1999 Volvo S70 Awd Sedan 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Volvo EX90 EV is heavy on sustainability with new Nordico cabin material

After hints from former Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelson and a trademark application for the term "Embla," we'd suspected the electric successor to the XC90 would be called the Embla. New Volvo CEO Jim Rowan explained that after taking brand familiarity into account, the people who decide the names of things decided "EX90 marks a new iteration on our current nomenclature and is reflective of our transition toward a full-electric lineup by 2030." Another symbol of the transition to all EV all the time is Volvo interior designers believing they have created "one of the most pleasant and elegant car interiors on the market" by "reinterpreting luxury and well-being [through the] essential qualities of Scandinavian design: simplicity, well-being and natural sources." Senior Design Manager Cecilia Stark tells us the nut and bolt of this is Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, and wool shorn off sustainably raised sheep. Backlit wood trim lines the EX90's cabin, reminiscent of a Scandinavian living room. The wool is a secondary fabric option, buyers first invited to enjoy Volvo's new Nordico synthetic fabric made from ingredients like recycled PET bottles and responsibly sourced pine resin from managed forests in Sweden and Finland. Counting Nordico and other synthetic textiles in places like the carpeting, Volvo says there are "almost 50 kilograms of recycled plastics and bio-based materials" in an EX90 cabin, surpassing the amount for every other vehicle in the automaker's range.  There will be a standard luxury aspect to configuring the flagship crossover, though. Mostly discussed as a feature among super luxury makers who offer so many options that buyers can be overwhelmed into analysis paralysis, Volvo designers have created themed "rooms" encompassing EX90 exterior colors, upholstery, and decor. We don't know how many rooms will be offered, and we're not used to seeing exterior hues included in themed packages, so this should be interesting.     Volvo will show the EX90 on November 9. The crossover is slated to go into production at the automaker's South Carolina plant before the year is out. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Volvo racks up the most IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards of any 2022 carmaker

It should not come as any surprise, but Volvo has won the most IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards of any automaker in 2022. Top Safety Pick+ is the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety's top prize. Volvo has accumulated 13 of the awards, spanning its entire lineup. IIHS and Volvo separates models between gasoline and electrified versions of the same car, even though the tests may have been conducted only on one variant. For example, the XC60 Recharge earns an TSP+ even though tests were conducted using gasoline-powered XC60 T5 and T6 models. Similarly, a C40 Recharge gets the award even though the actual test was conducted on a similar XC40 Recharge. Also, as with Mazda's lineup TSP+ rankings from earlier this year, some are carried over to 2022 model year cars from tests on previous model year cars. This is only when the model has not changed significantly. For example, the XC60's 2022 ranking was based on a 2018 model year's crash test. The IIHS conducts six tests on each car — a moderate overlap front crash, two small overlap front crashes for both driver and passenger, a side impact crash, a roof strength crush evaluation, and a head restraint test using just the car seat. The results are ranked out of four levels, with a green "Good" marker indicating the top tier. Beyond the crashes, Volvo earned top marks for standard safety features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and pedestrian and cyclist detection. It should be noted that most Volvo models earned an "Acceptable" rating for ease of use of the LATCH safety seats. This is the second best rating, but does not affect crash worthiness, and won't matter if you don't use child seats. XC40 models received a "Poor" rating for its safety belt reminders, which IIHS deemed not loud or long enough. Some models like the S90 and XC60 received "Acceptable" ratings on headlights, with IIHS wishing the beams were brighter on turns. Despite these minor quibbles, the overall ratings are still very impressive. It should be noted that even the V60 and V90 wagons, which are (achingly beautiful but tragically) discontinued in America, also got TSP+ ratings though were not included in the 13-model 2022 count. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Volvo XC90 Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Crash Test Rating