1998 Volvo Xc 70 For Sale on 2040-cars

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Apple CarPlay drawing early safety concerns [w/video]

Apple's CarPlay infotainment system hasn't made it into a single vehicle yet, and it's already drawing criticism for distracting drivers among safety advocates. The new tech unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show pairs users' iPhones with the car's dashboard display to make calls, dictate messages and listen to music. Some automakers, like Volvo, also let users interact with the HVAC system from the screen.
"The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," said Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to CNN Money.
Distracted driving is a huge concern on modern roads with more vehicles allowing drivers to use their smartphones through Bluetooth and infotainment systems. A Texas A&M study found that drivers' reaction time doubled while dictating text messages, according to CNN Money. The new tech is certainly not making drivers pay more attention.

Volvo Trucks makes some pretty strong brakes

Often dashcam footage from Russia shows some of the worst driving imaginable, but this is an exception. The Volvo truck driver in this video definitely earned himself a drink or two at the end of the day after making it through this potentially horrific crash. As do the folks at Volvo that engineered those brakes.
The truck driver shows some fantastic reaction time as the silver hatchback suddenly pulls out of an intersection. It looks like he only has a few yards to bring the behemoth to a stop before demolishing the little car. While it's an impressive feat, the best part of the video has to be the driver's bow when he gets out of the truck. He looks like a maestro who just finished conducting a symphony asking for a round of applause.
Scroll down to check out this truck driver's skills and see if he earns his bow afterward.

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.