Volvo at Formula one

warmandog · Post 21 Feb 2007, 22:16

using all this waiting time..until seson start.
i was wondering, Why Volvo is not in formula one. do volvo have the money and the market to be in?
any clue?

regards

Alex C.
Dominican republic

Tom · Post 21 Feb 2007, 23:31

Volvo doesn't see any gain from being in F1, the people who buy their cars do so because they're safe and reliable, F1 is not considered safe and an engine blow in F1 could loose them their image. I've no doubt they have the technology and money to do it but they don't see a market there.

I think, had Peterson survived, Saab would have entered F1 at some point in the past, they are famous for their aircraft technology and 2.0l turbo cars. F1 would have been prosperus for them were there a Swedish driver to keep the sport alive in their home country.

Volvo did enjoy a career in the British Touring Car Championship in the mid 90s with a team run by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (final owner of Arrows F1) but I don't know how much the Volvo company had to do with this. Did they not field former F1 driver Morbidelli at one point? along with Swedish star Rikard Rydell.

zenvision · Post 21 Feb 2007, 23:49

How about Volkswagen or Audi? They were touted too to enter. Maybe Audi think they get enough promotion by winning Le mans.

Saribro · Post 21 Feb 2007, 23:51

Tom wrote:F1 is not considered safe

People should reconsider :). A 250kph F1 crash has a much lower chance of injury than even a 70kph road car accident :D.
On the rest of it, yeah, it's about image. Different companies prefer to build their image differently, and with the extreme budgets in formulas like F1, you have to be 110% sure you want to get involved.
Some manufacturers will choose touring series or rally over open wheel series, decide on nationalised series over worldwide championships. The options are plentiful. Also, currently, a lot of brand names are actually parts of the same larger company, so said company might decide to place brand A in WRC and brand B in BTCC and what not.
In the end, IMHO, the important thing is that we get to see interesting and varied racing formulas with exciting competition between drivers and manufacturers :).

bhall · Post 22 Feb 2007, 00:17

If Volvo's parent company, Ford Motor Company, had the desire (and money) to be in Formula 1, they would have kept Jaguar Racing.

warmandog · Post 22 Feb 2007, 00:57

Yes.. good spot on guys..its just about image, what you give and what you get.
F1 need more engines options, actually we only have
6 manufactures liested bellow
renault, toyota, mercedes, MBW, Honda, Ferrari
we need lambo, Chevy or Ford, and why not Mistubishi would be greath. that could give the worldwide image that F1 still need.

regards

Alex C
Dominican Republic

pyry · Post 22 Feb 2007, 01:43

Tom wrote:Volvo doesn't see any gain from being in F1, the people who buy their cars do so because they're safe and reliable, F1 is not considered safe and an engine blow in F1 could loose them their image. I've no doubt they have the technology and money to do it but they don't see a market there.

people buy theyre cars because they are stupid. its the crappiest car(have driven many) for the dollar you can buy. the safety prospect is based on illusion; the more you rant about it the truer people believe it is

bhall · Post 22 Feb 2007, 01:49

Volkswagen and Audi are basically the same company. Same goes for Lamborghini. They're all owned by the Volkswagen Group. It would be interesting to see the Volkswagen Group use one of their brands for an F1 entry though.

As for Chevy and Ford, they're making their motorsport money in NASCAR. Chevy pulled out of IRL a couple years ago, and Ford (through its Jaguar division) pulled out of F1 around the same time. I guess no more open-wheels for them.

I'm not so sure Mitsubishi has the money to be in F1.

That (money) is the real problem for any manufacturer trying to enter F1. It costs a lot of money and most manufacturers are either losing money or just don't have enough for such a venture.

I read something today stating the David Richards could be attempting to buy Aston Martin from Ford. Perhaps he's going to bring that brand to F1 through his Prodrive entry. Although, my money is on him selling his entry before long.

manchild · Post 22 Feb 2007, 02:30

zenvision wrote:How about Volkswagen or Audi? They were touted too to enter. Maybe Audi think they get enough promotion by winning Le mans.

They'll wait till Mosley allows diesel engines

allan · Post 22 Feb 2007, 04:40

i remember a commenter saying that Ferrari is the"Volvo" of F1... not anymore i guess

m3_lover · Post 22 Feb 2007, 05:02

If VW went in..most likely it would be Audi
If it was Ford..most likely it would be Aston Martin (before being sold off)
And I couldnt see GM being in F1 (Dodge being owned by DiamlerChrysler)

bhall · Post 22 Feb 2007, 05:21

GM could come in with Saab.

sebbe · Post 22 Feb 2007, 14:05

GM has lost "massor av pengar", a gargantuan sum of money, with SAAB due to their own stupidity.
SAAB is not what it used to be, now it's a luxury brand; or at least is what GM wants it to be.
GM and Ford are facing serious economic difficulties, as well as Chrysler. They won’t spend a penny in F1, and they’re being wise by doing so.
By the way, Ford has considered selling Volvo, which is a luxury brand.

Swedish cars are luxurious in a different way German cars are.
Mercedes and BMW manufacture luxurious and sport cars; SAAB and Volvo manufacture safe and luxurious cars.
Although some SAABs are well capable of beating the cr*p out of some BMW and Mercs.

manchild · Post 22 Feb 2007, 15:20

Having GM engines is the last thing SAAB needed. How can a car maintain its luxurious status when it has same engine as Vauxall or Opel?

sebbe · Post 22 Feb 2007, 17:16

Everybody know SAAB engines were the best a SAAB had.
Powerful, reliable, and with good torque.
SAAB's powertrain unit was moved somewhere else next to GM's interest.
I've been crying ever since...