2002 Volvo C70 5 Speed Coupe on 2040-cars

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Man convicted of spying on truck maker Scania for the Russians

STOCKHOLM — A Swedish court on Wednesday sentenced a 47-year-old man to three years in prison for spying for Russia, which involved selling secret information from truck maker Scania. The court said it had found the man guilty of acquiring and selling the secret information from the truck maker to a Russian embassy official. The court acquitted the man of similar espionage charges at Geely-owned carmaker Volvo Cars. "To be convicted of espionage, it is required that Sweden's security can be damaged if the information benefits foreign powers," the court said in a statement. "The district court has ruled that this is the case with regard to the information that the man obtained from Scania, while it has not been proven that this is the case with regard to the information from Volvo." The court statement said the man regularly received cash at his meetings with the Russian embassy official, which it considered was compensation for the information provided. The man, who has denied wrongdoing, was apprehended whilst meeting the diplomat in a restaurant, having just received 27,800 Swedish krona ($3,242). He worked as a consultant for Volvo Cars in 2016 and 2017 and for Scania in 2018 and 2019, until he was arrested. The man's lawyer said he would appeal. Scania is owned by truck maker Traton. Government/Legal Volvo Scania

Volvo rolls out new R-Design versions of S60, XC60 and new V60

Volvo has put together R-Design packages for its newly facelifted S60, V60 and XC60 models, and for those who want more bark to go with them, there's a power upgrade for the S60 and V60 courtesy of Polestar performance. The aesthetics start with new front and rear fascias, the grille going frameless and Tech Matte Black with a silk metal diagonal bar, the back end getting a finned diffuser and round R-Design tailpipes. On top of that, the S60 and V60 are lowered 15 millimeters and can be fitted with 19-inch versions of the company's Ixion wheel pattern.
The R-Design sport chassis stiffens things up, items like the rear dampers getting 20-percent stiffer while front bushings get a whopping 400-percent stiffer. Inside there's a black headliner, perforated leather mixed with nubuck and contrasting stitching on the sport seats, or a full leather option for those who love their cow, and the Adaptive Digital Display gets a blue hue when set to the Elegance appearance theme.
Buyers of the 3.0-liter T6 engine can add the Polestar performance option, which cranks things up to 329 horsepower instead of the standard 304 hp, and an exclusive accelerator pedal comes with it. More detail can be found in the press release below.

Junkyard Gem: 1994 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon

Volvo began selling brick-shaped rear-wheel-drive station wagons in the United States with the 145 in the 1968 model year, continuing the tradition with the 200, 700 and 900 series wagons and all the way through the very last 1998 V90s. The benefits of front-wheel-drive proved impossible for those Goteborgers to resist, though, and so the 850 was developed. The 850 sedan first appeared in the United States as a 1993 model, with the wagon version following in 1994. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those first-year 850 wagons, found in a Colorado Springs self-service yard recently. The 850 wasn't the first production Volvo with front-wheel-drive (the 1986 Volvo 480 beat it to European showrooms), but it was the first one available on our continent. The base 1994 Volvo 850 wagon for the U.S. market had a 2.4-liter DOHC straight-five rated at 168 horsepower and 162 pound-feet, but this car has the turbocharged version with its 222 horses and 221 pound-feet. American buyers of the 1994 Volvo 850 had the choice of a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Most took the automatic. This car is a loaded model with power sunroof and other goodies in addition to the slushbox, so its MSRP was $30,985 (about $66,194 in 2024 dollars). This was a bit less than a similarly equipped 960 wagon (which listed at $34,950, or $74,665 after inflation). The antiquated but reliable 240 wagon had been discontinued the year before, with the 740 wagon getting the axe the year before that). This car just made it past the 200,000-mile mark during its career on the road. That's respectable, though I've found discarded Volvos that made it beyond 400,000 miles (and one that got to 631,999). The interior looked pretty good before someone smashed all the windows. Perhaps vandalism sent a running car to this place. Someone was kind enough to write down the security code on the factory radio. Drive safely. For those of you who hate to commute but adore driving.