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Weekly Recap: Volvo buys Polestar, makes performance a priority

Volvo is taking its performance business in-house, and the Swedish carmaker announced Tuesday that it bought tuning company Polestar, which has long been known for producing sporty Volvos. The move allows Volvo to ramp up its performance business, and it plans to increase Polestar-branded vehicle sales to 1,000 to 1,500 annually, up from the 750 total projected for this year. The companies have been working together on motorsports projects since 1996. Financial terms of the sale were not released, and Polestar workers will move over to Volvo. Former Polestar owner Christian Dahl will keep control of the Polestar racing team and operate it under a new name. In addition to sales volume, Volvo has ambitious plans for other parts of Polestar, including its aftermarket business. Volvo also said it will use its twin-engine hybrid technology for Polestar models in the future, though specifics and timing were not revealed. Meanwhile, Volvo announced it will offer a run of 265 total Polestars in the United States for the 2016 model year, with S60 and V60s available. "Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, get nose jobs Automakers tend to refer to light updates as 'facelifts,' and that's exactly what Chevy gave the 2016 Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevy slightly changed the front end of the truck. Using the one photo released of the new Z71 model as a guide, we can see that the headlights went from a stacked vertical design to single bulbs, and they are set on top of LED running lights. The grille has more body-colored elements instead of shiny metal, and the hood has a new line running down the middle (look really closely). The design theme will be similar across the portfolio, though materials and details will vary, a spokesman said. Some models, like the High Country and LTZ will have more chrome, and the LEDs are only for the upper trims. Chevy also said it will use the eight-speed automatic transmission on more versions of the Silverado, and it updated the MyLink feature to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Autoblog Podcast #389

Episode #389 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Mark Pereira from Autoblog Canada talk about Johan deNysschen's move to Cadillac, rumors of more BMW nomenclature changes, a second generation for the Subaru BRZ, and cars from 2004 that we miss. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #389: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Johan de Nysschen moves to Cadillac BMW model designations changing even more Subaru BRZ getting second generation Cars We Miss In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2015 Volkswagen GTI 2015 Chevrolet Silverato 2500 Diesel Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Mark Pereira Runtime: 01:59:10 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Johan deNysschen - 36:12 BMW Nomenclature - 53:58 BRZ - 56:27 Cars We Miss - 01:05:07 Q&A - 01:30:09 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen

This 93-car Iowa auction is like a Big 3 classic muscle museum

Bill "Coyote" Johnson has been buying cars since high school and has amassed a collection totaling 113 vehicles, according to NBC 6 News. But time has changed his motivations and priorities, and he's decided to auction 93 of those cars, many of which are classic muscle from Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Plymouth and Pontiac. The megasale will take place Sept. 14, 2019, in Red Oak, Iowa, at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. A 1969 Plymouth Road Runner infected Coyote with a love for Detroit muscle when he was just a teenager, and his desire quickly turned into an obsession. He's spent the past 40 years finding, buying and working on a variety of makes and models. Unlike some collectors, Coyote didn't discriminate against certain brands and has rides from each of the Big 3 automakers. Included in the auction are Camaros, Satellites, Super Bees, Chargers, Challengers, Barracudas, Coronets, GTOs, Mustangs, Cutlasses and others. Possibly the most intriguing aspect of the auction is that all of these cars will be sold as-is with no reserve. Many of them will need work, depending on quality standards, but this seems like a golden opportunity to find a classic car without leaving a bank account in shambles.  The auctions are open for bidding online now, and the full auction will take place on September 14. Check out the full listings and bid at VanDerBrink Auctions.