VP and volvo cars

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davidej

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I see that Ford are proposing to sell Volvo cars to the Chinese. I expect the the buyer will, sooner or later, transfer production to China just like Rowe (formerly Rover).

IDoes anyone know if VP part of Volvo cars and will it be sold as well?
 
Volvo Cars used to be part of Volvo group, but were sold to Ford quita a few years ago as they were not "core" business.

VP buy a 5 cylinder diesel engine from Volvo ( Ford) and marinise it/ call it the D3, much as they buy V6 and V8 petrol engines from GM and marinise them
 
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Volvo Car has not been part of the Volvo group for sometime.

I may not be fully up-to-date but from memory the main players within Volvo group are Aero (Malmo), Penta (Gothenburg), Truck (Gothenburg) and Construction Equipment (Eskilstuna). Most of the engines & transmissions are made by Volvo Components at Skovde.

Penta marinises engines made from within the group and also 3rd party, this includes CAT/Perkins for the evergreen 2000 series.

As a complete aside, during my career within automotive engineering I've visited Saab at Trollhattan and Sodertalje many, many times and I'm truly saddened to read of their recent demise. What a great bunch of talented people.
 
But what short sightedness from Ford! You dont sell your best assets to the enemy giving them a serious lift up in technology terms and keep the cr*p.

But I suppose the real problem is that Ford should sell Ford and keep Volvo, something that is no doubt unacceptable to those board members called Ford.

On a more general note, there was for a long time a pattern in British industry whereby the plant makers, people like Davy United or the machine tool makers happily sold equipment and know how to the foreign competitors of their home market customers. Next thing they knew, the home market customers were struggling and they themselves were more dependant on foreign markets. Not long and the plant makers were facing direct competition from overseas equivalents.
 
I don't think it's short sighted of Ford. It can't be their finest hour but it makes financial sense. It's high profile, perceived high value, can be packaged nicely as a disposition and will do wonders for their ailing balance sheet.

An interesting thought on UK plant and equipment manufacturers. I currently need to buy a new lathe. The sort of thing I need will cost >£150k. You can, of course, guess where it'll come from. That said, its capability is almost beyond my imagination. It will bear little to no recognition to the likes of Jones & Shipman or Colchester, for example, and boy have they been developed and continuously improved over the years. Just like cars and motorcycles and most other products for that matter.

Wonder when the Asian volume manufacturers will be exhibiting their lovely AWB's at the Boat Show?
 
Ford have turned Volvo into just another clone!

I have a Volvo 940 Estate, which I bought new nearly 17 years ago. It sits out in all weathers, and always starts first turn of the key. Built like a brick whatsit - a PROPER Volvo.

I also have a 06 reg Volvo S40. What a load of **** in comparison. Will definately not be having another one.
 
Rowana said:
Ford have turned Volvo into just another clone!

I have a Volvo 940 Estate, which I bought new nearly 17 years ago. It sits out in all weathers, and always starts first turn of the key. Built like a brick whatsit - a PROPER Volvo.

I also have a 06 reg Volvo S40. What a load of **** in comparison. Will definately not be having another one.
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Saab has been running on Opel/Vauxhall mechanical underpinnings for years. A long time ago the manufacturers realised that the only way to achieve the combination of competitive production costs and still offer buys apparent "choice" was to restrict the number of floorpan / mechanical options but "dress" them in a range of bodystyles.
Bavaria is already applying volume production line process to boat building and I suspect the Chinese may take it a step further.

I recall interviewing the GM boss who was going to run Saab after the GM takeover and he was genuinely sad at the prospect of having to shut down plants and fire people because the production was not cost effective. He cited the case of the seats.Whereas most makers sub-contracted seat production to an outside maker who supplied complete units direct to the assembly line on a "Just in Time" basis, Saab assembled their own , taking in almost 20 boxes of individual components per seat that had to be opened, sorted and then assembled. Unless Saab could have charged a "hand built" premium, it was not a runner.

There are many parallels between the changes that overtook the carmaking business and boatbuilding. Many famous and respected names of carmakers are now gone forever. Boats, thankfully, are more durable than cars, but are we on the road to seeing the number of large scale boat producers shrinking to a select few?
 
Rowana said:
Ford have turned Volvo into just another clone!

I have a Volvo 940 Estate, which I bought new nearly 17 years ago. It sits out in all weathers, and always starts first turn of the key. Built like a brick whatsit - a PROPER Volvo.

I also have a 06 reg Volvo S40. What a load of **** in comparison. Will definately not be having another one.
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I normally have the utmost respect for you.
Not this time. Very ill informed.
 
