DETROIT, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Featuring five "world firsts" in the
design of its XC90, Volvo engineers sought to design an SUV-like vehicle with
superior safety, handling, and emissions performance characteristics.
The end result was Automotive Engineering International magazine's "Best
Engineered Vehicle for 2003." The announcement coincided with the opening of
the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2003 World Congress, March 3-6, in
Detroit, Michigan. A Volvo XC90 will be on display in Volvo's parent company
-- Ford's -- advanced vehicle technology display at stand 1653, Cobo Center.
"The Volvo XC90 was selected because the engineering team sought to
address virtually all of the primary criticisms that are leveled at SUVs
today," said Kevin Jost, editor of AEI. "This vehicle not only features five
engineering `firsts' -- but the list of significant engineering highlights is
very impressive."
Active and passive safety -- long a hallmark of the Volvo brand -- get
plenty of attention in the XC90. Project director Hans Wikman said, "It was
important for the XC90 to be leading in safety from all aspects -- frontal,
side, offset, and rear impact."
Other advances include Boron steel B-pillars and roof structure, variable
valve timing in both intake and exhaust valvetrain, interior air quality
sensor, and an "ozone eater" radiator that is designed to reduce ground-level
ozone as it passes through the unit.
Environmental concerns and SUVs often collide in the minds of consumers,
and the engineers at Volvo were focused on correcting that perception from the
beginning. "We designed it (the XC90) to meet car instead of truck emission
levels," says Wikman. The team's aim was to lead the segment in both fuel
economy and emissions performance, in spite of the vehicle's size and the
weight that comes with superior safety characteristics."
The SAE 2003 World Congress, a showplace of automotive engineering
technology, continues through Thursday, March 6th, at Cobo Center in Detroit.
For more information log onto the World Congress web site at
http://www.sae.org/congress.
SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to
the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly
84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical
information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles,
aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery.
This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic
products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional
development programs.
SOURCE SAE
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Related links:
http://www.sae.org/congress
http://www.sae.org
CONTACT:
Keith Hancock, Corporate Public Relations of
SAE, +1-724-772-8516 or khancock@sae.org
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