Volvo S40

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{{Infobox Automobile |image= |name=Volvo S40 |manufacturer=Volvo Personvagnar |production=1995–present |predecessor=Volvo 440 |class=Compact car |related=Mazda Mazda3
Ford Focus |similar=Acura TSX
Audi A3
Lexus IS
Mercedes-Benz C-Class }} {{Infobox Automobile generation |name=1st generation |image=Image:Volvo S40 (Old).JPG |production=1995–2003 |platform= |body_style=4-door sedan, 5-door estate }} {{Infobox Automobile generation |name=2nd generation |image=Image:Volvo-S40-T5-'04.jpg |production=2004–present |platform=FF, AWD P1 |body_style=4-door sedan }}

The S40 sedan (and V40 and V50 estates) is a compact car sold by Volvo Cars. There have been two distinctly different models of the cars, the first launched in 1995, and the second completely-new model in 2004.

1 1995-2004
2 2004.5
3 Marketing
4 External links

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1995-2004

The 1995 S40 sedan and V40 wagon were built in the Netherlands at the NedCar factory, a pre-Ford joint venture between Volvo and Mitsubishi Motors. It was based on common platform with Mitsubishi Carisma but did not sell as well. Despite the shared platform, they were not the same car: of the 5,000 parts on the cars, 4,000 were unique to each. Of the remainder, 650 were produced by Volvo and 350 by Mitsubishi. Volvo's traditional emphasis for safety and ergonomics were thus easily identifiable in these models too.

In 2000 the 40 Series went through a facelift, and a number of technical improvements were simultaneosly introduced, such as increasing the size of brake disks, upgrading some suspension components and slight widening of the track width. These new specification 40 Series Volvos are often referred to as "Phase II" models.

The 40 Series cars were equipped with a 1.9 litre diesel or 1.6L, 1.8L or 2.0L uncharged fuel injection petrol engines, not forgetting the sporty low (2.0T) and high (T4) pressure turbo variants on top of the motor range. The 1.9T was the only engine available in the United States.

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2004.5

Introduced in the middle of the 2004 model year, the 2004.5 S40 introduced a new design based on the Volvo P1 platform built at the Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, Belgium. At the same time, the V40 was replaced by the V50 wagon, also based on the Volvo P1 platform and built in Ghent. The S40 was nominated for the World Car of the Year award for 2005 and won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Sport Compact award for 2005. It has also been elected the South African Car of the Year for 2005 by the South African Guild of Motoring Jounalists.

The S40's dimensions are as follows:

Wheelbase: 104 in
Overall Length: 176 in
Width: 70 in
Height: 57 in
Weight: 3400 lb

The S40 T5 (one of the several variants of the S40) features a 2.5 L (2521 cc) five-cylinder fuel injected engine with a light-pressure turbocharger. The valvetrain has four valves per cylinder and is a DOHC design. The engine is transversely mounted at the front of the vehicle and drives the front wheels.

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Marketing

Mystery of Dalarö

In early 2004 Volvo started an ad campaign called the Mystery of Dalarö in which 34 residents of the same Swedish town bought the same car on the same day from the same dealer. The advert was produced in a documentary style by director Carlos Soto. The whole campaign was later found to be fake.

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