Stunning 1995 Volvo 940 Low Miles Serviced Extra Clean No Reserve Auction on 2040-cars

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Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

2022 Volvo C40 Recharge priced, goes on sale late 2021

Pricing for the 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge is out, and in consistent coupe crossover fashion, it’s a little more expensive than the traditionally-styled XC40 Recharge. The starting price is $59,845, including the $1,095 destination charge. ThatÂ’s $4,760 more than a base 2022 XC40 Recharge. ItÂ’ll be limited to just a single fully-loaded trim called “Ultimate” initially — there will be no additional options, Volvo says. Volvo lets you choose a lower “Plus” trim with the standard XC40 Recharge, but the cheaper starting price also carries less standard equipment. Sweetening the deal for C40 customers is an Electrify America partnership that starts all owners off with 250 kWh of complimentary charging. This comes with the regular XC40 Recharge, too, but it must be a 2022 model year vehicle. One should also take into account any federal or state tax incentives on offer when running the number — Volvo is still eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, so your effective net price could be closer to $50,000 depending on your location. Unfortunately, EPA-rated electric range on a full charge was not included in this announcement. Volvo announced the C40 with a 260-mile range estimate, but the real EPA number will surely fall below that figure. The XC40 Recharge, which the C40 shares all of its vital parts with, is EPA-rated for 208 miles on a full charge. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter this year for folks who pre-ordered the C40 online in March. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo EX30 Deep Dive: Designing a budget SUV

We just spent a couple days with, in and around Volvo’s latest all-new electric vehicle, the EX30, at the companyÂ’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, and we came away impressed. We went in with questions, and came out with answers, or so we think, though some of them will remain until we drive it in November. A number of automakers are promising truly affordable EVs, ones that not only undercut the current, $4,600 price differential between new battery-powered cars and their internal combustion powered siblings, but ones that are significantly lower than the general average new car transaction price, which is currently nearly $50,000. Mass market EVs like this are important, if we are to make a real environmental impact with our switch to battery power, as there is little that is green about the resource-hoarding production and utilization of niche, six-figure, five-ton electric pickups and SUVs. Volvo aims to be first to market with such a car, with the compact EX30, which it plans to sell starting at $35,000. This is a new category offering for the brand, one that slots in well below the current XC40 Recharge EV in terms of price and size. For contrast, that car starts at around $50,000, and is 8 inches longer, 4 inches higher and nearly 3 inches wider. Volvo EX30 View 22 Photos This seems like a strange move for a company whose mission, since being purchased by the Chinese manufacturing company Geely, has been to move upscale into the same consideration set as the luxury German brands. But, as is often the case, Volvo is taking its own path. “This is indeed a lower segment for us,” says Joakim Hermansson, the vehicle product lead for EX30, as he walks us around the car, inside and out, and allows us to sample the sharp accelerative abilities of the range-topping, 442 hp, dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model (0-60 in 3.4 seconds.) “But itÂ’s still premium for Volvo, providing hallmark features of safety, sustainability and personalization, as well as performance.” He's not wrong about any of these. This EX30 comes standard with VolvoÂ’s extra-strength safety cage as well as lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. Perhaps most notably, it has an all-new interior design that capitalizes on the efforts the brand has been making toward its internal goal of being fully circular in its sustainability efforts by 2040.