FullCircle said:
I normally have the utmost respect for you.
Not this time. Very ill informed.
Click to expand...

Well Jim, I drive both of them, so I know which one I prefer.

Old one, 160K miles, water pump replaced & also a new clutch at 100k. Towed a caravan (yes, I know) all over Scotland with it when the sprogs were little. Still on it's second battery. Never let me down yet.

New one, small oil leak reported when it went in for its service, but told "Nothing to worry about" by Volvo main dealer. It subsequently dumped all the oil all over my driveway and garage floor 2 months after expiry of warranty. Driveway STILL stained a year later. Oil seal gone, which required the whole engine to come out to fix. The stupid double flywheel arrangement was also knackered, and had to be replaced. I played merry hell with the garage & eventually got 50% knocked off the bill. Took it for another service last week to my local garage, as I'm never going back to the main dealer, and there is a problem with the sump plug, which means it has to go back yet again this Tuesday. It's only done 42k miles for fecks sake! Also various bits stamped "Ford Motor Company"

I stand by my original statement - It's a crock of $h1te :mad: :mad:
 
Just this once.
Bjorn designed and built your old car.
The same Bjorn designed and built your new car.
Henry J Ford III bought the Company and Bjorn still got paid.
Bjorn was put under no pressure to change what parts he put into your car
Henry offered synergies in Purchase, Quality Control, Logistics, Testing facilities, Dealership and Warranty Support and General Admin and Engineering Control software/infrastructure.
Bjorn barely noticed his new colleagues, as they didnt really interfere with much at all.
Bjorn was able to choose from a vast, well ordered and mostly well tested range of parts from a washer to a PSA diesel engine.
Bjorn did this. No pressure.
Bjorns mate Bjorn screwed it together in the same factory.

The only thing that changed much was that Sweden's finest was now designed in Sweden by Swedes, rather than by hordes of contractors like me in an office outside Colchester.

It is a matter of public record that your rosy tinted old Volvo ran forever, did 160MPH in -23c, lasted forever and never went wrong. You rnew one is but a shadow of its former car.
In every measurable way, your new one was quicker, quieter, more economical, cheaper than your old one.
 
It may be quicker, quieter and more economical, but it CERTAINLY HASN'T been cheaper! Cost me a fortune in repairs already.

What you say about Bjorn and his colleagues may be factually correct, but I think he's made a poor job of screwing it together considering the problems I've had with it.

I'll probably consider a Toymotor for my next car, since I've lost confidence in Bjorn.
 
Bjorn did a pretty good job on my previous 02 reg S60.

Some minor problems, e.g. it would eat engine mountings every few services, otherwise 95k miles covered with minimal hassle. My only regret is that I didn't go for the "full fat" T5.

dv.
 
To be honest Volvo Penta marine products and the Volvo owned by Ford have not a lot in common. However, I had Volvo cars for about 12 years, until I fell out with the local dealer about 3 years ago; they didn't seem to want to sell me a new £30,000 + car, I gave up in the end ! Volvo products are NOT the same as they used to be. Bjorn and Anders may still be there, but they are restrained by their foreign masters ( much as Tata dictate to Jaguar and Landrover what they can do; not a pleasant experience , in the engineering sense). The products produced in Belgium ( S40/V40/ V50 and previous 440 etc) were never "real " Volvos; they are a joint venture with someone like Mitsubishi I believe.

Anyhow, my experience with Voilvo cars;

1st: a 1994/5 850 GLT 2.0 petrol estate; pretty good and reliable, awfully slow but it was 2 years old with 85.000 miles on it when I got it. The aircon compressor failed and the tailgate interior trim fell off in the 30,000 miles I had it.

2nd; A 1998 V70 Estate; basically a facelifted 850, before Ford got involved; 2.5 petrol, best, most reliable car I ever had ( 120, 000 miles in 3 years, nothing but regular services)

3rd: a 2001 V70 (after Ford bought them) . 2.5 petrol. Fast, attractive, but awful build quality and design (trim and suspension in particular, where it was easy to cut cost). Plus the dangerous tendency to go into limp home mode when doing 70 + mph on dual carriageways etc ( well known cause , but unacknowledged unless you actually had the problem; 4 weeks in total at the dealer to sort it out).

4th ; a 2004 V70. Much better, but dodgy electronics (on a diesel !) and the front bumper had to be removed to change a headlamp bulb; totally stupid design. Plus the same problem with the front suspension drop links; never mind the £36 odd for the front wipers at 20,000 miles.

I have had 2 VP (GM) petrol engined boats; totally reliable, despite their more unhospitable environment!
 
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