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Weekly Recap: Volvo buys Polestar, makes performance a priority

Volvo is taking its performance business in-house, and the Swedish carmaker announced Tuesday that it bought tuning company Polestar, which has long been known for producing sporty Volvos. The move allows Volvo to ramp up its performance business, and it plans to increase Polestar-branded vehicle sales to 1,000 to 1,500 annually, up from the 750 total projected for this year. The companies have been working together on motorsports projects since 1996. Financial terms of the sale were not released, and Polestar workers will move over to Volvo. Former Polestar owner Christian Dahl will keep control of the Polestar racing team and operate it under a new name. In addition to sales volume, Volvo has ambitious plans for other parts of Polestar, including its aftermarket business. Volvo also said it will use its twin-engine hybrid technology for Polestar models in the future, though specifics and timing were not revealed. Meanwhile, Volvo announced it will offer a run of 265 total Polestars in the United States for the 2016 model year, with S60 and V60s available. "Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, get nose jobs Automakers tend to refer to light updates as 'facelifts,' and that's exactly what Chevy gave the 2016 Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevy slightly changed the front end of the truck. Using the one photo released of the new Z71 model as a guide, we can see that the headlights went from a stacked vertical design to single bulbs, and they are set on top of LED running lights. The grille has more body-colored elements instead of shiny metal, and the hood has a new line running down the middle (look really closely). The design theme will be similar across the portfolio, though materials and details will vary, a spokesman said. Some models, like the High Country and LTZ will have more chrome, and the LEDs are only for the upper trims. Chevy also said it will use the eight-speed automatic transmission on more versions of the Silverado, and it updated the MyLink feature to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Volvo V50 T5 AWD

During my explorations of junkyard history, I've written about discarded Volvo station wagons going back to the middle 1960s. The final Goteborg wagons with brick shapes and rear-wheel-drive were sold in the United States as 1998 models, but the new century brought us plenty of curvy front- and all-wheel-drive longroof Volvos, many of which have been built with manual transmissions. Here's one of those cars: a 2006 V50 T5 AWD with six-on-the-floor manual gearbox, found in a Denver-area car graveyard. The V50 was the wagon version of the S40 sedan. Sales in the United States began with the 2005 model, and it was discontinued after 2011. The base 2006 V50 had a naturally-aspirated 2.4-liter straight-five engine, but this car is a T5 and has the turbocharged 2.5 version with 218 horses and 236 pound-feet. A six-speed manual was the base transmission, but of course most American V50 buyers opted for the five-speed automatic. That wasn't the case with this car, which must have been fun to drive in the snow. The final year for a three-pedal Volvo in the United States was 2013. There's some body damage, but the interior is in good shape. We can assume that some expensive mechanical problem sent this car here. Like so many Denver-area cars, this one has Colorado brewery stickers. It also has some pit bull stickers. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. It takes you to the city of Confidence.

Volvo shows glimpses of new Concept C Coupe ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

Volvo has released a short teaser video for a concept car that will be unveiled on August 29 ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. At first glance, it would appear to be nothing more than a few sketches and some words from Volvo design boss Thomas Ingenlath, but at about the 11-second mark, four images are flashed on the screen revealing the true nature of the video - the Volvo Concept C Coupe.
As Inglenlath suggests in the video, this new concept is designed to help bring more excitement to the brand's lineup, and from what we can tell in these strategically captured shots, the company is definitely on to something. While we don't get too much of look from any one angle, the front reveals what appears to be a concave version of Volvo's signature grille and the side shows off a stylish greenhouse. We have to wonder, do these images confirm the identity of the mystery concept car that's been floating around the Internet this week? In either case, our favorite view is perhaps the rear shot giving us a glimpse of the car's name as well as its flat, wide haunches and C-shaped taillights.
Scroll down to watch the whole video, and if you don't have a trigger-quick mouse finger, don't worry. We made a gallery of screen shots showing the four embedded images.