The poor car market has led many carmakers to take drastic action with their workforces, to ask for government assistance or to offer unprecedented incentives, but so far most carmakers haven't taken the knife to their base pricing. Volvo bucks the trend today by cutting the price of their XC90 SUV by 8%, saving about $3,250 on V8 models.

The price cut is there to help get customers back into dealerships - with the lower sticker price, there's a better starting point for negotiation. Base pricing for the XC90 now starts at $37,000 for the 3.2 trim, $38,205 for the 3.2 R-Design, and $46,300 or $47,550 for the V8 AWD and V8 AWD R-Design trims, respectively.

"The decision to re-price the XC90 was taken to provide a strong value message to our customers," said Doug Speck, president and CEO of Volvo Cars North America. "The XC90 has been one of the most successful vehicles for Volvo, and this action will help to continue that success."

Along with the price change come model configuration differences: the XC90 will now only be available in a seven-seat configuration to make room for the new XC60 SUV. Priced at $37,200 in the U.S., the XC60 actually starts at the same price, prompting us to wonder if Volvo will also be chopping the price of the mid-size XC60 to keep it in line.

2009 Volvo XC90