2005 Volvo Xc70 Base Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Daimler and Volvo plan hydrogen fuel cell truck production in 2025

LONDON — Daimler's truck unit and Volvo said on Thursday they would start making hydrogen fuel cells in Europe in 2025 via a joint venture, and called for EU policies to help make the zero-emission technology commercially viable. The rival German and Swedish makers of large freight-hauling trucks formed their venture, Cellcentric, in March. They said they would provide more details on large-scale fuel production in 2022, but said Cellcentric was already scaling up prototype output. "Partnerships like Cellcentric are vital to our commitment to decarbonizing road transport," Volvo Chief Executive Martin Lundstedt said in a statement. Aside from the fuel-cell joint venture, the two companies remain competitors. Both hope to test fuel-cell trucks in about three years and start mass producing trucks in the second half of this decade. The European Union has been pushing tighter emission standards, fueling a boom in zero-emission electric cars. But batteries in electric vehicles are very heavy, and hydrogen fuel cells are seen as a potentially more viable zero-emission power systems for long-haul freight in the future. Fuel cells produce electricity from hydrogen, emitting only water. The two truck makers called for the construction of around 300 hydrogen refueling stations suitable for heavy-duty vehicles in Europe by 2025 and about 1,000 stations by 2030. During a video conference with the two firms, European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean said the commission would this summer propose a revised alternative fuels directive. She said this "will include binding requirements for rolling out hydrogen fueling infrastructure ... and financial support will be available where needed." Automaker Stellantis said this year it would begin deliveries in Europe of its first medium-sized vans powered by hydrogen fuel cells by the end of 2021. Stellantis said at the time that Germany had 90 hydrogen stations and France had 25 — a tiny fraction of the thousands of petrol stations available for fossil-fuel vehicles today. As zero-emission trucks are significantly more expensive than fossil-fuel models, Daimler and Volvo said a "policy framework is needed to ensure demand and affordability." The two companies said policies should include subsidies for "CO2-neutral technologies and a taxation system based on carbon and energy content." Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

1969 Volvo P1800 gasser wins 2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour

Hot Wheels has announced the winner of the 2021 Legends Tour: it's a 1969 Volvo P1800 gasser owned by England-based Lee Johnstone. Built from a bare shell, the V8-powered hot rod will join the toy manufacturer's catalog of 1/64-scale model by the end of 2022. Designers and key figures from the automotive industry chose the P1800 after looking at contestants from 11 countries on five continents. The list of finalists also included a 1991 Porsche 911 turned into a Baja race car, a 1969 Dodge Charger fitted with extra-wide tires and powered by a Richard Petty V8 engine tuned to 740 horsepower, and a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 250S called High Class that rides on a frame sourced from a 1984 Chevrolet S-10. Substantial skill and originality went into each build, but Johnstone's hot rod stood out above the rest. "The Volvo Gasser is a wonderful expression of authenticity, creativity, and most importantly garage spirit," said Ted Wu, the vice president and global head of design for vehicles at Mattel. Wu was one of the panelists that picked the P1800. Johnstone explained his P1800 was little more than a rusty shell that was too far gone to restore when he acquired it. Instead of scrapping it, he decided to build it into a gasser powered by a 454-cubic-inch V8 plucked from the Chevrolet parts bin and supercharged to develop around 600 horsepower. Fitted with dual four-barrel carburetors, and nicknamed "Ain't no Saint," it reportedly runs a 10.01-second quarter mile at 133 mph. Johnstone regularly races the P1800 in the United Kingdom with help from his three daughter and his wife, Sue. Hot Wheels is scheduled to release the P1800 in late 2022, Autoblog learned from a spokesperson. Turning a car into a toy is a surprisingly lengthy and meticulous process that involves collecting numerous photos, converting them into sketches (and, if needed, tweaking some of the proportions to better fit the 1/64 scale), making a 3D digital model using a software called Freeform, and printing test cars. Check out our live stream on the new game Hot Wheels Unleashed: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 1969 Volvo P1800 gasser (2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour winner) Aftermarket Toys/Games Volvo Hot Wheels

Junkyard Gem: 1982 Volvo 244 DL

Because it was sold in the United States for so many years — 19 model years, to be exact — and won the hearts of so many American drivers with its reliability and safety, sufficient examples of the Volvo 200 Series remain in service that they continue to show up in self-service car graveyards nearly 30 years after the last ones left the showroom. We saw a low-mile Richelieu Red 1983 Volvo 244 DL in a Denver-area yard last year, and now I've found a near-identical 1982 244 DL in another yard located between Denver and Cheyenne. Volvo went through several variations in the naming scheme for these cars between 1975 and 1993; during the first half of the 1980s, the 240 was badged using just the trim level. That makes this car a 1982 Volvo DL, the cheapest trim level available at the time. By now, though, everyone who knows old Volvos uses the three-number system of the 1970s, with the second digit indicating the number of engine cylinders and the third digit representing the number of doors. I'll be using the 244 designation here. This car came from the factory with a fuel-injected 2.1-liter SOHC straight-four rated at 112 horsepower. This car has the base four-on-the-floor manual transmission with an overdrive selected via the switch on the shift knob. If you wanted an automatic transmission, you had to pay an extra $325 (just over a thousand bucks in 2022 money). Later in the decade, a five-speed manual became available on the 240. Most 240s rack up better than 200,000 miles during their careers (and I've seen quite a few that made it past 300,000), but this car didn't reach that figure. This car still has its original AM/FM/cassette radio, which would have cost serious money in 1982. The MSRP on this car was $10,260, or about $31,800 in 2022 dollars. The two-door version went for $9,785 ($30,330 now). You could get a new 1982 Buick LeSabre Limited sedan for $9,331, and it was much roomier and more powerful than the VolvoÂ… but not as good in a crash. There's very little rust on this car, and the only serious body damage is this dented passenger-side door. The rodent nesting detritus under the hood and the lack of wear on the seat fabric suggests that it got parked for good a decade or three back. Perhaps it would have been rescued and revived in the rustier parts of the continent, but there's a glut of restorable 244s and a shortage of Volvo enthusiasts in the Denver area. This content is hosted by a third party.