2001 Volvo S80 2.9 Sedan 4-door 2.9l on 2040-cars

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2021 Volvo XC40 Review | What's new, pricing, where it's made, pictures

Most subcompact luxury models feel a bit like cheap knockoffs of their bigger, pricier brand mates. The 2021 Volvo XC40, by contrast, is a break from the Volvo norm in a good way. It rides on a different platform from other Volvos, resulting in a small SUV that's a bit more playful to drive, but still possessing the solid, refined feeling one expects from the brand. Its design is more utilitarian and youthful, eschewing luxury materials like chrome and wood in favor of elements like contrasting roofs and more vibrant colors (you can get orange carpet!). Importantly, it's also one of the larger, more versatile vehicles in the segment and provides more features for the money. Basically, it's a desirable vehicle to buy on its own merits in a segment that often feels like you got it cause you couldn't afford something pricier.   And for 2021, it stands out from the crowd even more thanks to the addition of the XC40 Recharge all-electric model. Admittedly, its 208-mile range and overall efficiency are modest, but there are so few alternatives that it still merits consideration, especially for those who intend to stay closer to home. What's new for 2021? The XC40 gets some minor feature content changes, but the big news is the addition of the XC40 Recharge all-electric model (it was supposed to arrive last year). Besides its powertrain, the Recharge gets subtle styling differences and the same Android Automotive tech interface found in the Polestar 2. What's the XC40 interior and in-car technology like? Volvo’s interiors are very tidy and architectural in terms of design, and the XC40 is no exception even if its specific design diverges from the 60 and 90 series norm. ItÂ’s pleasingly simple, using nice materials, comfort and conservative modernism as its foundation. Leather is even standard, though we would like to see an alternative provided, such as the beautiful woven textiles found in Volvos' other cars. Besides its design, one of the ways the XC40 differs from its siblings (and indeed its competitors as well) is its clever center console design. It features numerous large, grippy bins to store, secure and charge devices, plus useful cupholders and a sizable under-armrest bin. There's even a little compartment specifically designed to act as a garbage can. Clearly lots of care and thought went into the XC40. ThereÂ’s a lot of tech baked right in, too, from the standard vertically oriented infotainment screen to the digital instrument panel.

What's the deal with comedians and their cars?

'Round about the time in his life when it should happen for all of us, Jerry Seinfeld's ship came in with a force that almost split the dock. He'd been doing pretty well with his observational style ("There's a cereal now that's just cookies. Have you seen this? Cookies for breakfast. It's called Cookie Crisp. Cookies for breakfast! They oughta just call it 'To Hell With Everything!'"). But he showed no signs of setting the world on fire until he got cast in a show that was either about – depending on the level of comedy geek you ask – the average New Yorker, the very worst people in the world, or nothing. Suddenly Jerry Seinfeld was pretty much the center of the comedy universe. And while his comedy was at once both brilliantly innovative and rooted in the mundane, his next move was a predictable grab at something exotic – he went out and bought his dream car. A rather nice 911, actually. As almost everyone knows, it didn't stop there, and the man put together one of the most enviable collections of iconic Porsches we're likely to see. So what's the connection, if there is one, between cars and comedy? As far as Jerry Seinfeld (the man) is concerned, he's probably not the same guy as the Jerry on Seinfeld (the show) although it's hard to say for sure; his public persona is almost unnervingly well managed. But cars and comedy were the constants in his life then, and, well, just look at what the guy does now; Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a cultural constant, and we're certainly seeing Seinfeld the man in that one, and cars are obviously still central to his life. And it's been that way with a lot of very, very good comedy guys. Cars seem to round out their lives, to become the yin to their comedy yang. Ernie Kovacs might not have invented visual gags or surreal humor, but he got them both to kill on television in the 1950s, so he's a comedy hero. He died behind the wheel of his beloved Corvair wagon, so he's absolutely some kind of car-guy hero as well. Bill Cosby, the hottest name in comedy for a good long while, had Ferraris, one of two fire-breathing supercharged big-block Cobras (pictured below), and a BMW 2002tii – none of which either contributed to or in any way make up for the profoundly sociopathic creature he turned out to be, but it's still a data point. The Smothers Brothers, who defied the networks and the norms by getting blatantly political before that sort of thing was cool, went sports car racing.

Daimler and Volvo could jointly develop internal combustion engines

BERLIN — Luxury German carmaker Daimler and Volvo, owned by China's Geely, are considering cooperating to cut the costs of developing combustion engines, a magazine reported on Sunday, citing unnamed company sources. The Automobilwoche weekly cited a Volvo manager as saying there were initial talks with Daimler, but no concrete plans, while a company spokesman said it was too early to talk about firm projects, although it was not excluding anybody. A Daimler spokesman said the company's cooperation with Geely, which owns a 10% stake in the German carmaker, was developing in a positive way, but declined to comment further. Global tariffs, accelerated by a trade war between China and the United States, as well as higher investment requirements for electric and autonomous vehicles, are forcing carmakers to seek new ways to cut and share costs. In October, Volvo said it would merge its engine development and manufacturing assets with those of Geely, creating a division to supply in-house brands and also potentially others with next-generation combustion and hybrid engines. Automobilwoche said this new division would start operating by the end of March, which could be a possible starting point for cooperation with Daimler, while a further step could be a partnership to develop electric power trains. Geely and Daimler have said they plan to build the next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture and the two companies are also cooperating on a premium ride-hailing service in China. Geely bought Volvo Cars in 2010 from Ford, allowing the Swedish brand to operate on an arms-length basis. But in recent years, it has deepened cooperation between the two brands. Volvo already supplies engines to some Geely-branded vehicles, sharing technology through Geely's Lynk brand. Both companies share and develop common vehicle platforms. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.