1989 Volo 240 Dl Wagon on 2040-cars

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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.
Audi was ranked fourth by consumer credit score, Porsche seventh and Mercedes-Benz ninth, yet the fact that Volvo outranks them in this metric is probably a plus to its bottom line but not necessarily its image. It's not unfair to say more people desire those other luxury brands - Volvo itself has admitted as much - and people in the throes of desire have been known to be a little more let-it-ride about things like credit scores. The differences aren't huge, though: compared to Volvo's 818, Audi shoppers scored at 813, Mercedes shoppers 802. Lexus and Acura intenders took the other two steps on the top-credit-scores podium.
Mitsubishi took the honors at the other end of the charts, Experian finding that its potential customers, with an average of 604, had the lowest scores. Mitsubishi was followed by Suzuki and Dodge. On the other side of the financing table, Toyota led the way in how many of its vehicles were bought with bank assistance, followed closely by Ford, Chevrolet taking third place. Also of note, and for whatever it's worth, not one automaker made both the 'top ten by financing' and 'top ten by credit score' lists, but four made both the financing and 'bottom ten by credit score' lists: Chevrolet, Nissan, Kia and Dodge.

Turn up your speakers for this Shelby-powered Sunbeam Tiger and friends

Most of us are never going to be like Jay Leno and drive a new car every day. However, it's possibly affordable to collect a handful of vintage rides, especially if you look a touch off the beaten path. In recent video, Petrolicious highlights Hans Abrahams, who is doing just that. He has three 1960s, European classics that love to be driven.
The absolute star of the trio is a 1966 Sunbeam Tiger. In the cabin, it has the meaty growl of a muscle car, but outside it has a little of the raspiness of period European cars. Abrahams says its mostly original except for its Ford 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) V8 with Shelby parts, producing around 273 horsepower. He says it's a bit difficult to maintain and hard to keep cool, but when you hear it, you know the trouble is worth it.
Next up, is Abrahams' 1965 MGB that is a bit of a monster in its own right. It lacks the Tiger's oomph under the hood, but it's loud enough to blow out Petrolicious' microphone. It's still a very cool little roadster.

Volvo previews Concept XC Coupe ahead of Detroit reveal [w/video]

Volvo is in the midst of a three-stage design revolution. The first stage came with the reveal of the Concept Coupe in Frankfurt just this past September. What you see here is our first glimpse at the second stage.
The Volvo Concept XC Coupe previewed here will be unveiled in full on January 8 in advance of the Detroit Auto Show. While the previous concept was all sleek, the Concept XC Coupe takes a more rugged, utilitarian approach with a hatchback roofline, higher ride height, knobbier tires, lower body cladding and a rooftop box. From what we can see, it looks like a cross between the previous concept and an XC70 wagon that could preview a soft-road replacement for the C30 hatchback.
That's about all there is to say at this point, but you can scope out the press release along with the video below and the trio of teaser images in the gallery above.