1999 Volvo V70r Awd Wagon on 2040-cars

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How many other cars does it take to kill a Volvo?

We all know how safe Volvo cars are, but a European junkyard has decided to put it to the test by crashing, jumping and rolling the life out of an 850 wagon. While government tests use automated systems to crash new cars, the guys in this video do so with a driver behind the wheel. Aside from what looks like a safety harness and roll bar for the driver, it seems like this car is otherwise bone stock.
Not wanting to spoil the fun for you, we'll just point out that at the start of the video, our hero car looks pretty flawless, and by the end, well, let's just say the Craigslist ad for the car would say "needs some body work." Check out the video below to watch some stunts that even the Duke Boys might shy away from.

Celebrate Volvo's 89th birthday with some neat facts

Volvo, arguably Sweden's best-known non-ABBA export, will celebrate the big 9-0 next year. The company has always operated somewhat under the radar, but it has its share of stories to tell despite an image formed by decades of solid, safe, and sensible cars. To celebrate the occasion, here are five lesser-known facts about Sweden's last remaining car brand. 1. It opened North America's first foreign car plant. Idyllic Halifax was a small fishing city of about a quarter-million in the early 1960s when Volvo arrived and became the first import brand to build cars en masse in North America. American consumers on the East Coast developed a fondness for the Volvo Amazon line in the late 1950s, leading Volvo to seek out a plant in the Americas. Halifax ponied up incentives, allowing Volvo to take advantage of a pact eliminating tariffs on cars built and exported between the United States and Canada. Volvo built cars there until the end of 1998, when it said its facility was no longer viable compared to larger factories in Europe. That brings us to The Netherlands, where Volvo bought a quirky, innovative automaker that once sold a car called the Daffodil (which was actually its luxury model). 2. You can thank Volvo for CVTs – even though it doesn't use them. Volvo wasn't interested in picking flowers. It wanted the automotive arm of truck manufacturer DAF, which would include its assembly plant, its Renault engines, and the first mainstream application of the CVT gearbox. Volvo acquired DAF's car business over the course of a few years in the early 1970s and, in typical Volvo safety-oriented style, it slapped big bumpers and head restraints on the little DAF 66 and rebadged it as the Volvo 66. The Dutch assembly plant would grow to include a partnership with Mitsubishi in the early '90s. Today, it operates as NedCar and builds Mini Coopers for BMW. Volvo is no longer involved in NedCar or DAF (which sold its CVT division to Bosch, by the way), but its acquisition of DAF helped ensure the success of CVTs. Ironically, even though Volvo's investment helped make CVTs mainstream, the Swedish automaker's affair with them was brief, and today it utilizes only conventional automatics. 3. The Swedish carmakers were pals. Over its 89 years, Volvo has been closely connected to a number of automakers – most notably Ford, which ran the company for a decade, and its current owner Geely. But Volvo is most closely linked to its longtime competitor, Saab.

Driving the Ford Explorer ST and Volvo V60 Cross Country | Autoblog Podcast #613

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick. First they talk about driving the Volvo V60 Cross Country and Ford Explorer ST, with some thoughts about the Subaru Outback and Super Bowl commercials as well. Then they dive into the mailbag, answering questions and following up on the outcomes of previous "Spend My Money" segments. Finally they wrap things off with a new "Spend My Money," in which they help a listener pick a new car that will accommodate a new, tiny family member without sucking all the fun out of driving. Autoblog Podcast #613 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars We're Driving: 2020 Volvo V60 Cross Country 2020 Ford Explorer ST 2020 Subaru Outback Super Bowl ads Mail bag Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.