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Junkyard Gem: 1983 Volvo 240 DL Sedan

The most iconic of all the Volvos — all the Swedish cars, for that matter — sold in the United States is and always will be the brick-shaped 200 series, which could be purchased new here from the 1975 model year all the way through 1993. Though it was an evolution of the earlier 140 series and looked nearly identical to its ancestor from any rear angle, the 240 (and, to a much lesser extent, 260) remains the most recognizable Volvo ever made. Because these cars were quite sturdy and inspired such devotion from their owners, plenty of them remain on the road to this dayÂ… and that means plenty of them wear out every year and end up taking that final tow-truck ride to the boneyard. Here's a bread-and-butter mid-1980s 244, with the sensible four-on-the-floor overdrive manual transmission and well-oxidized Richelieu Red paint, found in a self-service yard near Denver, Colorado. Prior to the 1980 model year, U.S.-market Volvo 200s were named according to a very logical system: the model name was a three-digit number, with the first digit indicating the car series, the second digit representing the number of engine cylinders, and the third digit showing the number of doors. Typically, the trim level would come after that. Just to confuse everyone, Volvo did away with everything but the trim levels when identifying these cars. Thus, this car would have been badged as a 244 DL during the 1975-1979 period, but for the first half of the 1980s it was called simply the Volvo DL. Of course, everyone who knows old Volvos today just calls this a 244, period. DL stood for Deluxe, so of course it was the cheapest trim level. The list price on this car started at $11,085, or about $31,090 in 2021 dollars. That was cheaper than a new BMW 320i ($13,290 or $37,275 now), but more expensive than more luxurious and powerful Japanese competitors such as the Datsun 810 Maxima by Nissan ($10,869 or $30,485 today) and Mazda 626 Luxury Sedan ($8,895 or $24,950 today). If you insisted on an automatic transmission in your '83 DL sedan, the price tag went up an additional 390 bucks, or about $1,094 now. This car has the base four-speed manual with the overdrive actuated by a switch on the shift knob. With 107 horsepower from this 2.3-liter straight-four engine, this car wasn't particularly quick. However, it weighed less than 3,000 pounds (despite its blocky appearance), so it got out of its own way well enough when equipped with a manual transmission.

Driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT, and Defenders at a trickle | Autoblog Podcast #631

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Producer Christopher McGraw and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Then they take some time to update any new happenings and opinions on our long-term Subaru Forester and Volvo S60 T8 plug-in hybrid. In the news this week, the new Land Rover Defender is in short supply, and Tesla is rumored to be creating a 12-passenger shuttle for use in The Boring Company tunnels. Finally, we reach into the mailbag to help a listener replace a Mazda3 hatch with something to better match their lifestyle. Autoblog Podcast #631 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 Lotus Evora GT 2019 Subaru Forester long-term update 2020 Volvo S60 T8 long-term update The 2020 Land Rover Defender is in short supply Tesla may be working on 12-passenger shuttle for The Boring Co. 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.

Vehicles awarded IIHS Top Safety Pick awards skyrockets for 2015 [w/video]

By practically every measure, passenger vehicles in the US are continuing to get safer. With the year rapidly coming to an end, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is releasing its annual list tallying of the scores for the latest vehicles to see how they compare to last year. Judging by the agency's evaluations, the numbers look quite positive. According to the institute, 71 vehicles earned either the Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating so far in its testing for 2015. Among the latest winners, there have been 33 TSP+ awards and 38 TSP medalists. That's a healthy increase over the 22 TSP+ and 17 TSP grades in 2014. The figures appear even more impressive when you consider that it keeps getting harder to earn the + designation. In the latest round of testing, a vehicle must offer some form of front crash prevention automatic braking to get the mark. Previously, just a warning to drivers was necessary. This list also illustrates the ways that automakers adapt to new testing procedures. In 2013 there were 117 TSP ratings and 13 TSP+ awards. Then, the IIHS mandated that to be a safety pick, a model had to score Good in the institute's four crash tests, plus a Good or Acceptable in the small overlap front test. That brought a plunge in 2014 to just 17 TSP grades. With the numbers climbing again, companies apparently have deciphered how to perform better. Some brands especially stood out on this year's list. The IIHS praised Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Acura for offering standard front crash prevention systems on some models. Subaru received at least one of the awards for all seven of its models. Toyota also had seven, and the Honda brand did too – though the institute counts the two- and four-door versions of the Civic and Accord separately. Check out the full announcement below and a video about this year's winners. The full list can be viewed, here. Safety gains ground: More vehicles earn top honors from IIHS The number of vehicles earning either of the Institute's two awards has jumped to 71 from 39 this time last year, giving consumers more choices for optimum protection in crashes. The number of winners in the top tier - TOP SAFETY PICK+ - has increased by 11 for 2015, despite a tougher standard for front crash prevention. "This is the third year in a row that we are giving automakers a tougher challenge to meet," says IIHS President Adrian Lund.