Volvo of Las Vegas

Forbes.com last month listed their Top 10 Most Affordable Luxury Cars for 2010, and sitting at the top was the Volvo C70! Two other Volvos made it onto the list: the S80 at No. 7 and the XC70 at No. 8.

The website used Vincentric data to determine the total cost of ownership for vehicles with a base price of at least $35,000. They evaluated five-year costs for fuel, maintenance, repairs, average national insurance rates, depreciation, interest, opportunity costs and taxes. (Costs are projections based on forecasts by Vincentric analysts. The data assumed an annual rate of 15,000 miles driven per vehicle and a price of $2.60 per gallon for regular fuel, $2.86 for premium and $2.75 for diesel. It applied an inflation rate for the fuel prices, since calculations predict costs over five years.)
Here's the complete list:
1. Volvo C70 T5
2. Lexus RX450h
3. Lexus IS250c
4. Cadillac CTS
5. Lincoln MKS
6. Lincoln MKX
7. Volvo S80 T6
8. Volvo XC70 T6
9. Buick Enclave CXL
10. Audi TT 2.0T

The Volvo C70 was just named the IntelliChoice "Best Overall Value of the Year" in the Luxury Convertible category. The BOVY Awards (for 2010 cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs) identify best-in-class vehicles that deliver outstanding value and lower-than-expected costs over time.
"IntelliChoice.com's annual Best Overall Value of the Year awards are designed to instruct buyers on the cars, trucks and SUVs that deliver the most value for the money over a five-year period of ownership," said Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor of IntelliChoice.com. "We rank every model on the market based on the most important cost of ownership factors, including retained value, fuel, maintenance and repair, insurance, licensing and fees."

For the BOVY awards, IntelliChoice.com analyzes nearly 1,800 models to identify the vehicles that promise the best value within their respective classes. IntelliChoice.com aggregates and analyzes data from auto manufacturers, the U.S. Government and third-party data resources to determine the actual costs of ownership of new vehicles over a five-year period. It then assigns a value rating to all mainstream vehicles sold in America each year. This insightful value rating factors the accumulated ownership costs of depreciation, maintenance, repairs, fuel, fees, financing and insurance to identify the true standout models in each class.

The Volvo S40 and XC90 have achieved The Car Book's 2010 BEST BETS distinction in the 30th edition of America's first consumer car buying guide. Each year, The Center for Auto Safety and The Car Book analyze the new cars and select The Car Book's BEST BETS for the American car buyer.
This highly publicized list is based totally on objective information collected from the government and independent sources. The Car Book 2010 is published with the Center for Auto Safety, the nation's leading auto safety advocacy group.
Vehicles are rated in nine key Car Book categories: crash tests, safety features, rollover, preventative maintenance, repair costs, warranty, fuel economy, complaints and insurance. Because safety is the most important component of our ratings, only those cars with crash test scores are considered as potential BEST BETS.
"We appreciate the fact that Volvo has made a significant contribution to improving the market choices for the American car buyer," said Jack Gillis of The Car Book. "During these most challenging times for the auto industry, the fact that your vehicles have the quality and features most important to today's car buyer is a testament to your desire to meet customer needs."

Few people have saved as many lives as Nils Bohlin - and even fewer may recognize his name. In 1959, while working as a Volvo engineer, this unsung hero invented the V-type three-point safety belt, and launched a revolution in automotive safety that has saved over a million lives and counting.

Bohlin's design was a remarkable achievement in both innovation and ergonomic design - elegant and effective, and so simple that users could operate it using just one hand.

Volvo initially introduced the belt on two models, and it proved so effective that it became standard equipment in every car manufactured worldwide. And in the decades that followed, Bohlin continued to pursue his passion for automotive safety, playing a key role in other Volvo safety innovations like the side-impact protection system (SIPS).

So this year, as we approach the Click It Or Ticket seat belt awareness period, May 18-31, take a moment to thank Nils Bohlin (pictured below) for all the lives his invention has saved. And whenever you get in a car, always take a moment to fasten your safety belt.

www.examiner.com

Volvo has long been a brand known for auto safety. And the new Volvo XC60 crossover vehicle lives up to that reputation. This new vehicle from the Swedish auto manufacturer features a new safety system called City Safety which uses a laser sensor to determine is a low-speed crash is about to occur. If the driver does not apply the brake, the Volvo safety system will.

Volvo claims the new City Safety system can prevent crashes at speeds under 9 miles per hour and can "mitigate" the damage from crashes at speeds up to 19 miles per hour by applying the brakes and reducing the speed before the crash. The new XC60 doesn't have the appearace of an off-road vehicle, but it is a handsome vehicle and it does offer more than nine inches of ground clearance.

The styling is best called "smoothly contemporary, " but even the most casual observer will know instantly this is a Volvo vehicle. The new XC60 offers adequate performance with the standard 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine rated at 281 horsepower. The engine is backed up by a six-speed "Geartronic" automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Overall we were impressed by this new Volvo where its thoughtful ergonomics and versatility make it a great sedan substitute.

Our test vehicle carried a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price  (MSRP) price of $38,000 and on our scale of one to five, four tires and a spare, the new Volvo XC60 crossover rates a 5.