Helping kids keep their cool!
The coolest looking box onwheels
Volvo Cars gives bikers a lift
Safely bagged!
Bytes on wheels
It’s a dog’s life – on theroad!
Have leisure, will enjoy
Keeping an eye on the kids
Finger stopper!
Bag full of fun!
Helping kids keep their cool!
Kids, hot summer days and longdrives don’t always add up to happy families, but Volvo Cars lifestyledesigners have come up with a smart idea to help youngsters keep their cool. They have evolved a coolbox that is securely integrated into the rear seat sothat it serves both as an armrest and storage box. On the outside, the coolboxhas two cup-holders and a neat little pocket for small items. Designed for theVolvo XC70 model, the coolbox connects to the car’s electrical system via asocket in the luggage compartment and can be turned on and off via a switch.The Volvo coolbox has a cooling capacity of around +5°Celsius at an outsidetemperature of +30°C and a 1.7 litres volume – so all the family can chill outon the road with their favorite soft drink.
The coolest looking box on wheels
Who says boxes need to be boring?
Certainly not Volvo Cars who havedone some nifty nipping and tucking to go beyond ‘face-lifting’ to fashion whatmay be the coolest looking roof-box on the market.
Demonstrating yet again that theirdesigners are never short of an idea or two, Volvo is launching a designerroof-box for exclusive use with its V70 estate. The Volvo ‘Carline Design’ boxhas been design-crafted to match the flowing lines of the estate. And to ensurea perfect visual match, the sleek-looking Volvo roof-box can be painted in thesame colours as the car.
Ever practical, Volvo has widenedthe streamlined box to extend the same width as the actual car roof, allowingit to be joined by six easy-to-use attachments to the roof rails. This not onlyprovides more interior storage space but also vastly enhances the aerodynamicscompared to a freestanding roof box – which translates into improved fuel use.
The exclusive ‘Carline Design’ boxhas been designed to enable extremely easy loading thanks to the low edge.Volvo Cars also enhanced the versatility of the ‘one-with-the-car’ design byfitting special interior loading straps to stop luggage bouncing around insidethe box. And for ski buffs, Volvo has made sure six ski holders can be fittedto hold skis securely and safely.
Volvo Cars gives bikers a lift
We would all be on our bikes more often if Volvo Cars hadtheir way! No, the Swedish carmaker hasn’t started making ‘safer’ bikes, butrather now offers a complete system of designer roof-mounted bike holders forits entire range of vehicles, from the exclusive, award winning Volvo XC90 SUVto the compact S40.
The top-of-the-line Volvo bikeholder comes with a lifting mechanism, demonstrating that the carmaker does notlack ideas for further enhancing the practicality of its vehicles. The smartbike lift carrier contains a gas strut allowing effortless and smooth liftingand lowering of almost any kind of bike, and thanks to the unique design, thereis no need to remove the wheels when loading or unloading.
“With an estimated 20 million bikessold yearly in the US alone, we recognise bicycling is a fantastic family sportand one that aligns well with Volvo’s design, safety, quality and environmentalcare values,” says Volvo Cars head designer 38-year old Henrik Otto, anear-fanatical mountain biker himself.
“We want to help people get themost out of the sport by providing accessories that help them adapt their Volvocars to changing day-to-day needs – and getting on their bikes more often!”
Other cool ideas coming from Volvoincludes a hi-tech bike holder designed for bikes with disk brakes, a bikecarrier for fork mounting, enabling bikes to be carried safely without swayingor rattling, and an aluminium bike holder with a built-in dual locking functionthat secures the bike not only to the load carrier but also the mounting rail.
Safely bagged!
Wave goodbye to food spilling outof your shopping bags to roll irritatingly around the car boot as you drivehome from the supermarket. Volvo Cars clever designers have now come up with acouple of smart systems for keeping shopping bags and their contents firmly intheir place.
Never short of great ideas formaking the motoring experience more pleasurable and safer, Volvo has developeda unique hanging system for open shopping bags in the back of its S80, S60, S40and V40 models. Comprising a sturdy aluminium rail with five adjustable plastichooks mounted underneath the parcel shelf, the system is simplicity itself toinstall in seconds. Unsurprisingly because the idea comes from Volvo, each hookis engineered to handle weights up to 8 kg and – naturally – the system meetsEuropean and UScollision safety standards!
And for those running the carmakersestates such as the new award winning XC90 SUV, Volvo’s designers have createda shopping bag holder that opens up from the boot floor when needed and foldsaway when not required. The really smart system incorporates a special beltthat straps around the bag and hooks onto the upper edge of the boot. Thesystem, engineered in during production of each vehicle, is designed to helpprevent carrier bags and their contents being thrown forward into the passengercompartment in the event of a head-on collision.
Bytes on wheels
What’sgrey, almost flat, can easily travel in excess of most legal speed limits andhelps deliver some powerful bytes? The answer is a nifty, neat in-car desktopfrom Volvo Cars that means road warriors can now forget those days ofstruggling with their laptops on their knees while parked in a lay-by.
Designed exclusively for driverswho need to use their laptops when out travelling, the Volvo Cars desktop forlaptops fits securely on the front passenger seat. Providing comfortableaccess to the computer from the driver’s seat when safely parked, Volvo’spractical make-life-easier computer desktop slides in between the backrest andseat cushion. Easy to install or remove, the mini desk is fastened in placewith a tensioning belt and attachment bracket, while the computer itself isheld securely in place with a special locking mechanism and four rubber feetunderneath.
