99 Volvo S80 T6 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volvo makes the XC60 disappear into art

For the last few years, Volvo has set up an art display in the Zurich, Switzerland central train station called the Volvo Art Session, allowing select artists - both established and up-and-coming - to create temporary exhibits with one of Volvo's products acting as the centerpiece. This year, six artists from across Europe converged in Zurich to turn a 2014 Volvo XC60 into a work of art.
Each started with a blank white canvas, creating a massive display in what Volvo says is one of the busiest covered public places in Europe, and after each was done, it was all erased for the next artists to come in and do his or her thing. While some made the XC60 a focal point in the art, others made the crossover seemingly disappear. We have a gallery of all six finished pieces, but if you want to see background of the artists or time-lapse videos of their works, head over to VolvoArtSessions.com. This site also shows the exhibits from the prior two years, and a press release can be found below.

Volvo offers up more details on 2015 XC90 and its new infotainment system

We have more details on the 2015 Volvo XC90 and the all-new, touch-heavy infotainment system that will debut with it. An expansion of the Sensus system, as we've shown you before, we now know the new system won't only sport a large, vertically oriented touchscreen, but a head-up display and the ability to manage the systems via wheel-mounted buttons.
Key to the entire experience are the large, portrait-oriented touchscreen, a head-up display and the thumb controls you can see on the face of the steering wheel in the image above. Volvo is claiming that this combination will be easier to use and, fittingly for the Swedish manufacturer, safer.
"Using the screen is so logical that it will become part of your muscle memory very quickly," said Dr. Peter Mertens, Volvo's senior vice president of research and development. "Information, navigation and media are high up and easy to check. The phone controls, application icons and climate controls are located low, comfortable to reach and touch. All of this logic is based on extensive usability and user experience research and the latest technology."

Next Volvo XC90 design teased

When Volvo took the wraps off its Concept Coupe yesterday, the Swedish automaker said that while "the all-new XC90 is an entirely different type of car, you will recognize the connection instantly when it is revealed next year." We raised our eyebrows at this upon first read, but after seeing these photos, posted on Feber.se, Volvo certainly wasn't joking.
During a press conference where the Concept Coupe debuted, teaser images of the next XC90 were shown, and the connection between it and the conceptual two-door are obvious. The long, T-shaped lighting elements in the slim headlamps are certainly the most noticeable tie between the two vehicles, but the angular lower fascia openings seen here can also be found quite prominently on the Concept Coupe.
Feber.se also has a few images showing the new taillamp and interior designs of the XC90, as well. And not surprisingly, those two facets of the new crossover's DNA are also surprisingly close to the elements found on the Concept Coupe. It's interesting to see how the concept's C-shaped taillamps have been massaged for the more upright design of the XC90's rump, and inside the cabin, it appears Volvo is serious about this vertically oriented infotainment display.