2021 Volvo Xc90 T6 Momentum on 2040-cars

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How the new Volvo EX90 electric SUV adds revolution to the evolution

The all-new, all-electric Volvo EX90 does not appear to be radically different from the XC90, the vehicle it will eventually replace. It has nearly the same dimensions, inside and out. It sports familiar, familial design cues, including T-shaped “ThorÂ’s Hammer” headlights, a squared-off hood and roofline, sharply-swaged and deeply-scalloped flanks and tall taillights that fringe the hatch. Inside, three accessible rows of seats are done up in an upscale Scandinavian Modern motif, like an Arne Jacobsen furniture showroom. But if one looks closely, one begins to notice key differences. First, there is the blunt, closed snout up front. It may be grille-less, but itÂ’s still bedecked with VolvoÂ’s Iron Mark. Then, dead centered above the rearview mirror, like a pair of reading glasses canted atop oneÂ’s forehead, is a protruding hump. These hint at the EXÂ’s most comprehensive distinctions from its predecessor. The new full-size crossover is engine-less, the first Volvo to be built on an all-new battery-powered electric vehicle platform. And housed in that hump, is another first, the initial consumer vehicular integration of a functional lidar — like radar, but using light instead of sound waves — used to allow the carÂ’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to “see” further down the road, even around bends and through some objects. Eventually, allegedly, it will also allow for “unsupervised driving” capabilities. Both of these features are signifiers of VolvoÂ’s latest, but ongoing, missions. The first is its commitment to a full electrification of its entire passenger car fleet, which it plans to accomplish by the end of this decade. The second is the brandÂ’s well-known leadership in vehicular safety. Volvo claims that its new suite of sensors (16 ultra-sonic, eight cameras, five radars and the lidar) can help prevent 10% of vehicular collisions and 20% of serious injuries, part of the brandÂ’s mission to prevent anyone from being killed or seriously injured in a Volvo. ThereÂ’s even a group of sensors monitoring the driverÂ’s wellbeing to make sure theyÂ’re not sleepy or wasted, while concurrently scanning the passenger compartment to ensure that no child or pet was left behind due to that aforementioned tired or inebriated state. If they forget, theyÂ’ll get an alert on their phone, which is also their key, and the A/C or heater will automatically turn on so the precious (yet forgotten) cargo doesnÂ’t bake/freeze.

Volvo celebrates 20 years of sleeper wagons with 850 T-5R and V60 Polestar

I must have been around Bar Mitzvah age when I was in the back of my parents' car on the highway as we passed a truck full of Volvo 850 T-5R wagons - half of them in black, half in banana yellow. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen: a whole gaggle of sleeper power wagons that were infinitely cooler than whatever minivan we were riding in. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago, but it was. And Polestar is understandably keen to mark the anniversary of the first overt Volvo performance wagon.
While Volvo's racing partner hasn't released some commemorative edition to celebrate that prototypical sleeper, it has shot a special batch of photos of the T-5R (based on the 850 wagon internally known as the 855 for its five doors) alongside its modern successor, the V60 Polestar. The images shot in Huntington Beach, CA, only go to show how much has changed in the two decades that separate them.
Whereas this front-drive T-5R packed a turbocharged inline-five driving 240 horsepower through a four-speed automatic propel the yellow box to 62 in 7.0 seconds, the turbo six in the svelter, Rebel Blue-clad 2015 V60 Polestar churns out 350 hp to all four wheels through a six-speed auto for a 4.9-second sprint. That's the kind of progress we can get behind. In fact, it's the sort of progress that everyone can get behind, really, because chances are whatever you're driving will probably have a hard time keeping up.

Daimler rebuffs Geely offer to buy stake

HONG KONG/BEIJING - Daimler AG has turned down an offer from China's Geely to take a stake of up to 5 percent via a discounted share placement, as the German automaker has long been reluctant to see existing shareholdings diluted, sources with knowledge of the talks said. A stake of that size would be worth $4.5 billion at current market prices. Although Daimler declined the offer, it told Geely it was welcome to buy shares in the open market, the sources added. Carmakers in China have embarked on a flurry of dealmaking, as they scramble to boost production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles ahead of tough new quotas to be imposed by Beijing, which wants to reduce urban smog and lower the country's reliance on oil. People with knowledge of Geely's thinking said the company was keen to access Daimler's electric car battery technology and wanted to establish an electric car joint venture in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. Geely, which also owns Swedish car maker Volvo, is still hopeful it can secure a deal in some form over the coming weeks, they added. The two automakers met in Beijing in recent weeks at Geely's behest. There, the Chinese firm, formally known as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, offered to take a stake of between 3 percent and 5 percent if Daimler would issue new shares at a discount, the sources said. It was not immediately clear what kind of discount for the shares Geely had in mind or whether Geely was interested in buying the shares on the open market. A spokesman for Geely declined to comment. A spokesman for Daimler said the company was "very happy with our shareholder structure at present", but added that it would welcome new investors with a long-term interest in the company. Shares in Daimler were up 1 percent in early Wednesday trade, in line with the broader market.DAIMLER ALREADY TIED TO BAIC, BYD Geely, which has a market value of some $32 billion, is the leading domestic brand in China with a 5 percent market share, according to an analysis by Nomura Securities. A stake of 5 percent would establish it as Daimler's third-largest shareholder behind the Kuwait Investment Authority and BlackRock, who hold 6.8 percent and 6 percent respectively, according to Reuters data.