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We dialed a random Swede, talked about not driving Volvos

The Swedish Number is now a thing. It's a cool thing. You dial, a random Swede picks up, and you chat. Or, in my case, you dial and a random Brit living in Sweden for the past six year picks up and you chat. Since I was calling on behalf of Autoblog, when I got Martin from the small coastal town of Sundsvall, on the phone, we talked about cars, Volvos (natch), and cold-weather testing. Oh, and about plugging in his regular Toyota Prius. ABG: I was able to come to Sweden and test Volvos a month or so ago. Do you drive a Volvo? Martin: [laughs] No. I think Volvo is a fantastic car. It truly is an amazing car, but no. My girlfriend has a company car, so we drive a hybrid Toyota Prius. ABG: And how does that work in the cold winters? It obviously cuts down on the environmental problems. Martin: No problem at all. Because we have these cold winters, like you do get in the States as well, where we park our cars, we've got electricity posts where we can plug in the cars. Motor car engines have a heater, so you can have the heater going for some time before you get into the car. So it warms up the engine and there's a socket inside the car to warm up the inside of the car as well. It's very efficient. You just need to remember to set the timer when you climb out of the car and connect the cable. It obviously cuts down on the environmental problems as well because your car is already warm before you start them. ABG: I know that makes them overall more efficient, I just didn't know it could work with any car. It used to be you would keep the diesel engine blocks warm, but this works for pretty much any car in Sweden? Martin: Yes. Our temperatures here can vary. We do tend to get roundabout -18 to -25C [0 to -15F], where I live, sometimes. Normally, in the winter, we always plug the car in to make it more environmentally friendly, for starters, and then it's a nice warm car when you get in. The coldest I remember it getting here was -36 [-33F]. In the north of Sweden they've had, on record, -56 [-69F]. ABG: That's too cold. Martin: That is cold, yeah. Most countries, now, use the north of Sweden to test their cars because of the ice. Volvo S90 Prototype View 15 Photos ABG: That's actually why I came over there, to test out the new XC90s and S90s. Martin: Is that your job, then? ABG: I don't test the cars for the companies, but I test them for Autoblog. They'll invite us to test the vehicles so we can see for ourselves what the vehicles do in cold weather.

Toyota Yaris iA, Mazda CX-3 sales show crossover formula isn't an automatic win

While 2017 was another watershed year for crossovers, in one interesting case, a crossover had its lunch eaten by its sedan counterpart. In the past year, Toyota sold nearly 36,000 Yaris iAs, a sedan that is identical to the foreign-market Mazda2 in everything but Toyota's ugly front bumper. In the same time frame, Mazda sold just over 16,000 CX-3s, a subcompact crossover based on the Mazda2. Not only that, but the Yaris iA saw an increase of around 8,000 units over 2016, and the CX-3 sold about 2,000 fewer units than in 2016. View 29 Photos There are a few reasons this is surprising. First of course is that the crossover market is surface-of-the-sun hot right now, so much so that primarily crossover-building brand Subaru saw its best sales year ever last year. Even Mazda's other crossovers, the CX-5 and CX-9 saw better sales in 2017 than in 2016. But on paper, the CX-3 has a number of advantages compared to the Yaris iA. The CX-3 has a larger 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes about 40 more horsepower than the 1.5-liter engine in the Toyota. Also, while the cargo area behind the rear seats in the CX-3 is about one cubic foot smaller than the iA, it has the added flexibility of being a hatchback, and thus having more capability when it comes to large, bulky items. And of course, the CX-3 is quite a shapely machine compared with the awkward, angry-looking iA. That's not to say the iA doesn't have any of its own advantages. It gets 3 more mpg in the city and 6 more on the highway than the CX-3. It also costs roughly $3,000 to $4,000 less than a CX-3 and can be found at more dealers than the Mazda. But it's still surprising that a car, especially a sedan, can outsell a mechanically very similar crossover. Apparently the formula of adding more ground clearance and plastic fenders isn't foolproof. Then again, maybe it's not such a big deal to Mazda, since the CX-3's total sales were just over a tenth that of the Mazda CX-5. Related Video:

Driving the new Prius Prime, Lordstown goes bankrupt and the march to NACS | Autoblog Podcast # 787

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They start the show by talking about the cars they've been driving. Zac spent time in the 2023 Toyota Prius Prime and 2023 Jeep Compass, while Greg chats about his week in the 2023 Cadillac CT5-V and 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy. Next, they hit the news and chat about Lordstown's bankruptcy, Volvo (and others) adopting Tesla's NACS port and the revealed presence of a BMW M5 Touring. Finally, they conclude with the Spend My Money segment where a listener is looking for help finding a new EV or PHEV. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast # 787 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2023 Toyota Prius Prime XSE Premium 2023 Cadillac CT5-V 2023 Jeep Compass 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy News Lordstown bankruptcy Volvo adopts NACS, and the trend continues A BMW M5 Touring is coming, but will it come here? Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts BMW Cadillac Hyundai Jeep Toyota Volvo Green Automakers Technology Crossover Hatchback SUV Wagon Electric Hybrid Luxury Performance Sedan Podcasts