1990 Volvo 240 Dl Wagon 4-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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AB Volvo to build trucks using steel forged without fossil fuel

STOCKHOLM — Swedish truck maker AB Volvo and steel maker SSAB have signed an agreement to produce the world's first vehicles made of fossil-free steel, the companies said on Thursday. Volvo plans to start production this year of prototype vehicles and components from steel made by SSAB using hydrogen produced from renewable energy. Small-scale serial production will start in 2022. "This is an important step on the road to completely climate-neutral transport," Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt said. The vehicles and machines will be emissions-free in operation, Volvo said, without specifying how they would run, while adding the company is reviewing all the materials used in their construction to eliminate anything based on fossil fuels. It will be sourcing steel from green steel venture HYBRIT — which is owned by SSAB, Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall and Swedish miner LKAB. Last August, it began test operations in Lulea, Sweden, to replace coking coal, traditionally needed for ore-based steel making, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen, which in turn is produced using only renewable power. [L8N2FX3LV] China's Geely Holding, which has a stake in AB Volvo, owns Volvo Cars, which it has said will be fully electric by 2030.

Used Volvo V70 wagon for $20 million includes New York 'New York' vanity plate

Billed as the world's most expensive Volvo wagon, a dark blue New York-based V70 is currently for sale for $20 million (and probably will be for some time). It's not the car that makes the sale special, though. It's the New York state vanity plate that reads "NEW YORK." Indeed, the ad lists a Volvo but it doesn't even mention the year, mileage or model, and in photos it's still wearing a fresh sheen of road salt. Custom plates are big business in some parts of the world. It also should be noted that the plates are of a recent design and not of the original 1970 issue. New York allows you to update vanity plates to new designs for a small fee. According to the listing on Du Pont Registry, the current owner of the plate suggested that their father buy the plate in the 1970s. This was when New York first began offering personalized plates. Surprisingly, it had not yet been claimed, allowing the family to ride around with the words "New York, New York" plastered on their government-issued vehicle identification for four decades. While the ad claims that the plate, replicas of which are sold in souvenir shops all over the Big Apple, is transferable to any vehicle, we have our doubts. Best we can tell, New York license plates don't stay with the car. The Empire State requires you to surrender your plates when you sell your car, unless you're planning on transferring them to a new car. However, the transfer can only be done, according to the New York DMV, if the names on both registrations are the same. You can't even transfer the plate to your spouse. The same rules apply for personalized plates. If you sell a vanity plated car without an immediate replacement, you can store the personalized plate with the New York DMV and then reinstate them later, but nowhere does it say the plate can be transferred. In fact, the DMV says "The new owner must apply for a new vehicle registration, vehicle plates and a title certificate. The new owner does not use the vehicle plates or the registration items of the previous owner." As our own Joe Lorio put it, "Whoever buys that Volvo might end up with just a very expensive used Volvo wagon."

China's Geely buying majority stake in Lotus

Geely, the Hong Kong car company that owns Volvo, is acquiring control of British car company Lotus. Geely is purchasing a 51-percent stake in Lotus from struggling Malaysian car company Proton, and a 49.9 percent stake in Proton itself. Etika Automotive will gain the other 49 percent of Lotus. France's PSA Group and Japan's Suzuki had apparently also been interested in acquiring Proton. Geely says it plans to revive both Proton and Lotus. "The agreement lays the foundation for a wider framework for both Geely Holding, Proton and Lotus to explore joint synergies in areas such as research and development, manufacturing and market presence," Geely said in a news release. Those joint synergies will be highlighted by the lightweight chassis technology Lotus is known for, which could help Geely improve fuel efficiency. Geely CFO Daniel Donghui Li said the company aims to "unleash the full potential of Lotus Cars" by expanding and accelerating new products and technologies. Proton was nationally held but was privatized in 2007 to Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom, which is owned by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. It was supposed to be the flagship for Malaysia's economic development.Though it owns two factories, Proton mainly rebadges foreign-made cars and sells them in Malaysia. What it has, what Geely presumably wants, is a distribution network in Southeast Asia to pit Chinese cars against Japanese automotive dominance in the region. Retaining a 50.1-percent stake in Proton is seen as a face-saving move. "Proton will always remain a national car and a source of pride, as Proton will still have a majority hold of 50.1 percent," Malaysian finance official Johari Abdul Ghani said. "Our very own much-loved brand now has a real chance in making a comeback, a huge one I hope." Related Video: