much.

I participated in a focus group at VWHQ last summer. It was an interesting experience. VW's ad agency, and some upper level managers participated with about 20 VW owners and enthusiasts from the VW Vortex community. They were exploring ideas not on products but programs/incentives to market products. They had about eight to ten concepts and they asked us to help refine to three programs they could take to leadership. The ones I remember included:

- 11yr/111,000 warranty - 1yr more than the competition and leveraged a 'take it to 11' theme
- 3mo/3000 mile Passat TDI "test drive", if you were not happy living with a diesel, you could return it.
- A program that would allow you to buy one vehicle and have access to others. Example: you buy a Beetle for a daily driver but when it comes time for a vacation, you could schedule a Tiguan or Routon minivan.
- $299 or $399/mo leases that allowed you to flip vehicles every 6 to 12 months - similar to the VW Employee program but available to the public.
- 6mo and 12mo short-term lease options tied into the Certified pre-owned program

The participants were divided up into 'teams' and we went through the pros/cons of each potential program and whether or not the public would be interested. The teams then prepared presentations to the group to try and convince the room, their particular program was best. The process was thought provoking and provided a new perspective on the industry and the challenges managers have bringing vehicle programs to market.

[volvobuff]

VCNA should send us a $5,000 coupon for all the free advice we give them. If they were getting this from a focus group it would cost them that much.

Well, we do get that $1,000 loyalty bonus every time we re-up our enlistment...

[pattyweb]

I participated in a focus group at VWHQ last summer. It was an interesting experience.

Wow, that really is cool. Those are all interesting options.

So which one did your team pick?

[chris@swedespeed]

The 3mo/3000mi Passat TDI test drive and the 11/111,000 were the top 2 for the ones most likely to be received by the American public. They may not have necessarily been the ones enthusiasts would have chosen but they seemed to make the most sense. There was another service type program that was in the top 3 but I can't remember what it was.

The enthusiasts seemed to like the short leases so they could flip cars

The idea of being able to buy one car and have access to another for special occasions was interesting and if the logistics could be worked out, a pretty compelling differentiator. But on the dealership side, I think it would be a nightmare. A combination of time-share, and service vehicle fleet management. I think that alone made it an unrealistic program.

The consultants they used were from the UK and they broke up the day with clips from British TV comedy shows that integrated with the various segment we were working. We did a lot of mind mapping type of techniques, word associations, core brand key words - mental exercises that got everyone thinking less about one vehicle and more about the brand as a whole.

[315 R]

I thought it was an excellent interview - well done. Not so sure I agree with everything Maloney had to say but so be it....

Given the relatively poor sales of the C30 - why don't they axe that model and bring the new v40 stateside? The C30 is a compact hatch that has little to no utility. Who is buying this car? College kids that don't want a Golf? Get rid of it.

The new v40 would be (a) an actual wagon and (b) a much cheaper alternative to the Audi, BMW, MB offerings. I wish that question was posed to him.

[seattle]

315 R - the C30 is a city car and I sell cars in a city. We have done very well with the C30 since day 1. We frequently park a C30 with the back end facing the sidewalk (as we're not an "auto row" store, the sidewalk is just an urban sidewalk) and even now we have quite a few people stop and point and smile and show the friend they're walking with that cool looking car in the window. The two questions these folks ask when they stick their heads in the door are 2) is that a new car? I didn't know Volvo made this - how long has it been out? and 1) does that come in AWD? It's true that, as Americans are programed to think that small means cheap and economy, that there are quite a few folks that are disappointed at the fuel economy numbers - they were expecting 28 city/38 hwy or something similar. And yes, there are a few that expect the car to cost a bit less although generally these folks are not familiar with Volvo as a brand beyond the 240. All in all, the C30 is a great city car with real curb appeal. While I would like to see a 4 door version of the C30, I for one do not want to see the 2-door go away. Now, if the hatch could be revised to open with a flat floor rather than it is now with just the glass shaped hole, I think that would really help sales

[inteller]

so how many sales do you lose because its not AWD

[315 R]

Seattle - it's a cute car. Don't get me wrong but if you're going to slap 2 more doors on it.....then you might as well bring over the all new v40 that comes with AWD. It's pricey for the segment and the Benz "A" whatever, the BMW 1 series and Audi A1 are on their way over state side. C30 sales are only going to go one way unless they dramatically boost the MPG and put Sensus in it.

