2005 Volvo S60 2.5t Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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2024 Volvo XC40 and XC60 won't offer front-wheel-drive trims

There's more movement in the Volvo lineup. The year has already seen the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge get rear-wheel-drive powertrains, more powerful motors, and better range, plus the introduction of the EX30 city crossover. Apparently, now it's time to take some options away. Car and Driver reports the gas-powered XC40 and XC60 crossovers won't be available with front-wheel drive anymore. The 2023 XC40 offers a B4 mild hybrid drivetrain with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder sending 194 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque to the front axle. That goes away, leaving the B5 AWD mild hybrid powertrain, its 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 247 hp and 258 lb-ft. The B5 upgrade adds $2,000 to the cost, meaning the 2024 XC40 will likely run at least $39,645 before potential model-year price increases are applied.     The 2023 XC60 comes in three trims. One of them utilizes a front-wheel-drive version of the above mentioned B5 mild hybrid setup, another employs the B6 AWD mild hybrid powertrain centered around a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 295 hp and 310 lb-ft. Both of those will be dropped in the coming model year. The sole remaining trim gets down the road with the B5 AWD powertrain. Before any possible price increases, the 2024 XC60 will run $47,045. The S60 sedan gets in on the pruning as well, shedding the limited-volume Polestar Engineered variant. Introduced for the 2019 model year as a flourish to Volvo completing its all-new lineup, the S60 Polestar Engineered's retuned T8 plug-in hybrid system paired a supercharged and turbocharged two-liter four-cylinder with a rear-mounted electric motor for a combined 415 hp and 494 lb-ft. In the five years since introduction, output has climbed to 455 hp and 523 lb-ft., and the purchase price went from a subscription-only $1,100 per month to an MSRP of $68,050. The equipment chosen to harness such potential includes adjustable Ohlins dampers, six-piston Brembo front brake calipers behind forged 19-inch wheels — those wheels an inch smaller than on the debut version, a change likely made because of the notably stiff ride. At this point, the only Polestar Engineered trims left in the Volvo lineup next year will be be found on the V60 and XC60.

Volvo announces a move away from wagons and sedans as SUV fever spikes

Volvo will move away from station wagons and sedans as it pivots towards an electric-only lineup. While it won't abandon either body style, it hinted it will pare down its presence in both segments as it launches more crossovers. "We need less variants of sedans and wagons. We have a lot of wagons today, with the V60, the V90, the Cross Country, and the non-Cross Country, plus a lot of sedans big and small, long, and extra-long. We need to move from wagons and sedans. We will still have them in the future, but probably not as many," warned company boss Hakan Samuelsson in an interview with British magazine Autocar. He pointed out Volvo's sales mix is about 75% SUVs. Volvo's portfolio in 2021 includes two wagons, the V60 and the V90. Each one is available as a regular low-riding model, or as a Cross Country-branded high rider with all-wheel-drive and rugged styling cues. Selling wagons in 2021 is difficult, even for a brand like Volvo that's been closely associated with the body style for decades. American motorists fell out of love with the long-roof years ago, and Chinese drivers never liked them to begin with. Europeans still buy lifted wagons, but low-riding models are a tough sell, even in Volvo's home country of Sweden. Reading between the lines suggests non-Cross Country-badged models will be axed from the range in the coming years. As for sedans, Volvo has two: the S60 and the S90. It's not too far-fetched to speculate that at least one won't be replaced at the end of its life cycle. While nothing is official yet, and this is just a guess, our money is on the S90. High-riding vehicles are what the market wants in the 2020s, and Volvo (like everyone else) is following demand. It added a fourth model to its palette of crossovers and SUVs when it introduced the 2022 C40 Recharge, an electric soft-roader with XC40 underpinnings and a fastback-like roof line. Unverified rumors claim a flagship model tentatively called XC100 is on its way, and Samuelsson confirmed an entry-level crossover called either XC20 or C20 is currently under development. The model's architecture will come from China-based parent company Geely. Samuelsson explained the shift to an all-electric range will have a profound effect on Volvo's design language. First, a lot of its upcoming cars will be taller, because it's easier to pack a bulky battery pack into a crossover than into a sedan. Second, the firm's future design language will be more streamlined.

Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.