Event Coverage: Volvo at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Feb 11, 2011 - 1:16:21 PM

The 2011 Chicago show represents a calm before the storm that should happen at the Volvo stand when the Geneva show rolls around next month and the company debuts a revolutionary new diesel-electric drivetrain beneath the skin of the new V60 sport wagon. You know it's a quiet room when the biggest news is that the Volvo stand moved from one corner of McCormick Place to another.

Still, braving the cold on the way down to the show allowed us to take another look at the S60 R-design, which continues to grow on us. The rear diffuser stands out as one of our favorite updates, though we do still wish it had a nice little power bump as part of the package. The C30 electric car was on hand again, though not the crashed one from Detroit, and the remainder of the current lineup was mostly represented.

The only car missing, actually, was the V50, but that makes sense considering we've now confirmed rumors that the small wagon will be the next product to be dropped by Volvo of North America. While that's sad for those of us who love Volvo for its storied history with beautiful and utilitarian wagons, our chats with Volvo representatives at the show have confirmed that reports of the C30 and C70 leaving our market have been premature. We've been told that since those two cars were never expected to be high-volume products, their futures are safe for the time being. Plus, now that K-Pax will be giving the C30 some credibility out on the race track, it'd be silly to stop stocking them at dealers.

Enjoy our Chicago show gallery and stay tuned in a few weeks when we'll be on the floor in Geneva getting all the details of the V60 plug-in hybrid.