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We dialed a random Swede, talked about not driving Volvos

The Swedish Number is now a thing. It's a cool thing. You dial, a random Swede picks up, and you chat. Or, in my case, you dial and a random Brit living in Sweden for the past six year picks up and you chat. Since I was calling on behalf of Autoblog, when I got Martin from the small coastal town of Sundsvall, on the phone, we talked about cars, Volvos (natch), and cold-weather testing. Oh, and about plugging in his regular Toyota Prius. ABG: I was able to come to Sweden and test Volvos a month or so ago. Do you drive a Volvo? Martin: [laughs] No. I think Volvo is a fantastic car. It truly is an amazing car, but no. My girlfriend has a company car, so we drive a hybrid Toyota Prius. ABG: And how does that work in the cold winters? It obviously cuts down on the environmental problems. Martin: No problem at all. Because we have these cold winters, like you do get in the States as well, where we park our cars, we've got electricity posts where we can plug in the cars. Motor car engines have a heater, so you can have the heater going for some time before you get into the car. So it warms up the engine and there's a socket inside the car to warm up the inside of the car as well. It's very efficient. You just need to remember to set the timer when you climb out of the car and connect the cable. It obviously cuts down on the environmental problems as well because your car is already warm before you start them. ABG: I know that makes them overall more efficient, I just didn't know it could work with any car. It used to be you would keep the diesel engine blocks warm, but this works for pretty much any car in Sweden? Martin: Yes. Our temperatures here can vary. We do tend to get roundabout -18 to -25C [0 to -15F], where I live, sometimes. Normally, in the winter, we always plug the car in to make it more environmentally friendly, for starters, and then it's a nice warm car when you get in. The coldest I remember it getting here was -36 [-33F]. In the north of Sweden they've had, on record, -56 [-69F]. ABG: That's too cold. Martin: That is cold, yeah. Most countries, now, use the north of Sweden to test their cars because of the ice. Volvo S90 Prototype View 15 Photos ABG: That's actually why I came over there, to test out the new XC90s and S90s. Martin: Is that your job, then? ABG: I don't test the cars for the companies, but I test them for Autoblog. They'll invite us to test the vehicles so we can see for ourselves what the vehicles do in cold weather.

Toyota recalling 1.9M Prius models globally for software update

Toyota has announced a set of voluntary recalls covering 960,000 Prius, RAV4, Tacoma and Lexus RX350 models in the United States to address two separate issues. Worldwide, Toyota will have to recall a total of 1.9 million Prius cars.
The Prius recall affects about 700,000 2010-2014 models in the US, due to a fault in the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU software. It says that the current software could result in high temperatures on certain transistors and possibly damage them. When it fails, the error forces the car into failsafe mode. Toyota says that in rare circumstances, it could even shut the hybrid system down while the car is being driven.
Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada told Automotive News that the software update should take about 40 minutes, and dealers would start to be notified about affected vehicles today. She also told them that the first reported glitch occurred in May 2011 in the US when the system overheated and the car entered failsafe mode. The affected cars were built between March 2009 and Feb. 5, 2014, according to Automotive News. Toyota says that it has received no reports of accidents or injuries caused by either fault.

Stellantis and Toyota expand partnership with large commercial van

Stellantis said on Monday it would expand its partnership with Toyota Motor Europe (TME) with a new large commercial van, including an electric version. Stellantis will supply TME, a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, with the new vehicle for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand, it said. The van will be produced at Stellantis plants in Gliwice, Poland, and Atessa, Italy. "Planned for mid-2024, the new large-size commercial van marks TME's first entry into the large-size commercial vehicle segment," Stellantis added in a statement. The deal widens the partnership between the two companies and allows a better optimization of Stellantis' Atessa plant, which currently makes large vans sold under the Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat marques. "It represents an important addition and completes our light commercial line-up for Toyota's European customers," Stellantis said. Paris-listed shares in Stellantis were up 1.6% by 0941 GMT. Carmakers have increasingly been agreeing cross-manufacturing deals to reduce costs in vans, which due to a boom in parcel delivery are seeing large demand — and where electric vehicle versions are also seeing rising sales to carry out "last-mile" deliveries in city centers. Green Fiat Toyota Citroen Peugeot Minivan/Van Commercial Vehicles Electric