I don't mean to knock it - its a nice car but the low volume sales aren't going to go anywhere but downward. My post wasn't meant to be a testament to the C30's short comings as it was a plea to see the upside of a fresh new v40 wagon.

[JPL Guy]

Really do not want the money - I WANT THE DIESEL! AND I WILL PAY FOR IT. Sorry I just am so tired of being told what I do not want and can not have. And all the really lame reasons why. Shutting up.

Excimer,

Getting past the "I must buy a Volvo and nothing but" mindset is a very hard thing go through, but once I did it and got the TDI I've never regretted it.

Volvo is going to do what Volvo is going to do.

Swedespeeders will to what they do (talk about what VCNA should do and wind up making very little impact on the actual decisions).

So to me it's not worth the effort to try and explain it to Volvo as everything I say gets filtered in a way that results in the same decision being made that they wanted to make all along despite my input. But I think of it this way: It's their company. It's my money.

If they want to go the way of Kodak, then I really can't do anything about it. Nor is it really my job to try and convince them otherwise. To me the gas-hybrid does not represent a "10-year and beyond" vehicle as it has too many battery charge cycles (Over 3000 in a 10-year life) and uses ethanol-laden fuels mandated in this country (with all the associated maintenance headaches of gas-powered vehicles plus lower fuel economy) and if I read it right it can't even charge its own battery. Ugh.

But Volvo has to keep in mind that people like me are not their customer base. They have to concentrate on the people who like to keep pumping their money into depreciating assets, otherwise Volvo will starve. So cut 'em some slack and go buy what you want when you're ready. If Volvo and you have similar offerings/desires, make the deal. If not, find it somewhere else and don't regret it.

[Sausca]

Excimer, ...

Swedespeeders will to what they do (talk about what VCNA should do and wind up making very little impact on the actual decisions).

So to me it's not worth the effort to try and explain it to Volvo as everything I say gets filtered in a way that results in the same decision being made that they wanted to make all along despite my input. But I think of it this way: It's their company. It's my money. ...

But Volvo has to keep in mind that people like me are not their customer base. They have to concentrate on the people who like to keep pumping their money into depreciating assets, otherwise Volvo will starve. So cut 'em some slack and go buy what you want when you're ready. If Volvo and you have similar offerings/desires, make the deal. If not, find it somewhere else and don't regret it.

Don't sell yourself short. I agree there is no evidence that VCNA is affected by the bulk of comments here, but think of that other thread about the very low customer retention rates for Volvo in NA. That's where the proof is in the pudding. VCNA can go on whistling in the dark, but the customers are moving on. Like to the TDI. We can be dismissed as a bunch of malcontents, but when the bucks move on that is harder to ignore.

[seattle]

so how many sales do you lose because its not AWD

Hard to say. Certainly, there are quite a few folks that buy anyways - it's a front wheel drive car with a tranverse mounted engine and standard traction control - as the car is fine for snow driving (unless you're a moron). Most of the ones I "lose" are likely the ones I barely talk to or never see at all as AWD is a requirement on their shopping list. What I do know is that it is a question I have gotten constantly since the car was launched.

315 R - How about a C40 and a V40? Honestly, the low volume of sales has as much to do with the low volume of inventory for me. Other markets, maybe not so much. Besides, with that new Gary Busey endorsement, things are bound to take off ! (goolge Gary Busey and dance or just check out the last Gary Busey appearance on TMZ. sigh)

[gascos80]

So cut 'em some slack and go buy what you want when you're ready. If Volvo and you have similar offerings/desires, make the deal. If not, find it somewhere else and don't regret it.

A lucid and an intelligent advice...Sausa, idmd, buff, et el...you might want to listen...

The tone of many threads lately reminds me some desperate lover who believes in a power to change the object of his/her attention because that object does not fit into the imaginary ideal inside of lover's mind...never works, my friends...my early-20th daughters know it...so should you...

[seattle]

It feels more like if I keep telling my "lover" how much I love her long, brown hair and then she shows up one day with a blonde pixie cut. I ask her why and she says " I thought you would like it". First off, I'm gonna wonder just why she thought I would like it. Then, I'm gonna figure out that it's not really me she's trying to impress, but her "tennis coach".

