2004 Volvo V70 T5 Southern Car 2 Owners on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1998 Volvo S90

Volvo began selling squared-off, rear-drive-equipped sedans and wagons here starting with the 140 in the 1968 model year, and continued selling those safe and sensible bricks all the way through 1998. The very last Swedish Brick models sold new in the United States were the 960 sedans and wagons, badged respectively as the S90 and V90 during the last couple of years here. We've seen one of those V90s in this series, and now it's time for its corresponding sibling. I found this very clean '98 S90 in a Silicon Valley yard last December. It hurts to see a well-cared-for European luxury sedan get this close to 200,000 miles and not quite make it.  The only body damage I could find appeared to have been inflicted after this car entered the used-parts ecosystem. There's not the slightest hint of rust, of course; this car shows every sign of having spent its entire life in California. The interior is just beautiful, too. This is almost certainly a one- or two-owner car that got every maintenance item done on the dot and spent its downtime parked out of the sun in a garage. Dig this top-shelf AM/FM/cassette/CD player with remote disc changer, a $485 option in the 1998 S90 (about $850 in 2022 dollars). The MSRP on the car itself started at $34,300 (around $60,200 now). So, why is this car in the junkyard? My guess is that some major component (e.g., engine, transmission, differential) failed and a quick comparison between real-world resale value and cost of repair resulted in a call to Pick Your Part. High-end European machinery isn't cheap to fix, and 25-year-old Volvos aren't worth much. While a small but significant fraction of American buyers of the 140, 240 and 740 preferred cars with three pedals, that fraction had shrunk to insignificance by the late 1990s. A four-speed automatic was the only transmission available in the final-year S90 and V90 here (Europeans could get a manual version). Interestingly, Volvo stuck with the old three-digit numbering system (first digit indicates series, second digit indicates number of engine cylinders, third digit indicates number of doors) for internal company use, decades after ditching it on customer-facing surfaces. This car was a 964 in Goteborg. Volvo brought back the S90 name for the 2017 model year, and you can buy a new one right now, but it's neither rear-wheel-drive nor brick-shaped.

Volvo 850 T5 R pickup conversion is ready for a cool yule

There are plenty of ways to get your holiday tree home from the farm, but few are so classy as this Volvo 850 ute. Built in Sweden and shipped to Belgium, the car wears all of the necessary kit to pass as a 850R, and with a turbocharged 2.3-liter five cylinder under the hood, this creation should have no trouble dashing through the snow. Looks like a mighty fine use of an otherwise derelict Volvo wagon to us, though we have to imagine all that torque steer and no weight over the aft would make for all sorts of silliness once the roads went slick.
Still, if it were our Sawzall, we'd be happier with the keys to a certain BMW M5 utility in our pocket. Or, you know, the 3 Series conversion BMW whipped up not too long ago. You can head over to Autofans.be for a closer look at the 850 ute.

Your guide to vehicle subscription services

They might be extremely limited in scope because of location availability, but vehicle subscription services are a growing trend that most luxury manufacturers are jumping on. Plans are expensive, but you're paying for much more than just the car typically. We highlighted four of the larger plans with a few more listed at the end. Care by Volvo Volvo launched its subscription service last year with its brand-new XC40. It was the only vehicle available for a time, but subscribers can now get an S60 sedan as well. Subscriptions are for two years, with the monthly price including insurance, a concierge service, wear-and-tear item replacements and all maintenance. You'll be able to drive 15,000 miles per year with whichever Volvo you choose, and although there are no options to extend that mileage, you can swap cars after a year. Pricing for the XC40 is $650 per month in base trim, while an S60 can be as expensive as $850 for the R-Design. Volvo's plan is to offer more cars soon through the service, but it's relatively limited compared to others right now. Porsche Passport Porsche has two levels in its subscription service: Launch and Accelerate. Launch will cost $2,000 per month and give you access to the Cayman, Boxster, Macan and Cayenne. All of those but the Cayenne can be had in "S" trim as well. Accelerate is where the fun really starts. For $3,000 per month you can choose from a fleet of 911s, including the S, 4S, Cabriolet and Cabriolet S. If those aren't enough, you can also get the Panamera 4S, Macan GTS and Cayenne S. There are no mileage limits and you can change vehicles as often as you'd like. Also included in the price is insurance, repairs, detailing and any maintenance. It might be extremely expensive and limited to Atlanta only, but this subscription service is second-to-none for what you get. Audi Select Audi just launched its subscription car service, and it's offered in one version for a flat fee of $1,395 per month. For that you'll have access to five different cars including the A4, S5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, Q5, and Q7. Not a bad range of vehicles, but it would've been neat to see the recently updated A7 in there too. Maybe in time. Like the others, insurance and maintenance are wrapped up in the price. Audi is allowing for unlimited miles and two car swaps per month here. In addition to that, you'll get two days of free rentals through Audi's Silvercar rental agency should you go on a trip.