Volvo Concept Estate to spawn V90 luxury wagon, joining CUV and coupe

The Volvo Concept Estate garnered Autoblog's Editors' Choice award as our team's favorite reveal at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month for its sleek take on Scandinavian design, and now it looks like we might actually see the sleek wagon in production. Volvo is reportedly considering using the concept as the basis for a replacement for the V70 wagon, dubbing the new model V90.

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Volvo Updates V40 With Cleaner D2, New T2

Volvo has introduced a number of changes for the V40 available in Europe. The car is still brand new to most people, but the Swedes have found ways to make it a bit better and attractive to customers.

The first big change is to the efficiency of the D2 engine, which is now available with an automatic gearbox and returns combined fuel economy of 3.9lt/100km (72.4mpg UK) and CO2 emissions of 102 grams per kilometer. The manual gearbox model is even more efficient. Before, this 1.6-litered turbo put out 94 grams of CO2 through the exhaust, but now it only emits 88 grams per kilometer and has much improved efficiency: 3.4 l/100km on average.

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Volvo to finally replace XC90 in 2014

There's not a whole lot of life left in the current Volvo XC90, but it seems a replacement is on the way. According to What Car?, Volvo will launch its new flagship crossover sometime in 2014, riding on an all new platform that will eventually underpin several models in the company's range.

According to Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson, this new architecture will eventually underpin the next-generation S60, V70, S80 and XC60, all of which will be getting mid-cycle enhancements over the next year. In speaking to What Car?, Samuelsson said that Volvo would not try to follow the paths set by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, instead focusing on "safety, elegant design and user-friendly functionality" for its next round of new cars.

The new XC90 will remain a seven-passenger vehicle and will be powered by a range of four-cylinder engines. Volvo will soon be dropping the five- and six-cylinder powertrains from its lineup.

This whole new model offensive will start with the XC90 at the end of 2014. Until then, we have the delightfully refreshed 2013 model to tide us over.

News Source: What Car?

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Volvo Boss Confirms Nine New Models by 2015

The new CEO of Volvo, Hakan Samuelsson, has confirmed that the Swedish automaker will be updating and/or replacing eight of the nine models currently in the range, within the next 12 months. The information comes courtesy of autocar.co.uk, who spoke to Samuelsson at the 2012 North American International Auto Show.

Aside from the aforementioned updates, there will also be an all-new XC90, which will most likely be unveiled later this year, before its official market debut in 2014. It will use Volvo’s new SPA or Scaleable Platform Architecture, which will also be used in the company’s other large cars.

Volvo is trying to counter the six percent decline in sales they recored in 2012, when they sold 421,951 cars worldwide.

Samuelsson announced that the 60- and 70-badged models will be getting refreshed later this year, while the 40- and 50-badged models will get full replacements, which Volvo will be (or is already) developing on its own. Apparently the latter may even require an all-new small platform.

The Volvo boss also said that they would not be building any cars smaller than the current V40. They will, however, begin concentrating more on SUVs, which will become ‘core’ Volvo models, in order to better define the brand image.

We always thought Volvo was all about making great estate cars, but it seems times have changed...

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IIHS says these are the safest cars of 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed its annual list of Top Safety Picks, an award that highlights automobiles it says offer "superior crash protection." A new and still more significant award, the Top Safety Pick+ honor, is given to those vehicles that earn good ratings for occupant protection in four out of five areas of measure. And while some 117 vehicles were given the TSP seal of approval for 2013, just 13 passed muster for TSP+.

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Volvo buyers have best credit scores among all auto shoppers

Experian, the US credit reporting agency, recently concluded a study into the financing and credit scores of US car buyers. One of the prime findings was that Volvo buyers enjoy the strongest credit scores among new car shoppers from all brands (nota bene, these are Experian's own numbers and can differ from other agencies). Unlike the Forbes report on the same story, though, we don't find that surprising at all, nor do we think it necessarily helps Volvo's upscale brand aspirations. The Gothenburg-based carmaker has sold its wares on tank-like safety for decades, so it seems natural that its buyers would be just as safe with and attentive to their credit scores as they are with their choice of vehicle.

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This papercraft Volvo 240 is pure lunacy

We've seen some pretty impressive papercraft creations as of late, including a massive Bugatti Veyron and a 1969 Ford Mustang, but this Volvo 240 Wagon takes the cake. The pieces come in a sizable tome, complete with instructions, and buyers can choose from a ludicrous number of options. Your papercraft Volvo 240 can be made with either a right-hand or left-hand-drive steering wheel, black or silver trim, automatic or manual transmission and electric or crank windows as well as a slew of wheel options. We can't exactly say we have the patience to sit down, cut out and assemble a paper box of our own, but we're in awe of the finished product.

If you have a soft spot for bricks and some time to kill, you can buy the kit from eBay for the low price of $12.90, plus $6.00 for shipping. Sounds like a steal to us.

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