08 Volvo C70 T5 Hard Top Convertible - Leather, Nav, Low Miles, Immaculate on 2040-cars

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Volvo to go all electric by 2030, hastening internal combustion's death

LONDON — VolvoÂ’s entire car lineup will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese-owned Swedish company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of carmakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade.   “I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine,” Volvo Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told reporters when asked about future demand for electric vehicles. “We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive for customers.” The Swedish carmaker said 50% of its global sales should be fully-electric cars by 2025 and the other half hybrid models. Owned by Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo will launch a new family of electric cars in the next few years, all of which will be sold online only. Volvo will unveil its second all-electric model, the C40, later on Tuesday. Samuelsson said Volvo will include wireless upgrades and fixes for its new electric models — an approach pioneered by electric carmaker Tesla Inc. Carmakers are racing to switch to zero-emission models as they face CO2 emissions targets in Europe and China, plus looming bans in some countries on fossil fuel vehicles. Last month, Ford said its lineup in Europe will be fully electric by 2030, while Tata Motors unit Jaguar Land Rover said its luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and the carmaker will launch electric models of its entire lineup by 2030. And last November, luxury carmaker Bentley, owned by GermanyÂ’s Volkswagen, said its models would be all electric by 2030. Electrification is expensive for carmakers, and as electric vehicles have fewer moving parts, auto employment is expected to shrink.    Volvo CEO Samuelsson said that industrywide, electrification will mostly affect engine plants and auto suppliers providing everything from oil filters to fuel injectors and spark plugs. “Those are a lot of jobs of course,” he said. “But overall I donÂ’t think there will be a big difference.” Volvo said it will “radically reduce” the complexity of its model line-up and provide customers with transparent pricing. The carmakerÂ’s global network of 2,400 traditional bricks-and-mortar dealers will remain open to service vehicles and to help customers make online orders.

IIHS says these are the safest cars of 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed its annual list of Top Safety Picks, an award that highlights automobiles it says offer "superior crash protection." A new and still more significant award, the Top Safety Pick+ honor, is given to those vehicles that earn good ratings for occupant protection in four out of five areas of measure. And while some 117 vehicles were given the TSP seal of approval for 2013, just 13 passed muster for TSP+.
To be fair, IIHS only evaluated 29 vehicles with its new testing procedures for TSP+ (we'd expect that the number of qualified cars will rise substantially for 2014). Luxury and Near Luxury midsize cars were the first groups evaluated, followed by midsizers in the Moderately Priced Cars category - unsurprisingly, it's only midsize cars that you'll find among the class this year.
Only two luxury sedans made the list of 13 for 2013: the Acura TL and Volvo S60. The other 11 cars on the list included entries from domestic, Japanese and German car makers: Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord (sedan and coupe), Kia Optima (but not its close kin, the Hyundai Sonata, strangely), Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Suzuki Kizashi and the Volkswagen Passat all made the grade.

Volvo EX30 interior is minimalism with clever tricks and a sound bar

Volvo's given us another piece of the battery-electric EX30 puzzle. Our first proper glimpse of the interior proves Volvo was not overstating its focus on minimalism in the EX30. We've gone years now accusing infotainment screen of looking like tablets bolted to the dashboard. The centrally placed screen in the EX30 doesn't resemble an iPad on an instrument panel, it looks like a genuine tablet laid on a shelf. We look forward to finding out whether it can be unlatched from the clip-like supports on the sides. The automaker says all information is presented through the 12.3-inch portrait screen, despite the small curved screen mounted to the steering column behind the wheel. Our guess is the small screen is a gear selection indicator, if it's not for tiny info bites like speed and navigation, akin to what's on the Volkswagen ID.4. The large screen offers a "Calm" setting limiting the display to vitals only, letting some welcome dark into the cabin. For the first time in a Volvo, wireless Apple CarPlay is part of the infotainment functionality. The instrument panel has as least one trick of its own, being a sound bar laid across the top, under the windshield — the same kind of sound bar you'd buy for an OLED television. The unit in the pic is from Harman Kardon; we're not sure if that's standard fit or if it's an upgraded unit that goes with the optional Harman Kardon audio that will be available. Volvo says the EX30 will be the first application of a sound bar in a production car, chosen in part because the bar's clustered speakers cut down on wiring and open up space elsewhere. That's right, the sound bar contains the only speakers in the cabin. The space in the doors where speakers normally go has been converted to storage. Speaking of which, the EX30 picks up a few tricks we saw first on the battery-electric Nissan Ariya. The Volvo's glovebox has slid sideways to the center of the IP, accessible to the driver without leaning over. The center console slides fore and aft, providing cupholders in easy reach or more space for notions. The power window controls are on the center console as well, we hope located on a segment that doesn't slide. Volvo one-ups the Ariya by placing protective walls around the console's storage area on the floor, so little items don't roll left and right.