Event Coverage: Volvo at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show

Sep 15, 2011 - 9:09:42 AM

Media days have just wrapped up at the Frankfurt show in Germany, where Volvo's Concept You drew crowds. Luckily, we found an off time to take photos of it not surrounded by people. And time to actually stand there a while and look at it. It's a great car overall, and that interior is truly special. The Italian suit fabric used as trim is a classy touch (and probably our favorite) even if adding a pocket that looks straight off a sport coat and a pen holder is a little over the top. From the outside, we really like the fastback profile as well as the soft but luxurious rear end. We're just not quite as sure about the PV544-inspired front end design. Sure, it's cool from a historic Volvo perspective, but we just aren't sure the two-tiered nose translates so well as a bold, modern luxury sedan. We saw one blog site even made a "Wallace and Gromit" joke. Still, all indication is that the Concept You will heavily influence the next S80 sedan and--we'd assume based on the current strategy--the V70 and XC70 as well. It's certainly going to be weird seeing these cars and the S60 sitting side-by-side in dealership showrooms.



Elsewhere on the Volvo stand, the updated 2012 XC90 debuted and not many people took notice. Sure, the taillights are more in line with what's on the XC60 now, but as far as product updates go, this one was pretty weak. Where's the new navigation system? And can't get get a T6 engine in there?We then look at sales charts and see that all these years later, the XC90 remains among Volvo's best sellers here in the States, so what do we know?

Other than those two new vehicles, there wasn't much new on the stand, but it's always fun to get a look at all the things not offered for our market. We're still in love with the V60 wagon and the sweet spot it finds between the S60's sportiness and the XC60's utility. It's a shame we won't be getting this wagon or the diesel plug-in hybrid version available to Europeans. To cheer ourselves up, we walked over to the spotless P1800 on display. Those always make us feel better. See them all in our gallery by clicking any of the pictures at the bottom of the page and, as always, if you'd like a look at the non-Volvo debuts, head over to our KilometerMagazine.com sister site.