2001 Volvo V70 X/c Wagon 4-door 2.4l Awd, 4wd, Cross Country on 2040-cars

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Geely wants to be a tech-sharing 'friend' of Daimler in $9B bet

Chinese carmaker Geely has built up an almost 10-percent stake in Daimler in a $9 billion bet by its chairman that he can access the Mercedes-Benz owner's technology in the growing battle for the future of automotives. The purchase by Li Shufu, Geely's founder and main owner, means China's largest privately-owned automaker is now the biggest shareholder in Germany's Daimler. Geely said on Saturday there were no plans "for the time being" to raise the stake further. Instead, it will seek to forge an alliance with Daimler, which is developing electric and self-driving vehicles, to respond to the challenge from new competitors such as Tesla, Google and Uber. "No current car industry player is likely to win this battle against the invaders from outside without friends. To achieve and assert technological leadership, one has to adapt a new way of thinking in terms of sharing and combining strength. My investment in Daimler reflects this vision," Li said. "Daimler is pleased to announce that with Li Shufu it could win another long-term orientated shareholder, which is convinced by Daimler's innovation strength, strategy and future potential," the German company said in a statement. Geely officials plan to travel to Stuttgart to meet Daimler executives early next week and also hope to meet top German government officials in Berlin, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Chinese firm plans to use the meetings to underline that it intends to be a supportive long-term investor, they said. Daimler had no immediate comment on any meetings. Geely and the German economy ministry declined to comment. Chinese investors in German technology companies have tended to take a consensual approach, buying incremental stakes in companies such as robotics firms Kuka and Kion, typically after long consultation with management and other stakeholders. In November, Geely asked Daimler to issue new shares so it could buy a stake, as a way to access Mercedes-Benz technology for electric cars and trucks, including battery technology, to help Geely comply with a Chinese crackdown on pollution. But the German company turned down the offer saying it did not want to dilute existing shareholders, sources at the time told Reuters. Li changed tactics, and quietly amassed a stake of 9.69 percent worth $9 billion at Daimler's current share price.

Junkyard Gem: 1965 Volvo Amazon Wagon with a heartfelt goodbye

Volvo did reasonably well selling the homely PV444/544 in the United States beginning in the middle 1950s, and its better-looking successor first appeared on our shores as a 1960 model. That was the Amazon, which was available here through 1968. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars, found in a Northern California self-service yard recently. The Amazon name wasn't used on these cars in North America (they were given 122S badging here), but everybody uses the home-market name for these cars by this time. The engine is Volvo's reliable 1.8-liter pushrod straight-four, rated at 115 horsepower and 112 pound-feet. The transmission is a four-speed manual. I've found quite a few discarded Amazons during my junkyard travels, as these are rugged cars that have long inspired powerful affection from their owners. This one was so beloved that its final owner penned a farewell note to its flank before sending it on its final tow-truck ride to Pick-n-Pull. The car saved at least two lives, though it would have been nice to get more details here. The car that did it all! It was in rough shape by the time of its retirement, with the top-down rust you see on California cars that live near the Pacific and its salt spray. Junkyard shoppers had purchased most of the interior and trim components by the time I arrived. The replacement for the Amazon was the 140, which arrived in the United States as a 1968 model and later evolved into the 200 Series. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Turns you into a Swedish rally driver! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Volvos are built so well that they last an average of 11 years in Sweden. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The best Amazon commercials are in Swedish, of course.

2024 Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge First Drive Review: Back to the RWD future

The 2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 EVs will be available with rear-wheel drive, replacing the front-wheel-drive version that has been the fraternal pairing’s single-motor base model. This is obviously newsworthy — why else would I be writing about it? But does it actually mean anything? After driving both of these vehicles around the lakes, seaside, perfectly-maintained highways, and cobblestoned urban streets proximate to the brandÂ’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, I can say that the answer is, not really. But thatÂ’s not really VolvoÂ’s fault. The last time Volvo sold a rear-wheel-drive vehicle in the United States was 1998 when the cushy, brick-like 960 was retired (officially S90 and V90 in their final year). Everything thereafter was front-wheel drive or at least on a front-drive-based platform, in no small part due to the additional all-weather traction and stability afforded by the additional weight of an internal combustion engine and transaxle over the drive wheels. In short, it was safer, and even as Volvo moved away from decades of arcane, rectilinear design, safety remained its raison dÂ’etre.   That hasnÂ’t changed, but according to Volvo, EVs have fundamentally changed vehicle dynamics, centers of gravity, and weight distribution to refute the front-drive argument. A Volvo spokesperson told me that this new one-motor layout in the XC/C40, driving the rear wheels, with contemporary advanced driver assistance systems, is better in inclement weather than a gas-engine/FWD combo. That explains why the switch to a standard rear-drive layout doesnÂ’t run afoul of VolvoÂ’s established ethos, but why make the switch in the first place? Whether it was the plan all along, or just an advancement of next-generation technology to prolong and extend the relevance of these vehicles, is not something Volvo would comment on. In any event, many of the base EVs that are in or near the XC/C40Â’s competitive set — the VW ID.4, the Kia EV6, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 — feature rear-wheel drive in their single-motor setup. It is notable that all of those cars were developed from the ground up as EVs and could be optimized for the aforementioned dynamics. The XC40 and C40 were built on a platform capable of accommodating gas-only, plug-in hybrid and full-electric powertrains.