NAIAS 2015: Volvo S60 Inscription, XC90 R-Design Revealed

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Aside from the S60 Cross Country, Volvo also introduced the S60 Inscription to the world during the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, while the XC90 R-Design made its North American debut.

The S60 Inscription’s selling point is rear legroom, which Volvo hopes will be class-leading with the sedan. The S60 will be assembled at its facility in Chengdu, China, with exports to the United States set for this summer.

The XC90 R-Design ups the ante on the new XC90, with a range of Drive-E engines delivering up to 400 horsepower to the road through either 20-inch or optional 22-inch R-Design alloys. The XC90 will also arrive in U.S. showrooms alongside the S60 Inspiration and and Cross Country this summer.



Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Jan 14, 2015

    Re: XC 90... Hey look everyone, VW finally got a midsize CUV! What do you mean "it's a Volvo"?

  • CRConrad CRConrad on Jan 19, 2015

    About the S60-Indecision (or whatever): I don't get it. If someone wants a Volvo sedan a little longer than the S60 -- isn't that what the S80 is for? About the XC90: Wow, finally! Just cut out the wheelhouse arches a bit upwards and pad them a bit inwards from the front and rear, so they won't look too ridiculously empty when you put some not-so-ludicrously Conestoga-wagon-sized rims on it, so you can lower it some six inches -- and ta-daa, the 245 is reborn.

  • Varezhka I have still yet to see a Malibu on the road that didn't have a rental sticker. So yeah, GM probably lost money on every one they sold but kept it to boost their CAFE numbers.I'm personally happy that I no longer have to dread being "upgraded" to a Maxima or a Malibu anymore. And thankfully Altima is also on its way out.
  • Tassos Under incompetent, affirmative action hire Mary Barra, GM has been shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis.Whether the Malibu cancellation has been one of these shootings is NOT obvious at all.GM should be run as a PROFITABLE BUSINESS and NOT as an outfit that satisfies everybody and his mother in law's pet preferences.IF the Malibu was UNPROFITABLE, it SHOULD be canceled.More generally, if its SEGMENT is Unprofitable, and HALF the makers cancel their midsize sedans, not only will it lead to the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ones, but the survivors will obviously be more profitable if the LOSERS were kept being produced and the SMALL PIE of midsize sedans would yield slim pickings for every participant.SO NO, I APPROVE of the demise of the unprofitable Malibu, and hope Nissan does the same to the Altima, Hyundai with the SOnata, Mazda with the Mazda 6, and as many others as it takes to make the REMAINING players, like the Excellent, sporty Accord and the Bulletproof Reliable, cheap to maintain CAMRY, more profitable and affordable.
  • GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
  • Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
  • Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
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