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Junkyard Gem: 1969 Volvo 145 Wagon

Volvo managed to sell the 1940s-design PV544 and its 1950s-design Amazon descendant all the way into the mid-to-late 1960s in the United States, but those iconic machines were replaced here by one that began a line of even more iconic Volvos: the 140 Series. Starting with the 1968 model year, the 140 became available in the United States as a two-door sedan (the 142), a four-door sedan (the 144 and 164), and a station wagon (the 145). These rear-wheel-drive, brick-shaped cars later evolved into the 200 Series and its heirs, with the very last of the breed appearing here in the form of the 1998 S90/V90. That's a lot of history all wrapped up in one vehicle, and so I was pleased to find this 145 in a Denver-area car graveyard earlier this month. This car rolled out of Goteborg with a gleaming coat of Morkgron (dark green) paint and, according to this build tag, was built to California specifications. At some point, it made its way to Colorado. Very few US-market cars had six-digit odometers prior to the middle 1980s, but Volvo felt optimistic about their cars' longevity (at a time when reaching the magical 100,000-mile mark was something that rarely happened with non-Mercedes-Benz vehicles) and so now we can see that this car made it well past 200k miles. The 2.0-liter pushrod four-cylinder engine in this car can trace its ancestry back to the Amazons, P1800s, and PV544s of the early 1960s, and it was rated at 115 horsepower. A six-cylinder version of the 140 sedan, known as the 164, could be purchased here as well (though it had few American takers). But wait— what's that Detroit-looking two-barrel carburetor doing on an engine that's supposed to have a Stromberg 175? Yes, it's a GM-spec Rochester clone built at the ancient Bay City Plant (now known as GM Powertrain) in Michigan. Earlier Volvos came with a pair of British-made Skinner Union sidedrafts, which could be pretty painful to keep working right, but perhaps even the less-oddball Stromberg proved too much hassle for whoever installed this carb (which was meant to go on engines with much more displacement than a Volvo B20). Transmission choices in the 1969 140: a four-on-the-floor manual or a three-speed automatic. This car has the manual. The interior is pretty thrashed, as is usually the case with the 140s I find during my junkyard explorations.

Volvo returns to profitability

Ford sold Volvo to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Limited in 2010. Just two years later, Geely announced an $11-billion investment in the Swedish carmaker, its charismatic fugleman Li Shifu saying, "We want to revive Volvo and give the brand its strength back." Two years later, after having introduced the Concept XC Coupe at the Detroit Auto Show this week, Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson (above, second from right) declared the company profitable again after a solid 2013 and predicted a positive 2014.
Intending to break even on operating profit in 2013, Volvo exceeded expectations and landed on the plus side due to a mix of factors. US sales declined 10.1 percent for the year to 61,233, that number still making us Volvo's largest market, but Chinese sales were up nearly 46 percent to 61,146 units, and even its home market saw a bump of 0.8 percent; total sales for the year were 427,840, a margin of 1.4-percent over the previous year. Volvo was able to do more with the tiny gain and reverse its half-year operating loss because of a global cost restructuring and thorough revamp of its Chinese distribution network. An announcement of 2013's financial results will come in March.
Bullishness on 2014 comes from the company's intention to focus on its two biggest markets with new models, new technology and more spending. The first product of an independent Volvo, the new XC90, will be revealed later this year on the new SPA architecture. On top of the Sensus Connect infotainment system, Volvo will add driver-aid systems like adaptive cruise control with steer assist and night-time pedestrian detection. It also has a new North American CEO and will spend more on marketing and communications here. In China it will begin to feel more effect from the two Chinese factories opened last year - it has three in the country - and, if need be, can take advantage of more advantageous exchange rates by exporting from China instead of the US. Said Samuelsson of what he expects in the US in 2014, "we will outperform the market."

Volvo releases extensive model updates for 2014

The 2014 model year is going to see big changes for the Volvo lineup. The biggest news is that the "60 cluster" models (the S60, V60 and XC60) are receiving some substantial updates despite not being all that old, and Volvo is also refreshing the S80, V70 and XC70 models. Of course, the 2014 model year also marks the departure of the C30 and C70 from its lineup, and we still have at least a year to wait until we see the redesigned XC90.
Except for the XC90, all of the 2014 Volvos will be getting noticeable design updates. The S60, V60 and XC60 get more in-depth changes, including a full front facelift. All will use an evolution of the "naughty" design that debuted on the S60. The rear of all three cars get some changes, too, most notably consisting of the reshaped rear fascia with the integrated exhaust outlets. S80, V70 and XC70 will get more minor changes - mostly to bring them in line with the fresher models. The XC70 keeps is rugged plastic cladding, but it gets some stylish wheels with what look like arrowhead accents.
Inside, all of these updated models will new in-car technology such as the Sensus Connected Touch infotainment system and the adaptive digital display with a TFT (thin film transistor) screen. This reconfigurable screen allows the driver to choose between three different themes - Elegance, Eco and Performance - which changes the color and layout of the background. Other new features include heated windshields, Active High Beam Control for the headlights, paddle shifters for a little added driver involvement and IntelliSafe active safety systems (City Safety, Pedestrian Detection and Road Sign Information) The S80, V70 and XC70 will also add heated steering wheels to their respective options sheets, too.