According to J.D. Power and Associates, the luxury car women like most is Volvo. Reports say that women bought or leased 53 percent of the Volvo S40 sedans sold in the U.S. Models also favored by women are the Volvo V50 wagon and the S60 sedan.

It is the reputation of safety that attracts women to the Volvo name.

Lexus, for women, is the next the most popular name brand.

But just being the number one pick among women, though, does not guarantee sales. The same reports say that sales overall for the S40 is weak. North American sales of the S40 is down 17 percent over last year and overall North American sales for Volvo are down 9.4 percent.

So why is a brand favored so much by women not doing so well in overall sales? It's because it is still a man's world. In short, men buy the majority of cars. And since men are doing the buying, it is the BMW 3-Series that leads in sales in the entry-luxury sedan market.

Our take? With most of us bloggers on the male side, we're very pleased that Volvo is not only adding more horsepower to its lineup, but more sport -- as shown by the new Volvo C30 (pictured) -- to show both sexes that safety is not the only thing on its mind.