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Junkyard Gem: 1973 Volvo 1800ES

Volvo began selling cars in the United States with the 1956 PV444, a sturdy unibody machine that looked quite a bit like the 1946 Ford from some angles. Reliable, sensible — maybe stodgy is a better word — PV544s, Amazons and 140s followed the 444s across the Atlantic as the 1950s became the 1960s. Starting in 1961, though, a genuinely sporty Volvo arrived here: the P1800. Members of the P1800 family were sold here through 1973, and I've found one of those final-model-year cars in a Northern California self-service wrecking yard. The P1800 (later named the 1800S and then the 1800E) was based on the chassis of the Amazon and was available only as a coupe from 1961 through 1971. The 1800ES shooting brake version with its all-glass hatch debuted as a 1972 model, and just under 9,000 were built before production ended the following year. The U.S.-market 1800ES got a 2.0-liter pushrod straight-four engine with Bosch fuel injection, rated at 112 horsepower. Its dirtier-running European counterparts got more power. This engine was known as the B20F. First-year Volvo 240s got the B20F as well, before moving up to the SOHC "Red Block" engine for 1976. A 1966 P1800 holds the world record for most mileage on a street car: more than 3.2 million miles. That car has a B18 engine that was rebuilt twice. The highest-mile junkyard car I've found was a Volvo as well, though it only had 626,476 miles. Does the credit go to the cars or to their owners? Yes! This car appears to have sat outside near the Pacific for too many decades; it has the top-down rust associated with living in the salt spray and fog near beaches in NorCal. This is pretty bad, but I've seen worse. This Volvo's final parking spot is just about a mile from crashing ocean waves. Worth restoring? No way, not when much nicer examples sell for a few grand. All the chawed-up seat foam suggests that raccoons and other Golden State wildlife lived inside for quite a while. The good news is that many of this crusty old Swede's components will live on in other Volvos. In fact, one of my regular readers scored a junkyard bonanza when he found this car (and several other vintage Volvos) not long before I arrived. Northern California car graveyards still offer plenty of old Scandinavian steel. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. You tell 'em, Christina!

Next Polestar Volvo sounds great, whatever it is

Something - we don't know what yet - is coming from Polestar. While we'll be recovering from next week's LA Auto Show and Tokyo Motor Show (and starting to slack off ahead of an extended Thanksgiving weekend), the official tuner of Volvo products has announced plans to unveil its latest creation in less than two weeks.
Based on this video teaser, we can only imagine (and hope) that it's the souped-up Volvo V60 recently caught testing by our spy shooters. The idea of a high-performance Volvo wagon was already enough to get us giddy last month, but the exhaust note in this video is downright captivating. Scroll down to watch the teaser for yourself, and be prepared for some bright blue wagony goodness to be revealed on November 26.

Volvo launches XC90 configurator site

In many ways the 2016 Volvo XC90 defines the future of the Swedish brand. The SUV is the introduction of the company's Scalable Product Architecture modular platform that should underpin most of its future models. It's also the first big chance to see whether consumers accept a model like this that's only available with four-cylinder power, granted a mill that is both turbocharged and supercharged. The configurator for this Swedish hopeful is just hitting the Web giving customers a chance to see what they think.
The only available powertrain on the XC90 at the moment is the 2.0-liter Drive-E with 316 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The base price starts at $48,900, plus $925 for destination, but that number can balloon quite quickly. Upgrading to the R-Design package tacks on $4,000 or the even plusher Inscription package adds $5,600.
Furthermore, there are several option packages to add some extra tech and comfort to the SUV. The Vision Package with a backup cam is an extra $1,600, two versions of the Climate package to keep occupants warm come to $1,050 and $1,950, respectively, and the Convenience Package that includes adaptive cruise control adds $2,000. Depending on trim, there are up to 13 colors available in an attractive variety, although all but two add $550 to the price. There are also a wide variety of leather upholsteries to choose from.