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Volvo confirms V60 Sportswagon engine lineup for US

In addition to revamping its entire 2014 lineup, Volvo has already promised us that we'll be getting the V60 wagon early next year, but now the Swedish automaker has confirmed that sexy wagon will go on sale in January. If that's not good enough for you diehard station wagon models, there's even better news: An available R-Design model will be the "fastest and most powerful wagon in Volvo history."
The V60 R-Design will have a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine under the hood producing 325 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Other engines available in the wagon will include the company's well-regarded turbo inline-five along with a new turbo inline-four wearing the Drive-E name. Volvo says Drive-E can "offer the opportunity" to add electrification, but there's no word as to whether or not the US will receive a V60 plug-in model. Also not yet released are fuel economy, vehicle specs and pricing. More information about the V60 and its powertrains are available in the official press release posted below.

Volvo finds a way to turn body panels into batteries [w/video]

One of the problems with designing an electric vehicle is figuring out where to fit the battery pack. Volvo - as a part of a European Union research project - is working on a way around this issue by replacing standard parts with lightweight components that double as batteries on both conventional and plug-in vehicles. The image above shows one such piece on a Volvo S80. While looking like nothing more than a carbon fiber plenum cover, the piece is actually a battery pack that can store and supply enough energy for the car's entire 12-volt power system.
The parts are made by sandwiching super capacitors (which can charge faster than standard batteries) in between layers of carbon fiber. They can then be formed to replace numerous body panels such as the decklid, roof or door panels. Volvo says that the replacing the body panels and batteries with these nano batteries can help reduce the vehicle's weight by as much as 15 percent. It has taken more than three years just to design the batteries, so there's no telling when, or if, we'll ever see this technology used on a production vehicle. Scroll down for a video and press release on Volvo's innovative battery technology.

Volvo EX30 dropped from 2024 NACTOY contention due to model year cutoff

The North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year jury announced Tuesday that the Volvo EX30 has been dropped as a finalist for the 2024 Utility of the Year award because it will not be sold to customers in 2023. As it had made it all the way to the final round before Volvo informed the jury that the car would not be available, the EX30 had to be replaced with another contender. The NACTOY board selected the 2024 Hyundai Kona/Kona Electric to fill its slot.  In fact, the EX30 was never intended to be delivered in 2023, a Volvo spokesperson confirmed to Autoblog. "The original plan had us scheduled to open order books [in November], but because we are always evaluating our production timelines and volumes, and make adjustments according to a variety of inputs, we changed that to be not before January," he said.  The other finalists for all three categories remain unchanged. The full list follows.  Car category: Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Toyota Prius Truck category: Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Ford Super Duty Utility category: Genesis Electrified GV70, Kia EV9, Hyundai Kona/Kona Electric The finalists were chosen from a list of 25, which was previously narrowed down from a comprehensive roster of all vehicles that are new or updated for the 2024 model year — a total of 52 eligible vehicles. Notably absent from the list of finalists were the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, Toyota GR Corolla, GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Mazda CX-90 and Toyota Grand Highlander, among others. The 2024 winners will be announced in January. Autoblog Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is member of the NACTOY jury. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.