Made of anthracite grey ABS plasticmoulded around a stable steel frame, the Volvo Cars desktop is suitable formost laptops weighing up to 3.5 kg. It also features two tray compartmentsproviding space for diskettes and other small items. The PC desktop can be usedin most Volvo car models, including Volvo Cars new award winning XC90 SUV.
It’s a dog’s life – on the road!
Man’s best friend usually lovesbeing taken for a ride -- and given half-a-chance your average dog will lovesticking his or her head out of a car window to enjoy the thrill of windrushing through its hair.
Sadly, no matter how much ‘Pooch’may love it, it’s just not a good idea. The reality is that while most peoplemake sure to transport their children safely, dogs and other pets are routinelytransported without many thoughts for their safety.
Now, Volvo Cars, renowned for itscommitment to improving the safety of human passengers in its vehicles, isdoing the same to protect people’s pets.
“Our ongoing safety research hasshown the dangers resulting from unconstrained pets being thrown about in theevent of a sudden stop, swerve or collision -- they risk becoming a projectile,injuring themselves or passengers,” says Katarina Colliander, Volvo Carsproduct manager. “And unrestrained pets sitting on the front passenger seatshare the same risk from airbags opening explosively at over 300 kph as infantsin a car safety chair.”
To bring pet owners greaterpeace-of-mind, Volvo Cars has therefore developed a unique range of custom-madesafety systems designed to give dogs and pets their own safer place in a Volvocar. The Volvo systems are based on the insight that the safest place for a petis at the rear of the car in their own protected zone – and where there islittle risk it may suddenly distract the driver by leaping around.
Thus, Volvo Cars has developed arange of accessories specially designed for Volvo’s estate models and the awardwinning XC90 SUV, which meet Volvo’s stringent safety and quality demands.Importantly, the accessories utilise factory-prepared, ready-to-use attachmentpoints engineered to harmonise perfectly with the overall safety of a Volvocar.
The Volvo dog grill partition, usedin unison with the rear steel protective grill, helps contain your pet dogwhile also separating him or her from other luggage. With a safe and robustdesign, the grills, exhaustively crash-tested to ensure they meet Volvo’s strictstrength requirements, are convenient and easy to fit. Also, knowing that nomatter how well trained a dog may be, there is always a chance he or she mayunexpectedly jump out, Volvo’s designers have created a special gate to preventit leaping out when the tailgate is opened.
Have leisure, will enjoy
Volvo Cars designers don’t justserve up dishy looking cars. They also design the cars to deliver a tastypalette of accessories to add a little extra joie de vivre to further enhancethe pleasure a Volvo car delivers. Such as really practical picnic tables thatare light and easy to install in vehicles such as the new award winning VolvoXC90 SUV or Volvo V70 estate.
Suitable as either a picnic tableor simple work surface, the aluminium-framed tables have a spill-preventing lipand easy to clean, attractive birch surface. When not in use, the tables foldeither into the floor hatch in the luggage compartment or can be secured on topof the floor with a securing net.
Volvo’s designers have also come upwith special made-to-measure seat cushions for use in the tailgate opening.Volvo Cars attention to meticulous detail is reflected in the covering hangingat the lower edge of the cushion that is designed to prevent the user’s clothesfrom being dirtied by the bumper.
Keeping an eye on the kids
Volvo Cars passionately believessmall children up to the age of three at least should always be transported inrearward-facing car seats to reduce the risk of harm in an accident.
Although many parents like havingtheir baby within easy reach on the front passenger seat, this is not alwaysthe preferred option or possible. Nor is it a safe option unless the frontpassenger airbag has been disabled. However, when the rearward-facing seat isplaced in the rear seat, it reduces the possibility of keeping a watchful eyeon the infant or maintaining eye contact.
Now, Volvo’s designers have come upwith a clever mirror that provides the driver the chance to watch over a childseated backwards in the rear seat. Mounted on the rear centre head restraint,the large mirror is angled on a special bracket to enable the driver to see hisor her child via the standard rear view mirror. Easy to fit or remove, thekid’s view mirror is available for all Volvo models with a centrally placedhead restraint in the back seat.
Finger stopper!
Improving the safety of children incars doesn’t stop with the installation of a proper kids car seat, at least notfor Volvo Cars. Volvo’s car designers have developed a unique little piece ofplastic that is in fact a car lock catch designed to prevent a small kidaccidentally opening the front passenger door. The graphite-colouredpolyurethane ‘finger stopper’ from Volvo Cars is designed to fit convenientlyin the recess behind the front passenger door handle, filling out the space andstopping children from being able to grasp the handle. Fitted or removed inseconds by an adult, the catch can be used in Volvo’s S80, S60 and V70 models.If only all safety features were as easy and simple to fit as this Volvo Carsinnovation life would be a lot less harassed for parents worrying about whattheir kids are up to while on the move!
Bag full of fun!
Take care ofyour kids in the car by letting them take care of themselves with this smartactivity bag from Volvo Cars.
With the summer holidaysapproaching, the Swedish carmaker got its designers to think small for once bydeveloping a special kids suitcase that can be safely strapped to the back ofthe front seats.
Never short of a clever idea,Volvo’s designers came up with a multipurpose bag that can be used to storetoys and other small kiddie essential items while also doubling as a play tablewhen open during a trip. With neat compartments for pencils and notebooks, thebag also has two adjustable cup-holders.
Made in an attractive blue andgreen water-resistant soft material, the bag has a special strap that enablesit to be carried as a backpack. And, as one would expect from a carmaker thathas built a global reputation for its approach to car safety, the bag isdesigned not to be harmful in the event of a collision.
