Archive for May, 2011
Volvo Posts Wins At Swedish Touring Car Championship
The Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has always been known for their dedication to engineer safe vehicles for their consumers. In recent years the company has also shown its concern for the environment by producing E85 capable vehicles. Aside from the vehicles the company is also taking steps to make their facilities more environmentfriendly.
More recently the largest Swedish car manufacturer entered the Swedish Touring Car Championship with cars designed to run on bioethanol. The venture by Volvo in fielding E85 capable race cars paid off after they have taken first place at the first two rounds of the race event.
The Swedish Touring Car Championship is the first production car championship race to allow the use of bioethanol or E85. With the use of the alternative fuel Volvos race cars produces 80 percent less carbon dioxide emissions compared to gasolinepowered vehicles participating in the championship.
The companys objective by using E85 capable cars at the race is emphasized by Polestar Racing driver Robert Dahlgren who won the first two rounds of the event. ‘Above all this is a victory for the environment! says Dahlgren. The driver currently has the lead in the championship standings with 22 points to his credit.
The fuel used by Dahlgrens car and the other Polestar Racing ethanol car is produced from the fermentation of sugar. To produce this fuel organic materials are used. This means that it is a renewable source of energy a good substitute to the irreplaceable petroleum fuel used widely by the global community for different applications.
Volvo saw the racing event to showcase the capability of engines running on E85. The said fuel is a combination of 85 percent bioethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Bioethanol can also be used in varying mixture with gasoline or as a pure ethanol fuel. In the United States there are already numerous flexfuel vehicles which can run on both gasoline and E85.
Aside from the improvements being made by Volvo to their vehicles like reconfiguring the Volvo turn signal and the entire taillight assembly the company also improves the capabilities of their E85 capable engines. The developments that Volvo has already achieved are evident in the performance of their race cars which have been fielded to compete at the Swedish Touring Car Championship.
Greg Maruszewski the Regional Managing Director for Volvo GCC has this to say about their recent achievements at the STCC: Volvo winning the first two races while running on E85 is not only great news for Volvo but also for the environment which is one of Volvo’s core values. This confirms that Volvo can deliver speed reliability and excitement both on and off the race track and that we can do it in an ecofriendly way.
We have already seen first signs of environmental awareness in the Middle East and I have no doubt that this will continue. I am confident that Volvo can play its part in this development says Maruszewski after the United Arab Emirates government announced that they will introduce a Green City in Abu Dhabi. The said Green City will be dedicated to addressing environmental issues. As part of the Green City the UAE government has already laid out plans to put up the worlds largest Green building.
About the writer: Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. She is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.
Volvo Offers Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring
In keeping with its longstanding tradition of emphasizing safety features Volvo now offers an optional system to monitor the area to the side and rear of a car popularly known as the “blind spot.” Volvo was the first company to introduce wideangle mirrors on car doors in 1979 and now the company is utilizing cameras to enhance driver awareness in moving traffic. The system will not alert the driver to parked cars or other types of static objects.
The Volvo Blind Spot Information system is a 595 option comprised of three parts. The most noticeable the indicator appears at the bottom corner of the front windows above the sound system’s tweeter. The translucent square shows orange when another vehicle is in the blind spot. The system’s second and most vital component is the camera mounted adjacent to the side mirror which actually performs the monitoring. Note that there is a camera located under each side mirror. Finally there’s a switch on the center stack to turn the system on and off that is labeled “BLIS.”
The system will recognize both regular sized vehicles cars and trucks and motorcycles in both daylight and nighttime driving conditions. The technology will respond to any car moving at a speed of more than 6 mph and those that are driving as much as 12 mph slower and 43 mph faster than the car on which the system itself is mounted. It should be noted however that in conditions where the visibility is poor like fog or heavy snow the BLIS will not work and will inform the driver of that fact.
No doubt in an effort to avoid potential litigation Volvo says the BLIS system is designed to provide the driver with “information” not to act as a clearance or warning signal. Reviewers who have driven Volvos outfitted with the BLIS suggest that new car owners should “learn” the system by using the mirrors to observe exactly where a car approaching from the rear is located when the indicator light activates. All agree that the BLIS allows for a “generous” amount of space for lane changes. The technology is meant to compliment the driver’s own judgment of the current traffic pattern not to take the place of the appropriate use of the mirrors or to override decisions based on years of driving experience.
About the writer: CarSeek.com offers reviews and pricing of all the latest luxury cars.
Volvo Cv Joint: The Key To A Fast And Smooth Driving
High quality cars are always sought after in the market. Most of these cars pride themselves in their performance and stylish exteriors like what Volvo produces. Built with quality and safety in mind their cars are designed to be fast but smoothly. How do these cars go so fast and so smooth? The car’s drive shaft is the answer.
The Volvo drive shaft is essentially the carrier of torque a device that transfers power from the cars engine to the point where work is applied. The drive shafts today have universal joints or Ujoints which are the devices that help them to move up and down during suspension. One type of Ujoint is a Volvo CV joint. It is designed to create a smooth transfer of torque from the driven shaft to the driving shaft without any fluctuations in the speed of the driven shaft. They are primarily used in front wheel drive and all wheel drive cars. On the other hand rear wheel drive cars with independent rear suspensions commonly use CV joints at the ends of the rear axle halfshafts.
The Volvo CV joint is packed with grease and protected by a rubber or plastic boot called CV boot. There are two commonly used types of CV joints a balltype and a tripodtype. The balltype CV joints are used on the outer side of the drive shaft while tripodtype CV joints are usually used on the inner side.
Since Volvo CV Joint is made from high quality materials it will not need any immediate replacing. In fact it doesn’t require regular maintenance unlike other car parts. One may encounter some problems regarding the CV joints in case the protective boot gets damaged. When this happen the grease comes out and moisture and dirt will come in. This may cause the Volvo CV joint to become defective. One can tell if he has a problematic CV joint once there is a clicking or popping noise when turning.
About the writer: Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.
