1991 Volvo 740, No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2012 Volvo C30 T5 with 6-speed manual

Every year, fewer new vehicles are available in the United States with manual transmissions (though the ancient five-on-the-floor still exists… for now). American Volvo buyers preferred three-pedal setups in their cars later than some, though even they had mostly fallen out of love with manuals by the time the 1990s dawned. Still, some stubborn holdouts kept demand for the once-beloved gearbox technology alive here, until Geely-owned Volvo axed the manual transmission for the U.S. market after the 2013 model year. The final three-pedal Volvo sold here was the C30, and I've found one of those rare machines in a New Orleans car graveyard. The C30 was a cool-looking two-door hatchback that borrowed some styling influences from the the beloved 1800ES shooting brake. The biggest problem with it in the United States was that two-doors and hatchbacks in general no longer enticed many potential buyers into signing on the line which is dotted. The U.S.-market 2012 C30 came with a 2.5-liter turbocharged straight-five engine rated at 227 horsepower and 236 pound-feet, and owners could buy the Polestar Performance software upgrade to increase those numbers to 250 horses and 273 pound-feet. That made for a respectably quick machine with its curb weight of just 3,200 pounds. The six-on-the-floor manual was base equipment; if you wanted the five-speed automatic, the cost was $1,250 more ($1,711 in 2024 dollars). This is a base T5 model, so its MSRP was $24,950. That's about $34,159 after inflation. The C30 was discontinued after the 2013 model year, after many years of underwhelming sales numbers here. This one looked to have been in very nice cosmetic condition when it arrived here, so we can assume that it suffered some costly mechanical malfunction. There's more to life than a Volvo. That's why you drive one. There was an English-language version of this ad, but I prefer the Swedish one. The previous commercial dared to show a manual transmission, but the car in this ad has the slushbox. Is it ugly or is it beautiful?

Volvo Cars laying off 1,300 as it steps up cost cuts

Volvo Cars will lay off around 1,300 office-based employees in Sweden as it steps up cost cutting, the Sweden-based automaker said on Thursday. While an earlier efficiency drive had begun to show results, with Volvo this week reporting a strong first quarter, more efficiency was needed, CEO Jim Rowan said in a statement. "Economic headwinds, increased raw material prices and increased competition are likely to remain a challenge to our industry for some time," he said. The 1,300 positions equate to 6% of Volvo Cars' workforce in Sweden. Rowan told Reuters the group did not yet know how much it would save from the new measures. "We're still working the details through on that," he said in an interview. The company said it had issued redundancy notices for 1,100 employees, while the remaining 200 white-collar positions would be identified following a review of the business across Sweden. It said it also expected to cut jobs and reduce costs across its global operations in the coming months, including its consultancies. Rowan said he could not yet specify where those jobs would be cut, but that focus would primarily remain on office-based positions. "We sell in over 80 countries or so worldwide, so I think there's opportunities for us to become more efficient across the entire network," he told Reuters. Volvo Cars shares were down 3.87% at 0848 GMT.   Earnings/Financials Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Volvo SUV Luxury

Geely chairman is now the single biggest investor in Daimler

Li Shufu, the chairman and main owner of Chinese carmaker Geely, has built a stake of 9.69 percent in Daimler AG, the German carmaker said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The stake, worth nearly $9 billion at the current valuation for Daimler shares, makes Li the biggest single shareholder in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks and vans headquartered in the German city of Stuttgart. A Daimler spokesman called the stake purchase a private investment by Li. "We are delighted, with Li Shufu, to have won over another long-term investor who is convinced of Daimler's innovative prowess, strategy and future potential," the spokesman said in response to a request for comment. "Daimler knows and respects Li Shufu as a Chinese entrepreneur of particular competence and forward thinking." Li's stake purchase makes him the top shareholder in Daimler ahead of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which owned 6.8 percent as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the Chinese industry giant was seeking to become Daimler's biggest shareholder, likely exceeding the 6.8-percent stake of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The paper said Daimler had reportedly turned down Geely's $4.5 billion offer for a 5-percent stake via a discounted share placement, saying that Geely could buy shares in the open market. Institutional investors currently own 70.7 percent of Daimler, and the company already has strong ties to Chinese automakers BAIC and BYD. Bild am Sonntag said the move was intended as a strategic alliance against Apple, Google and Amazon on autonomous and connected cars. And Reuters reported that Daimler wants to have bespoke "robo taxis" on the road quicker than Google's Waymo, and views Geely as a strong partner for that. Geely conversely is interested in Daimler's electric car battery technology, and sources quoted by the German paper say there are plans to establish joint electric car manufacturing in Wuhan, China, to meet China's smog-reducing quotas. Geely is developing the Lynk & Co. brand of electric and hybrid cars. Geely owns Volvo, which has enjoyed a renaissance under the arrangement, as well as the maker of London's black cabs. In December, it bought a stake in AB Volvo, the maker of Volvo trucks.