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Junkyard Gem: 1987 Volvo 760 GLE Sedan

When Volvo finally created a replacement for the iconic 200 Series (which first appeared here as 1975 models but were virtually identical to their 140 predecessors from the A pillar back), that car was the 700 Series. As it turned out, the 240 was so beloved that it ended up outlasting its supposed successor in the showrooms, but the 740, 760 and 780 earned respectable sales worldwide. The first of the 700s to arrive in the United States were 760 sedans and wagons, with sales beginning in the 1983 model year and the cheaper 740 showing up for 1984. We saw a 760 Turbo sedan in a Colorado car graveyard last year, and now here's a naturally-aspirated 760 sedan in a Northern California yard. The middle digit in Volvo model names represented the number of engine cylinders in earlier years, so you knew a 164 would have a straight-six under its hood, while a 264 boasted a V6. That rule got bent with the 700, so the 740 Turbo had a four-cylinder (presumably, turbocharging made up for the missing two pistons).  In this case, though, there really are six cylinders present. This is a 2.8-liter version of the PRV V6 engine, which was developed jointly by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo and used to power an incredible variety of European vehicles plus a handful from Detroit. PRVs went into the DeLorean DMC-12, the Volvo 262C Bertone Coupe, the Alpine A310, the Citroen XM and the Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco. Because the PRV design began as a V8 (that, sadly, never went into production), it has a V8-style 90° cylinder-bank angle. This one was rated at 145 horsepower and 173 pound-feet. There was a version of the 760 available with a straight-six engine as well: the 760 Turbodiesel, which used a Volkswagen-sourced 2.4-liter oil-burner making 106 horsepower and 140 pound-feet. 1986 was the last model year for that car in the United States. There was no manual transmission available in the 760 by 1987, so this car has the four-speed automatic. The MSRP for this car was $28,290, or about $78,304 in 2023 dollars. You got a sunroof at no extra cost. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Perfect for off-roading! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Who needs rebates? This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The wagon version held eight very large dogs.

Geely targeting US market in 2016 with help from Volvo

Following reports that it'd team up with corporate sibling Volvo on a Chinese-market car comes a report from Bloomberg that Geely would reattempt its entry into the US market. The Chinese brand had a display at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, but has been absent from the US scene ever since.
The Geely branded cars will be jointly developed with Volvo, and bank on the Swedish manufacturers reputation for safety and reliability. Geely's CEO, Gui Shengyue, explained, "Our acquisition of Volvo enhanced our image and overseas consumers are seeing us as an international company." This represents a change in rhetoric for the brand, after Geely Chairman Li Shufu hamstrung the idea of a closer pairing, citing fears that an association would harm Volvo's reputation. The news of projects between Geely and Volvo first broke last week, although it's unclear if the cars that end up coming to the US will be the same as those being sold in China.
As we reported last week, Geely is already aiming to be the biggest brand in the Chinese domestic market. With this move to the US market, it's also attempting to overtake Chery as China's largest automotive exporter. According to the Bloomberg report, Geely has already moved 180,000 units overseas, which is extremely close to the 184,800 vehicles sold by Chery in 2012. By 2018, Geely anticipates that 60 percent of its sales will be occur outside of the PRC.

Volvo is preparing to abandon its alphanumerical naming system

Volvo's alphanumerical naming system is familiar, straight-forward, but tilted towards the unimaginative side of the scale. The firm will start from scratch in the coming years, and it plans to give its future models an actual name. "If you look at cars today, they all have XC, T8, AWD, double-overhead-cam — their full specifications on the rear of many cars. Now, we're talking about a new architecture, one that's born electric and all electric. I think it's good and clear to mark that this is a new beginning. That's why we're not going to have numbers and letters, an engineering type of name. We're going to give cars a name as you give a newborn child. We have a very interesting and creative discussion going on about this now," company boss Hakan Samuelsson told Auto Express. He stopped short of providing more details about where Volvo plans to take its naming system. Historically, the company has almost always used numbers, letters or a combination of the two. The first car it released was the OV 4, which stood for oppen vagn 4 cylindrar ("open car, four cylinders" in Swedish). Volvo gained a foothold in the United States thanks to the PV544, among other models. Some of its greatest hits include the P1800, 240 (and its six-cylinder-powered variant, the 260), the Bertone-designed 780, and the 850. Notable exceptions to this decades-old rule include the Amazon (also known as the 120 series) and the Duett (called PV445 in some markets). Regardless of Volvo's next approach to naming cars, the change will be a big one. It sounds like the next-generation XC90 will inaugurate this new naming system. It's expected to make its debut before the end of 2022 with a suite of surprisingly advanced semi-automated driving technology under its sheet metal. Next, the Swedish company will turn its attention to the other side of the crossover scale. It will reportedly launch an entry-level soft-roader positioned below the XC40 and developed to lure younger buyers into showrooms. We previously thought it would wear the XC20 nameplate, though that's seemingly no longer the case. Regardless, the crossover will offer an electric drivetrain and it will "very likely" be made in China, according to Samuelsson, to keep costs in check. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge charging