[goldenfooler]

[QUOTE=seattle;1847903]I'm not saying that this was an "ambush" or that Mr. Maloney wasn't aware, on some level, of what Swedespeed is. I just didn't get the feeling that he really cared about what some stupid message board nerds thought. It may very well be that Mr. Maloney's job is to do whatever it is that Mr. Jacoby says to do and say whatever Mr. Jacoby tells him to say. That could very well make one a bit robotic sounding like that part where he refused to open the pod doors...................... It all just read like the he was talking to his secretary's 5th grade son who was doing a report for school. The absence of vocal and facial variation does make it harder and I'll take our intrepid webmaster's word that there really was some enthusiasm in the room.


As for the assertion that Mr. Maloney is bad news simply because of his Ford career, I won't go that far. The press Bio does seem to indicate that he is, in his personal life, a Volvo fan and owner. I'm sensing more that he has not been given permission to speek freely. QUOTE]

Am I the only one who can actually admire someone who will only talk about something he can talk about.
IF you have ever worked in a place or knew information that was not supposed to give out at the wrong time.... its HARD not to talk about something that you want to buzz about. Maybe his answers were "I can't talk about it" were because then other questions would be raised and he can't hint at those things.

I am sure before a show like this everyone will sit down and say don't say this or that. He followed his lines and did what he had to do.

On the wagon debate, not many people come to me wanting one. ( I sell in Jersey)
When we had any allocations for V50's nobody wanted to buy one. My area just sucks for those small wagons(I like them), at that price point.

Hybrids will sell better, but what we need is more advertising. It has fallen off the planet again. . Foot traffic has dropped off this past month and 1/2.

[gascos80]

It feels more like if I keep telling my "lover" how much I love her long, brown hair and then she shows up one day with a blonde pixie cut. I ask her why and she says " I thought you would like it". First off, I'm gonna wonder just why she thought I would like it. Then, I'm gonna figure out that it's not really me she's trying to impress, but her "tennis coach".

...at which point you know what to do...find another person with the long brown hair or start loving a blond pixie cut and hope that you are more important than the tennis coach...

[George@Swedespeed]

Guys, I wanted to interject here because I have a lot of interview experience and also because I've known John Maloney since before the P2 R era. He's a good guy and, though he's ex-Ford, he's one of the most enthusiastic Volvo execs I've ever met... enthusiastic for the Volvo brand. He's owned multiple Rs and is a huge proponent of Volvo's motorsport endeavours from the At Speed Racing days until now. He's made all of that happen.

So first, an admission. We had to re-create about 3/4 of this conversation as we had a recorder malfunction that was my fault. Remembering the conversation between those of us in the room, we recreated the questions and John and the PR person in the room were patient and kind enough to recreate the answers. As such it may read a little more manufactured than the natural flow of conversation but the content remained.

On the content, here's the challenge for guys like John. VCNA is effectively an importer. They're a large importer, but an importer. I'm not privy to the specific level of say that they have but usually this means high level product strategy takes place in the home market (or maybe China now as well) and that high level strategy such as 4-cylinder hybrids being the new push now is something that likely isn't even a decision for him. Diesel may have been a market decision but also covering the Audi beat I know some of the costs that go into this analysis. To run a diesel in America and meet BIN5 requirements you need to do some sort of urea injection. Smaller cars with 4-cylinders may not need this but larger and heavier cars or larger engines do. On one hand, the Volvo D5 is one engine that htey could develop and install in all of their product. Even still, there's no guarantee of success and now that they're not at Ford they can't apply economies of scale across large volumes as Audi does. The VW/Audi 3.0 TDI goes across the VW Touareg, Audi Q7 and soon Q5, A8 and maybe A6. The volume associated is much higher and the costs can then easily be pushed out further to even Porsche Cayenne or even more.


Given all of this, diesel may not have been a good decision for Volvo. We all would like to see it but it probably would have added a very high cost premium to models in which it was offered, which I’m guessing was modeled out and deemed uncompetitive. That stinks, but it’s the basic thing that these guys model out and mull over. And their job security isn’t based on how enthusiastic guys like us are, they’re based on sales growth and we’re a minority.

Hybrids sell better in the USA and there’s no BIN5 requirement on the production of a hybrid. More than likely VCNA and VCC people were involved in modeling this out and the safer bet was larger market (hybrid) and lower investment to bring to market (petroleum).

