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From Swedespeed.com Events Coverage Forget the snow, the sub-zero temps and the grey tones of Detroit in January. For a few days tucked deep within a Motown winter, Detroit’s Cobo Hall plays home to the North American International Auto Show. As these sorts of events go, the NAIAS is the most important auto industry gathering in America. It can usually be counted upon to kick off the car show season with plenty of new reveals.
Perhaps a consideration of the slowing market, some manufacturers elected to downgrade their presence in Detroit this year, foregoing the usual pageantry of a new car reveal or, like Porsche, skipping the event entirely. Volvo went halfway in this regard, showing some new models that technically weren’t really that new and skipping any presentation entirely.
When the S60R and V70R left the market last year, Volvo enthusiasts lamented. High-performance and Volvo should go hand-in-hand and help drum passion behind the normally conservative brand. R, as a sub-brand of Volvo, has cache and was seemingly becoming ignored. Far short of launching a new R model, Volvo is at least reminding consumers of its performance consonant with a new line of R-Design models.
Like Audi’s S-line or BMW’s M-technic, R-Design basically comprises a sport appearance package offered on existing model. Four R-Design offerings were shown in Detroit: XC90, V50, S40 and C30. The XC90 Sport changes its name, finish on its rearview mirrors and little else to become the XC90 R-Design. Like the XC90, the C30 R-Design is essentially a carryover - a C30 Version 2.0 with unique interior trim, blue gauges and metallic mirrors. For the S40 and V50, the remaining R-design models, Volvo is offering some of the most aggressively sporting packages to date on these cars… and it’s about time. Two-tone interiors, unique aluminum trim, blue instrument gauges, the existing accessories body kits and larger alloys make for handsome-if-not-faster offerings in the lineup.
R-Design is somewhat reminiscent of the old R Sport name Volvo ran on its own line of accessories in the ‘70s. While R Sport may have more heritage, R-Design may be more applicable to these cars that, save the XC90 and its more sporting suspension, really aren’t faster or better-handling than the non R-badged equivalents.
Given Volvo is adding some sport into the mix, we feel a bit guilty being critical… but we must. Skipping any sort of press conference doesn’t help bring foot-traffic and attention to the Volvo brand. Launching cool-new technologies like the dual-clutch Powershift transmission (announced the same day, but not for sale in the USA) paired with diesel shows just a smattering of the innovative technologies Volvo isn’t yet using to take a leadership position in the American market in any other facets save safety. That there are no remaining true R models is another shortfall.
With Jaguar and Land Rover on the block and a sale to Indian car manufacturer Tata basically imminent, Volvo’s new place within the Ford portfolio becomes even more important. After the Anglos depart, Volvo will be the only remaining European badge in the lineup and the only credible competitor to offerings from Germany and elsewhere. For Volvo to mount serious competition beyond its safety niche, it will need to step up its game. The good news is, there’s a stronger product foundation there than we’ve ever seen. The bad… the market is becoming increasingly more competitive.
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