- Volvo will drop its V70 wagon from the U.S. lineup for the 2011 model year.
- The V70 will continue to be sold in Europe.
- Only 1,800 V70s were sold in the U.S. last year.
DETROIT — Volvo has confirmed for Inside Line that its V70 station wagon is going away in the U.S. for the 2011 model year.
"We sold only 1,800 V70s last year," said Volvo Cars of North America spokesman Dan Johnston in response to an e-mailed query on Friday. "Kind of hard to make a living on that few units.
"Our XC70, XC60 and XC90s account for about 42 percent of total sales, while V70 is only about 2 percent. Buyers voted with their pocketbooks and chose an XC over [the] V70 in our market."
Johnston said the V70 will continue to be sold in other Volvo markets such as Europe. The news of the V70's demise in North America was greeted by the European automotive media with such comments as "Americans Hate Wagons."
Johnston noted that later this year, Volvo will bring out an XC70 front-wheel-drive model. But he said pricing on that is unavailable at this time.
Inside Line says: OK, so we probably do hate wagons. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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audibuff says:
08:29 PM, 03/28/2010
The V70 is a good car; its sad to see it go, but did the V70 have much going for it in this market? A comparably fitted Passat wagon costs about $7000 less, and is better looking.
noburgers says:
05:20 PM, 03/28/2010
And is there any doubt that the Cadillac CTS wagon will follow suit in1-2 years? I like wagons and hatchbacks but my wife despises them (but doesn't complain about a minivan). I think the XC70 was more successful because it had SUV styling cues as people fell in love with SUVs and 4WD (over time the look was exaggerated).
travai says:
05:06 PM, 03/28/2010
Actually, on second thought (see earlier post) -- I think part of the reason for this decision will be made clear once Volvo announces a possiblly new V70 for 2012 based on the next gen. S60? This makes sense because the current V70 is based on the S80 platform...
Who knows.
gjoseph05 says:
04:16 PM, 03/28/2010
I had a 2006 V70R and I had to trade it in for personal reason. But it was the best value ever.
Best balance of performance, utility, and fuel mileage. And then in winter it was unstoppable. Handled better than our other xc70. In "track" mode the suspension and throttle response were crazy.
I was holding out hope that Volvo would bring back the R but thanks to the the Nascar watching, beer swilling, Sarah Palin following, knuckle dragging, trogdolytes that dream must die.
There's always hope when the global economy rebounds fully and fuel prices rebound to $5/gallon that people will shy away from even crossovers.
Such a very sad day.
says:
09:37 AM, 03/28/2010
It's a sad indictment of Americans that we continue to choose lumbering SUV's over more nimble and fuel efficient wagons. I would buy a fast wagon if anyone sold one here. Audi sells the S4, S6, and even an RS4 and RS6 wagons in Europe, and BMW sell an M5 wagon, but you can't get them here. I guess there aren't enough Americans out there who like driving fast cars and like utility.
travai says:
04:08 PM, 03/27/2010
This is hilarious and sad. I live along the coast of Maine. People really like wagons here -- the Subaru Legacy, E-class, Volvo V70, Audi A4 and A6 Avant, and even the BMW 5-series estate! Seriously, it's a demographic issue, considering that most of these drivers are from politically progressive areas. In the conservative, less-educated northern-half of the state, you are allowed to drive either a Chevy Silverado or a used Ford Taurus.
clarkma5 says:
12:02 PM, 03/27/2010
My mom would love to have a small to midsized wagon in the high-end-mainstream to low-end-luxury range...but there's practically no choices! She's like "well, guess I have to buy a compact SUV".
compressor says:
11:45 AM, 03/27/2010
This sucks, but more as a sign of where things are headed (car design wise). You can't really blame Volvo, but many car companies automatically shoot themselves in the foot by only offering wagon models with one (often low spec) trim. Look at the A4(no manual) and the 328i (no 335i wagon - which would be great) to name a few.
I'll never really understand why crossovers are thought of as being "cooler" than wagons. Most "moms" don't want to be seen in a wagon or minivan - in my experience its because they are too "mom-like". Strange, as most crossovers are owned and driven by this demographic.
I do agree that in about 10 years or so, the current 15-20 year old generation will view crossovers as current 30-40 years olds view wagons and minivans. Nobody wants to grow up, have kids, and look just like their parents...
charlesb says:
10:14 AM, 03/27/2010
The XC70 is the exactly same vehicle with a bit of extra (ugly) cladding. Strictly a semantic model elimination. The engine choices were pathetic anyway.
hotrodw says:
08:57 AM, 03/27/2010
wideturnone says:
"If I had to guess, this american desire for non-wagon wagons will wane and there will be a return to buying wagons. Perhaps some car company will figure out how to put a third row of seats into a common wagon form (ala suv style) so that they offer the flexibility of the suv without the size."
You could argue this has already been done. The Flex (and to a lesser extent the MKT) is better described as a wagon than crossovers or SUV.