Last, on John. He IS an enthusiast. When he has time, John does read this site. He doesn’t post, but rest assured he reads this and that is something most car manufacturer presidents can not boast of. Likely some comments in here do frustrate him but more likely (if I were him) I would be frustrated by the lack of direct understanding of the market pressures these guys are under. These are the same people bringing K-PAX racing, Polestar ECUs, etc. Still, they have to work under the confines of a company in a phase of rebuilding that has to choose its battles and plan its growth carefully with the more limited resources is has in an era no longer attached to Ford. In that regard, I think they deserve appreciation. It's a lot easier to armchair it than it is to actually do. There are things I'd do differently too but at the end of the day they're trying very hard and the upward trend in sales suggests they're on the right track. With renewed growth come more resources and more chances to build specialty/enthusiast product.

[315 R]

It feels more like if I keep telling my "lover" how much I love her long, brown hair and then she shows up one day with a blonde pixie cut. I ask her why and she says " I thought you would like it". First off, I'm gonna wonder just why she thought I would like it. Then, I'm gonna figure out that it's not really me she's trying to impress, but her "tennis coach".

lol - I enjoyed this

[Excimer]

Brown haired lover issues aside (I do not think I know enough about analysis to tackle that one), my hope is that some part of my argument will resonate with someone at Volvo. I do not believe that just because Toyota sells a 1,000,000 cars in the US and 10% happen to be hybrids (they ain't selling diesels here) that I buy into the validity of the statement that "hybrids sell better in the USA". Pick a manufacturer that sells both diesels and hybrids - say VW Touareg. Which model is selling more the hybrid or the diesel? Around my neck of the woods the hybrid is easier to find than the diesel. The dealers said that they are having a harder time selling the hybrid than the diesel. Why am I stuck on the Volvo? Because my existing one has been so good. I have not seen such trouble free motoring since my 1998 MB Gwagen and Mercedes quality has taken such a nose dive that I hope to be able to stay with Volvo.

[gascos80]

Brown haired lover issues aside (I do not think I know enough about analysis to tackle that one), my hope is that some part of my argument will resonate with someone at Volvo. I do not believe that just because Toyota sells a 1,000,000 cars in the US and 10% happen to be hybrids (they ain't selling diesels here) that I buy into the validity of the statement that "hybrids sell better in the USA". Pick a manufacturer that sells both diesels and hybrids - say VW Touareg. Which model is selling more the hybrid or the diesel? Around my neck of the woods the hybrid is easier to find than the diesel. The dealers said that they are having a harder time selling the hybrid than the diesel. Why am I stuck on the Volvo? Because my existing one has been so good. I have not seen such trouble free motoring since my 1998 MB Gwagen and Mercedes quality has taken such a nose dive that I hope to be able to stay with Volvo.

But if your experience with Volvo is so good, why can't you be equally satisfied with the small 4-cyl gasoline engine, which is a current Volvo strategy? Why it should be the diesel and nothing else? Remember, that Volvo does not bank its successs on the hybrid. This notion was invented by the SSiers somewhere in the middle of a heated discussion...

[Sausca]

Guys, I wanted to interject here because I have a lot of interview experience

BUT NOT ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO RUN A RECORDER.

and also because I've known John Maloney since before the P2 R era. He's a good guy and, though he's ex-Ford, he's one of the most enthusiastic Volvo execs I've ever met... enthusiastic for the Volvo brand. He's owned multiple Rs and is a huge proponent of Volvo's motorsport endeavours from the At Speed Racing days until now. He's made all of that happen.

HE’S MADE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPEN?

So first, an admission. We had to re-create about 3/4 of this conversation as we had a recorder malfunction that was my fault. Remembering the conversation between those of us in the room, we recreated the questions and John and the PR person in the room were patient and kind enough to recreate the answers.

SO MUCH FOR ANY SEMBLANCE OF JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY. THE INTERVIEWEE AND HIS PR PERSON GET TO RECONSTRUCT THE ANSWERS.

As such it may read a little more manufactured than the natural flow of conversation but the content remained.

On the content, here's the challenge for guys like John. VCNA is effectively an importer. They're a large importer, but an importer.

I THOUGHT THEY WERE A SUBSIDIARY. PART OF THE COMPANY. NOT SOME THIRD PARTY.

I'm not privy to the specific level of say that they have but usually this means high level product strategy takes place in the home market (or maybe China now as well) and that high level strategy such as 4-cylinder hybrids being the new push now is something that likely isn't even a decision for him.

WHAT IS YOUR BASIS FOR SAYING VCNA HAS NO ‘INPUT’INTO THIS DECISION. THE US IS VCC’S LARGEST SINGLE MARKET AND THE “IMPORTER’’HAS NO SAY. HARD TO BELIEVE. IF YOU ARE CORRECT IT IS DAMMING, THAT VCC WOULD MAKE SUCH DECISIONS WITHOUT INFORMATION FROM THE US MARKET.

