VW Scirocco

Se spune că va ieşi pe piaţă în 2009 cu premieră la Geneva. Vom vedea...

Volvo produce masina cu numarul 15.000.000

A fost nevoie de 81 de ani, însă Volvo a ajuns la a scoate maşina cu numărul 15.000.000 de pe linia de producţie. Maşina cu numărul magic este un Volvo C70 decapotabil şi a ieşit din producţie ieri la uzina Uddevalla din Suedia.

[Press Release]

15 million Volvo cars - history will be written tomorrow

The very first Volvo car left the factory on April 14, 1927. It was called the ÖV4 because the letters ÖV are Swedish for "Open Car" and 4 denoted the number of cylinders powering the new Swedish car.
On February 20, 2008, it is once again an open car that is under the spotlights. That's when car number 15,000,000, an attractive convertible Volvo C70, will leave the factory in Uddevalla.

In the first year, production proceeded at a modest pace, with 297 cars being sold in 1927. Emerging from the shadow of the global economic depression and Second World War, it took Volvo 23 years to build its first 100,000 cars. Today, that figure corresponds to about three months of production.

However, Volvo has never really been a high-volume manufacturer. Early in the company's history, it was decided that the brand name should signify quality and safety. Since the early 1970s, environmental issues too have come to the forefront of the company's corporate agenda. It is therefore no accident that Volvo was first off the mark with the world's single most important safety invention (the 3-point safety belt was fitted as standard to Volvo cars as far back as 1959) and with one of the world's foremost innovations in the environmental sphere (the 3-way catalytic converter with Lambdasond was introduced in 1976).

Many Volvo owners have over the years also expressed their appreciation of their cars' sensible, solid engineering. Functionality has always been important and this was confirmed when British motoring magazine AutoExpress undertook an ambitious survey about ten years ago to find out which cars are best and worst to live with from the owner's viewpoint. Two Volvo models took part in the survey, and both won their classes. The Volvo C70 was regarded as the best sports car and the Volvo S80 was named the best luxury car in stiff competition against considerably more expensive cars.

Today the Volvo brand is equally renowned for the attractive design of cars that reflect characteristic Scandinavian design traditions.

When that first car drove past the factory gates back in 1927, it proudly carried its "iron symbol" on the radiator grille. That mark was and still is a symbol of Swedish steel and quality. When car number 15,000,000 now leaves the factory in Uddevalla, that symbol is still carried with pride on the front and it still represents quality and solidity. The Volvo C70 is one of the absolute safest convertibles ever built. It is a functional and spacious car. And it is actually two cars in one as the three-piece retractable hardtop transforms the Volvo C70 from coupe to convertible at the touch of a button.

The stig is human!

Multă lume se întreabă cum au reuşit producătorii emisiunii Top Gear să păstreze secretă identitatea lui Stig. Nu ştiu, dar cred că le dă ceva bătăi de cap.

Dar, la urma urmei, nici Stig nu a scăpat de blitz-ul necruţător al fotografilor. Fotografia a fost făcută la Londra şi, evident că a inflamat imaginaţia jurnaliştilor. În poza respectivă se observă nişte ochi mari şi bulbucaţi. Însă în lipsă de altceva, nu pot spune decât că Stig pare să aibă ochi albaştri :)

Vrei extravaganta? Du-te la arabi!

Am înţeles că primul exemplar scos de pe linia de producţie costă sute de mii de dolari, însă trebuie să vezi clipul de mai jos ca să înţelegi de ce un fanatic plin de bani a dat 14,5 milioane de dolari pe o plăcuţă de înmatriculare pe care scrie "1".

Audi A4 Avant

Aţi văzut un break mai frumos sau mai bine închegat? Poate la Alfa Romeo, tind să înclin balanţa spre Audi.

Este de departe ce mai tare maşină de familie.