Volvo to kill S60?

Volvo may not replace its S60 sedan when production of the current model stops this year or next, U.K. automotive news service Just-Auto reported this afternoon. How could this be? According to the report, the 2007 Volvo S80 is intended to replace the S60 in Swedish brand's lineup. The drastic change is currently under consideration as a part of a "radical product plan overhaul" under consideration at the Ford subsidiary. While we haven't seen the full report yet, we suspect the plan involves an alignment with the offerings from BMW and Mercedes. While the S60 has often been billed as a 5-Series and E-Class competitor, it never quite lived up to that standard. The new S80, however, more effectively matches those benchmark models. The plan would then open the door for a large model (possibly the Volvo S100) to truly challenge the 7-Series and S-Class -- a feat only halfheartedly attempted by the previous-generation S80. We'll keep you posted as more information from the report becomes available...