The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid – another world-first from Volvo Car Corporation

At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Volvo Cars will be unveiling the V60 Plug-in Hybrid – a virtually production-ready car with carbon dioxide emissions below 50 g/km, which translates into fuel consumption of 150 miles per gallon.

In 2012 Volvo Cars will be the first manufacturer on the market with this new breed of hybrid – which is the result of close cooperation with the Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall.

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid features the very best properties from three different car types in one sports wagon. This includes a possibility for the driver to drive up to 32 miles on pure electricity.

“This second-generation hybrid is the perfect choice for the uncompromising buyer who wants a carbon dioxide-lean car packed with driving pleasure,” says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

D5 engine and Electric Rear Axle Drive
The front wheels of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel, which produces 215 horsepower and maximum torque of 440 Nm. The rear axle features ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) in the form of an electric motor producing 70 horsepower, which receives its power from a 12 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The car features a six-speed automatic transmission.

“In order to get true car enthusiasts to think green, you have to offer them the opportunity to drive with low carbon dioxide emissions without taking away the adrenaline rush that promotes genuine driving pleasure. The V60 Plug-in Hybrid has all the traditional properties of a genuine sports wagon. What we’ve done is to spice it up with spearhead technology,” says Stefan Jacoby.

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be revealed at a press conference in Geneva in March

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Global race for better service

There is a growing interest in Top Team, Scania’s global competition for service personnel working at dealers and workshops. The winners: Scania owners and drivers all over the world.

Scania’s Top Team competition is now under way around the world. Teams of service technicians and specialists in 46 markets have been honing their skills and competing to qualify for the regional finals, with the world final in Södertälje in October 2011 as their ultimate goal.

The main purpose of the competition is that the participants should increase their knowledge of Scania products, work methods and tools. Other goals include strengthening the cooperation and to boost motivation among the workshop staff. The competition also enables participants to gain practical experience equivalent to numerous hours of training.

“Skilled service technicians give customers quick, correct service,” emphasises Anders Gustafsson, head of Service Operations within Scania. “For Scania, this enables us to service more vehicles and to ensure that we have more satisfied customers.”

When the first such competition took place in Sweden in 1989, its aim was to raise the status of an occupational group that rarely attracted attention at the time. But today the situation is different. Once simply skilled workers, parts and service staff have increasingly assumed the role of problem solvers.

“Today, above all, it is a matter of listening to the customer and interpreting symptoms,” says Dan Löfgren, who is in charge of services development efforts within Scania Services and Parts Operations. “With the increasingly advanced electronics, trouble-shooting software-related problems has become more and more complex.”

The competition emphasises the importance of teamwork. It reflects the growing need for collaboration both on the service workshop floor and between parts and service specialists.

“Solving problems together reduces the pressure on each individual while improving the chances of getting vehicles back on the road quickly,” Löfgren says.

There is increasing interest in joining the Top Team competition. In the 2010/11 round the number of contestants and the number of qualifying rounds has been larger than in previous competitions. Löfgren is convinced that participation helps strengthen the professional identity of the service market staff.

“The competition gives them a unique chance to measure their skills on equal terms against colleagues from around the world,” he says.

The Top Team competition 2010/11

• The 6,000 participants come from 46 markets
• Regional finals – three in Europe, one each in Asia and Latin America (including South Africa) – take place April through August
• The two best teams from each regional final continue on to the world final
• The world final takes place 14–16 October 2011 in Södertälje.

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STRONG GROWTH IN SALES OF DYNAFLEET ONLINE

The sales of Volvo’s Dynafleet Online telematics system had a fantastic year in 2010. The Dynafleet Online portfolio increased by more than 40% which means that today more than 15,600 vehicles across Europe are actively connected to Dynafleet Online.

“Dynafleet Online provides our customers with an easy, reliable and affordable tool to track both fuel and the environmental impact of their operation. Recognising fuel saving opportunities becomes more important in tough economic times and Dynafleet Online can create savings in any customer operation,” says John Russell, Business Solutions Manager at Volvo Trucks.

A new version of Dynafleet Online was launched before Christmas which includes an improved customer interface, Google maps integration for easy route planning, and traffic light reporting. A new service packaging gives increased flexibility to customers, who can now tailor their own solutions according to their specific needs. Services include ‘Fuel and Environment’, ‘Positioning’, ‘Driver Times’ and ‘Messaging’.

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JAGUAR CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ICONIC E-TYPE

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of one of the most famous and desirable cars in automotive history – the Jaguar E-Type.

Jaguar will be celebrating this special anniversary year at high-profile motoring events throughout 2011.

The company will mark the anniversary at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and go on to celebrate at Goodwood’s Revival and Festival of Speed, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Nurburgring Old Timer Grand Prix and a host of Jaguar customer, dealer and lifestyle events worldwide.

When it was launched in 1961, the appeal of E-Type transcended the automotive world. Such is the inherent rightness of its proportions, stance and purity of line, that it is a permanent exhibit in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

The now iconic E-Type set new standards in automotive design and performance when it was launched in 1961. Its influence is still apparent in Jaguar’s modern range: cars that offer a peerless blend of performance, comfort, cutting-edge technology and award-winning design.

“Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type,” said Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director Jaguar Cars and Chairman Jaguar Heritage.  “It was a sensation when it was launched, and remains Jaguar’s most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguar’s founder, Sir William Lyons.”

E-Type owners included celebrities such as George Best, Brigitte Bardot, Tony Curtis and Steve McQueen and the sports car became as synonymous with the Swinging Sixties as the Beatles and the mini skirt.

“It is impossible to overstate the impact the E-Type had when it was unveiled in 1961,” said Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director. “Here was a car that encapsulated the spirit of the revolutionary era it came to symbolise.  The E-Type is a design that even today continues to inform the work we do in styling the Jaguars of the future.”

Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, Jaguar’s E-Type caused a sensation. Capable of achieving 150mph, but costing a fraction of the price of rivals with similar performance, it was the affordable supercar and became an instant icon – remaining on sale for 14 years.

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VOLVO TRUCKS LAUNCHES iPAD MAGAZINE

Volvo Trucks is beginning the new year by launching a new magazine that has been specially configured for iPad and written in English to target a global reading public.

‘Volvo Trucks Magazine’ will feature stories about life on the road, articles about technology and product development and analyses of important issues facing the industry. Topics may include anything from how to minimise fuel consumption to how to increase safety belt use. In the first issue, for example, we meet two record-holders: the world’s fastest driver and record-holder for the Standing Kilometre and Asia’s best driver in the eco-driving challenge.

“We are always on the look-out for new ways of reaching our target groups,” says Tommy Kohle, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications at Volvo Trucks. “We see this as a useful and effective way of spotlighting issues that concern our company, the breadth and depth of our technical expertise and, not least, the exciting assignments carried out by many of our customers.”

Volvo Trucks has a long tradition of communicating with customers and other players through editorial articles, both in print and online. Now the company is taking yet another step forward by focusing on tablet computers, starting with the iPad.

“As a knowledge company, it’s natural for us to lead the way and explore new communication channels. We want to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the iPad format, so we have included plenty of films and interactive material,” explains Kohle.

‘Volvo Trucks Magazine’ can be downloaded – free of charge – from the AppStore.

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Back on track with a Scania engine

A Scania-powered train in the Entre Ríos province in northeastern Argentina is a social and economic boost to an area that has spent almost two decades without rail transport.

“The difference between this and a traditional locomotive is simply unbelievable,” says engineer Domingo Ava.

During the 1990s, almost all of Argentina’s passenger transport rail lines were closed, causing numerous small villages to suffer crushing economic decline and high unemployment. As a result, the social fabric came apart, generating waves of migration towards larger cities.

The province of Entre Ríos was no exception to this trend. For years and years, inhabitants of the towns dotting the edges of the railroad that ran between Paraná and Concepción del Uruguay called for the service to be reinstated. In 2007, with some serious and coordinated effort, a group of residents repaired a locomotive engine and a few abandoned carriages. Their project had the makings of an inspirational film: locals and ex-railway employees travelled together on an abandoned train repaired by their own hands, riding past platforms packed full of cheering and waving villagers.

Today it seems that this popular demand for rail service will finally be fulfilled; the line connecting Paraná with Concepción del Uruguay will soon be up and running again. Bit by bit, things are going back to how they were, and Scania is one of the engines behind this change.

For power, the train uses a Scania 12-litre engine with 400 hp at 1,800 r/min, which allows it to reach speeds of up to 120 km/h.

The two cities lie almost 300 kilometres and 24 stops apart, according to the provincial government. The train which will serve the line comprises two coupled vehicles, one with an engine and the other without. Both of them have a driver’s cabin at the far end so that the train can go in either direction without having to be turned around at the end of the line. The engine car makes use of the latest technology, and it was built from start to finish in the workshops of Material ­Ferroviario SA (Materfer).

“The main aim was to develop a motor coach that is modern in every respect: the technology, the internal architecture, the aerodynamics and the design,” says engineer Roberto Fieg, manager of the company’s rail business unit.

For power, the train uses a Scania 12-litre engine with 400 hp at 1,800 r/min, which allows it to reach speeds of up to 120 km/h. However, the train’s top speed was limited to 80 km/h on account of the rails’ state of disrepair.
“In Scania we have a fantastic commercial and technical partner in every aspect. First, the engines that we received from them met all our requirements without any hitches. Second, their service support is superb. They are there to walk you through using the engine and tuning it up, as well as any tests you need to carry out. The way I see it, the service is wonderful, and the product is great,” says Fieg.

Tech file

• Motor: Scania 12-litre six, 400 hp at 1,800 r/min
• Weight of the motor coach: 40,350 kg
• Weight of the carriage: 35,450 kg
• Overall length: 45.46 m
• Top speed: 120 km/h
• Fuel capacity: 700 litres
• Bogies: low-maintenance (owing to a lack of surface contact), designed for passenger services
• Transmission: Allison ORS 4500 hydrodynamic