Diesel may have been a market decision but also covering the Audi beat I know some of the costs that go into this analysis.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? BE MORE SPECIFIC.

To run a diesel in America and meet BIN5 requirements you need to do some sort of urea injection. Smaller cars with 4-cylinders may not need this but larger and heavier cars or larger engines do.

ARE YOU SAYING VOLVO IS “LARGER AND HEAVIER” THAN THE AUDI AND VW?

On one hand, the Volvo D5 is one engine that [THEY] could develop and install in all of their product. Even still, there's no guarantee of success and now that they're not at Ford they can't apply economies of scale across large volumes as Audi does.

ARE YOU SUGGESTING AUDI HAS A GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS?

The VW/Audi 3.0 TDI goes across the VW Touareg, Audi Q7

THESE ARE THE LARGE VOLUMES YOU ARE REFERRING TO?

and soon Q5, A8 and maybe A6. The volume associated is much higher and the costs can then easily be pushed out further to even Porsche Cayenne or even more.

Given all of this, diesel may not have been a good decision for Volvo.

WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? ARE YOU AGREEING WITH THE DECISION NOT TO BRING DIESEL TO NA?

We all would like to see it but it probably would have added a very high cost premium to models in which it was offered, which I’m guessing was modeled out and deemed uncompetitive.

WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR YOUR ASSUMPTION THAT IT WOULD BE “VERY HIGH COST PREMIUM” ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW IF IT WAS MODELED OUT.

That stinks, but it’s the basic thing that these guys model out and mull over.

AND WHAT IS YOUR BASIS FOR THAT?

And their job security isn’t based on how enthusiastic guys like us are, they’re based on sales growth and we’re a minority.

Hybrids sell better in the USA and there’s no BIN5 requirement on the production of a hybrid. More than likely VCNA and VCC people were involved in modeling this out and the safer bet was larger market (hybrid) and lower investment to bring to market (petroleum).

WHAT WAS THE BASIS FOR YOUR “MORE LIKELY”?

Last, on John. He IS an enthusiast. When he has time, John does read this site. He doesn’t post, but rest assured he reads this and that is something most car manufacturer presidents can not boast of. Likely some comments in here do frustrate him but more likely (if I were him) I would be frustrated by the lack of direct understanding of the market pressures these guys are under.

HE HAS A VERY SYMPATHETIC AUDIENCE. IF IT DOESN’T UNDERSTAND, HE HAS NO ONE TO BLAME OTHER THAN HIMSELF.

GIVE HIM ANOTHER INTERVIEW.

[Excimer]

As you may have noticed I am looking at BIG vehicles. MB GL, Touareg, S class, and XC90. I want AWD and good range and mileage in a large vehicle that swallows 1500 to 1800 mile trips easily. It needs to be able to tow (I own and need to sometimes tow a horse). Seriously, do you think the 4 cylinders are going to be able to do this? My V8 can. A diesel could. Please remember that I am not looking at the c30's and the s60's. I am talking specifically about the big vehicles that Volvo makes - XC70 and XC90. I am fine with whatever they want to put in the smaller vehicles but I bought my xc90 because it is big and powerful and swallows highways very quietly and comfortably. I did not buy the Touareg because the ride was a little too stiff (personal preference) and I could not stand the ergonomics of the electronics. Volvo's 2010 system was much better for me. I just do not understand the hybrid/small 4 cylinder strategy in a big premium vehicle. It did not work for the 940 and it will not work for an xc90/xc70/s80. Especially in the US where the distances are not like driving from Boston to New York for multistate travel. This country is bigger and the highways much longer than in Europe. Ergo....DIESEL. JMHO.

[volvobuff]

...what we need is more advertising. It has fallen off the planet again. . Foot traffic has dropped off this past month and 1/2.

Actually, there has been a flood of new Volvo ads on the tube in prime time just within the past week. I saw three within just two hours of casual viewing a few nights back. There are apparently two new 30-second spots, one for the S60 and the other for the XC60, that have been very well written and produced and should have good appeal for the NA customer.

[pattyweb]

One set of issues with Volvo that the interview didn't addressed and nobody is asking is

1) what is being done about the molasses pace that Volvo works at
2) the problem that Volvo has admitted itself that it's too hands on designing too many of their own parts
3) That models just don't get updates frequently enough.

