Volvos Are Top Safety Picks

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The all new C70 carries safety engineering from the preceding C70 by increasing use of Ultra High Strength Steel for side and rear energy absorption protection. Also featured is the world's first side impact air bag from convertibles. Also standard are pop-up roll bars.

S80

Protective Exterior Safety

Protective safety in the new Volvo S80 is structured in the form of a network of exterior and interior safety systems that interact to reduce the risk of occupant injury in the event of a collision. The exterior systems have the task of distributing and absorbing incoming collision forces so that the passenger space is preserved as intact as possible. The body is therefore built in the form of a box-section structure using varying grades of steel, with all the components interacting to provide controlled deformation that reduces impacting energy to the human body.

Transverse Mounted Engines

Like the rest of Volvo's offerings, the S80 features a transversely installed engine and front-wheel drive. Transverse engine installation provides a controlled deformation zone in the engine compartment and helps reduce the risk of engine intrusion into the passenger compartment in a frontal collision. Even the new V8 is transversely installed thanks to its extremely compact dimensions and effective packaging.

Interior Safety

Interior safety systems assist in keeping the passengers securely in place to help maximize seat belt/airbag effectiveness and minimize the risk of serious injuries. In order to provide the most effective protection possible Volvo Cars has developed a number of unique systems.

• A new type of side-impact airbag makes Volvo's patented SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) even more effective. The new side impact airbags feature two separate inflation chambers - one at hip height and one at chest height. Since the hips can withstand greater impact than the chest, the lower chamber is inflated at five time’s higher pressure than the upper section. The side impact airbags interact with the inflatable curtains (IC) and the body's network of beams to reduce acceleration loads on the human body.
• Volvo's WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System) - is one of the most effective on the market. In the event of a severe impact from the rear, the front seat backrest and head restraint move together with the occupant's body, thus damping its movement in much the same way the arms move rearward when catching a ball. In the latest generation of WHIPS, the system's function has been further developed to provide an even smoother "catching" motion.
• A three-piece steering column designed to pivot up and collapse away from the driver through the use of a pyrotechnically charged separation bolt. This helps to better position the air bag deployment process for pending contact with the driver.

All five seats are equipped with three-point inertia-reel safety belts, belt pre-tensioners and head restraints. The highest possible safety requires that all occupants always use their safety belts (which Volvo made standard equipment in 1959 - a world's first).

Preventive safety - the avoidance of accidents - was one of the most important starting points when the new S80 was being developed. Preventative safety has lead to an entirely new generation of advanced driving and support systems and, of course, included Volvo's legendary Protective safety.

Accident avoidance is the next step in Preventive protection. Combining multiplexed electronics with advanced software and hardware designs have created a new level of driver assisted technologies. Preventive safety systems transform surrounding environmental activities into usable data to help the S80 driver avoid dangerous situations.

Volvo has been building cars with safety in mind for 80 years. The current 2007 model line-up of Volvo cars includes: the new S40 and its wagon counterpart the V50; the award-winning XC90; the sporty S60 sedan; the versatile V70 wagon and rugged XC70 (Cross Country); the Volvo C70 - the convertible with the innovative retractable hardtop, and the S80.

ENDS