Car Throttle

Whilst you're probably well aware of Volvo's success in the world of luxury vehicle production, you may not be as well versed in the world of sailing, and the fact that this Swedish-based manufacturer has been a key sponsor of British sailing since 1999. Volvo UK has supported everything from youth development at grass roots through to Britain’s top sailors at the pinnacle of the sport. And what better way to celebrate London's hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games than to teach the country's armchair pundits about the murky waters of sailing via some clever usage of technology. Having already been treated to an afternoon aboard a Volvo racing yacht at the 2012 XC60 Drive, we ventured into Covent Garden to catch-up with Team Volvo

Nobody is content with their age. The young and juvenile will do anything to grow up quickly and start living life, whilst the old will do almost anything they can to regain their youth. It's one of the overriding themes of life and it's a thought which springs to mind when I muse over Volvo's 2011 V60 sports wagon. It's not just a sports "wagon" either. No, the Swedish manufacturer have labelled this big-booty estate - as we call it here - with the keyword dynamic. Is it just a buzz word? Perhaps. But it's only once you spend a week with the car, as I was lucky enough to do, that you realise that the V60 possibly does contain that special change agent which allows it

Volvo is one of our most-loved manufacturers here at Car Throttle, and thus is comes as no surprise to us to find out that the Swedish marque is the fastest growing brand in the USA. Sales are up 21% in the first eight months of the year and Stefan Jacoby is extremely confident about where he sees Volvo heading. One market which Volvo have yet to dominate is the high-end saloon segment usually covered by the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes. The current S80 tries to compete but unfortunately doesn't have the right backing or history behind it to make it a big contender. This is where things stop and the new Volvo enters the room. At Frankfurt, Volvo unveiled their "Concept You" which is

Being an eco-warrior normally involves growing dreads, not showering for a couple of weeks and growing your own compost out of human manure. That, or being extremely good at Doomsday Powerpoint presentations. The fact of the matter is, it's 2012 and we're still no closer to finding a true sustainable power source to light up our homes and fuel our cars, and the verdict is even worse if you listen to the rascals on Top Gear. Electric batteries take ages to charge, hydrogen fuel pumps still carry inherent safety risks and air-powered vehicles still remain something you would probably see in some Sci-Fi Thriller and not in real life. So what options do you have as an environmentally-aware motorist? You could get yourself a Toyota

In the past, owning a Volvo has always been akin to owning a fridge-freezer. If you play along with the analogy then you'll see that both offer sturdiness as a top attribute, both can play it cool when needed (we're looking at you Mr. T5 Engine) and both offer safety in ways that the world over has come to expect and not demand. However as you may remember at the beginning of the year when you saw my mug on YouTube reviewing the S60 and V60 R-Design variants, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Volvo brand had been injected with a dose of what appeared to be some Class A narcotic; merging a threatening sporty exterior with a chirpy range of engines designed

I always make it out to Raleigh's Cars & Coffee event the first Saturday of every month. It's always worth it, even though I abhor waking up early, because there's always awesome stuff to see.  A lot of the same cars show up, so I won't show pictures of stuff you've already seen - for those you can check previous Cars & Coffee coverage here, here, and here. For starters, here is one of 337 Porsche 959's ever built, which was Porsche's rolling technical showcase that blew everything else out of the water in the 1980's, and set the standard for supercar performance.  None were ever imported to the US; it's likely this one has been fitted with the Canepa Design engine

I just never knew. I was unaware we had a large population of classic British vehicles in the Raleigh area; I suppose there are people nostalgic for the 60's and 70's everywhere, and Raleigh is a pretty affluent area, but wow!  Triumphs, MG's, Jaguars, and Mini's of all sorts congregated today upon the North Hills shopping center, an upscale outdoor mall in the North Raleigh area.  With cars ranging from MG TF's all the way to a brand-new Mini Crossman, there were a wide range of British vehicles to gaze upon.  Here are some of the more interesting ones. At any British car show, chances are the most common vehicle you'll see there will be the ubiquitous MGB.  It was the car that really

Fresh of the back of our first video review of the 2011 Volvo S60 comes our next video review of the V60 estate - again with Volvo's R-Design package. We drove both cars at Volvo's UK Press Day down in Hampshire, UK and we were impressed by the new visual cues behind the '11 fleet. Both cars demonstrated their solidity with an extra ingredient of sportiness. For the V60 estate, we drove the D3 engine version with a 5 cylinder turbo-diesel strapped to it capable of producing 163 horsepower at 2900 rpm. The diesel was slightly lighter than the T3 petrol model, but it still tipped the scales at a hefty 2090 kg. To watch our full review, please set aside 3 and a half minutes to

Volvo and Performance are not really two synonymous terms. Volvos have always been (well, until recently) square cars for even more square people.  Tough engines, comfy seats, angular styling - great for hauling the kids to soccer practice, not so great for hauling ass.  Right?  Well, this guy begs to differ:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGDxgYWG5MU

As it turns out, if you roll up next to a Volvo 850 at a stoplight and it sounds like an angry chainsaw, you probably shouldn't race it if you want to escape with your dignity intact.  Domestic Muscle guys have been learning this lesson the hard way for years. Now, to be sure, Volvo made some quick cars before the T-5 motor came out.  The 740 Turbo wagons in the

When Volvo UK invited us to attend their UK Press Launch to celebrate the new range of Swedish vehicles for 2011, we grasped the opportunity with both hands. This would be our first video review ever, and most importantly, would mark our breakthrough into the British car scene as a fresh, web-only outlet. A whole day's worth of filming, some new gadgets and a long countryside trip later, we found ourselves staring at some awesome high-definition footage of two vehicles which Volvo let us get our mits on; the 2011 Volvo S60 R-Design T3 and the 2011 Volvo V60 R-Design D3. Below is our video review of the former; a well-designed "new generation" Volvo aiming to appeal to the younger-age segment of the market. The full text review