Whatever path Volvo chooses, I hope that should it not go according to Volvo's plan, that Volvo can adapt a lot quicker than it seems capable of doing today.

[pattyweb]

For those that are curious about hybrid vs diesel sales, enjoy:

http://www.hybridcars.com/news/decem...ing-35093.html

Looks like the VW Tourag diesel outsold the hybrid 9 to 1. But still, those are some low sales for the diesel. With those numbers, is it worth it to have an XC90 diesel? Seems like all SUV diesel sales are very low.

The Prius just outsells everything by such a ridiculous margin. The next closest seller, still getting beat almost 3 to 1, was the VW Jetta diesel.

For the record, I don't really care whether they all of a sudden choose to bring diesel, or stick with the 4 cyl plan, or bring over a hybrid. However, I believe they should think long and hard if their only plan besides 4cyl is to bring over a hybrid with a premium north of $10k.

[volvobuff]

It feels more like if I keep telling my "lover" how much I love her long, brown hair and then she shows up one day with a blonde pixie cut. I ask her why and she says " I thought you would like it". First off, I'm gonna wonder just why she thought I would like it. Then, I'm gonna figure out that it's not really me she's trying to impress, but her "tennis coach".

Mmm, yes, but being an automotive kind of guy, I guess I'm just more interested in what's under the hood...

[idmd]

Likely some comments in here do frustrate him but more likely (if I were him) I would be frustrated by the lack of direct understanding of the market pressures these guys are under.

Well I think he (you) has to take this for what it is.....an enthusiast site with some car professionals but many who don't know their ass from the elbow (me). This is an interesting place to lurk because no matter how unrealistic or crazy or unfair we are he gets our honest opinions about their products, where they're going and we're we'd like them to go. For instance I CAN'T BELIEVE the V40 is not coming here. I can already picture all the little yuppy kids in Westport driving one but I have no idea what the hurtles are getting it here. I don't really care though - that's Volvo's job to determine if it's feasible - not mine.

A lot of what I read on here are totally legitimate gripes and concerns that never the less may not be easily fixed even if Mr. Maloney agrees.

That's life!

[gascos80]

As you may have noticed I am looking at BIG vehicles. MB GL, Touareg, S class, and XC90. I want AWD and good range and mileage in a large vehicle that swallows 1500 to 1800 mile trips easily. It needs to be able to tow (I own and need to sometimes tow a horse). Seriously, do you think the 4 cylinders are going to be able to do this? My V8 can. A diesel could. Please remember that I am not looking at the c30's and the s60's. I am talking specifically about the big vehicles that Volvo makes - XC70 and XC90. I am fine with whatever they want to put in the smaller vehicles but I bought my xc90 because it is big and powerful and swallows highways very quietly and comfortably. I did not buy the Touareg because the ride was a little too stiff (personal preference) and I could not stand the ergonomics of the electronics. Volvo's 2010 system was much better for me. I just do not understand the hybrid/small 4 cylinder strategy in a big premium vehicle. It did not work for the 940 and it will not work for an xc90/xc70/s80. Especially in the US where the distances are not like driving from Boston to New York for multistate travel. This country is bigger and the highways much longer than in Europe. Ergo....DIESEL. JMHO.

As you might notice, I drive large vehicles exclusively too. To answer your question directly - yes, I am absolutely sure that 250HP, 250 ft-lb 4-cyl turbo gas engine can do everything that you have mentioned with competence...the only thing that would be missing - high gasoline bill...

I had 2.5T (207HP) before and I have V8 now...there is nothing today that I could not do before...and both, my wife and I drive a lot - 20K per year on each of 2 vehicles we drive...

Lastly, with the vehicles of this size and weight, the TDI has no real advantage...as I shown a few comments back - the Q7 TDI has exact same mileage as the current XC90...and that is with much more expensive fuel...so, unless you are OK with the smallish D5 in Volvo that has much worse performance than the new 4-cyl line, and is much less suitable to your needs, there is no any advantage of having diesel, besides the word "diesel" itself...

Yes, no, maybe?

[Excimer]

But I think time will tell. It does not look like I will get to try the diesel in the US so I will likely be trying some behemoth with a turbo 4 in the future. Will see what it is like to pull a horse trailer to southern Jersey for a show. Gotta be honest that I really do not think this is going to be a good experience. Please also note that the mileage on the Touareg was better than the Audi. Not sure why except the usual weight and gearing. Also do not think the torque will suffice BUT I sure hope you are right because I will not have any gratification in being right.