§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now consult, and make use of technical and other information possessed by the Volvo Owners Action Group in view of the apparent contradiction between that information and the findings of his own Department and the Motor Industry Research Association, so far as certain Volvo automatic models are concerned.
§ Mrs. ChalkerMy Department received information from the Volvo Owners Action Group which has been of assistance with the investigation of incidents affecting Volvo 340 series cars. Any new information that the group can provide will be carefully considered
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report the number of reported accidents and incidents involving the Volvo 300 series automatic car and its predecessor the GL66 of which his Department has knowledge; what further inspections of the cars concerned have been carried out; and what comparisons have been made with other models of similar automatic type.
§ Mrs. ChalkerMy Department is aware of the 374 incidents affecting Volvo 340 series cars and its forerunners—the Volvo GL66 and Daf 66. A number of cars have been inspected following incidents and although some defects were found, they could not be attributed to design or manufacture with one exception for which recall action has been taken. The Department has little evidence of similar incidents on other automatic cars. The continuously variable transmission system fitted by Volvo is at present unique in the United Kingdom.