2011 Volvo Xc70 3.2 Wagon 4-door 3.2l Low, Awd Low Mileage Loaded W/navigation! on 2040-cars

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Why this could be the perfect time for Apple to make a car play

While the automotive and technology worlds have been pouring billions into autonomous vehicles (AVs) and preparing to bring them to market soon as shared robo-taxis, Apple has mostly sat on the sidelines. Of course, Apple is the last company to ever make its intentions known, and the super-secret tech cult giant hasn't been totally out of the AV game based on the clues that have slipped out of its Cupertino, Calif., citadel over the past few years. Related: Apple self-driving cars are real — one was just in an accident News first broke in 2015 that it had assembled an automotive development team, in part by poaching high-profile talent from car companies, to work on a top-secret self-driving vehicle project code-named Titan. (Thank you very much, Nissan.) Apple also subsequently broke cover by making inquiries into using a Northern California AV testing facility and receiving a permit to test AVs on public roads in California. But then as the AV race started to heat up in the last few years, Apple reportedly began scaling back its car activities by downsizing team Titan. More recently, Apple's car project has shown signs of life with the hiring a high-level engineer away from Waymo and luring one Tesla's top engineers and a former employee back to Apple. It also inked a deal with Volkswagen to provide a technology platform and software to convert the automaker's new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for employees at tech company's new campus. That is a far cry from giving rides to Wal-Mart shoppers, like Waymo is doing as part of its AV testing in Phoenix. But this could be the perfect time for Apple to enter the AV market now that ride-sharing is reaching critical mass and automakers and others are planning to deploy fleets of robo-taxis. Apple could easily establish a niche as a high-end ride-sharing service – and charge a premium – given its cult-like brand loyalty and design savvy. The growth of car subscription models could also play in Apple's favor since is already has many people hooked on paying for phones in monthly installments – and eager to upgrade when a new and better model becomes available. To achieve this, some believe Apple will fulfill co-founder and CEO Steve Job's dream of building a car. And as the world's first and only $1 trillion company it's sitting on a mountain of cash that certainly gives it the means. But other tech darlings like Tesla and Google have discovered how difficult it can be to build cars at scale.

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."

Our interview with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, plus SEMA! | Autoblog Podcast #491

This week, David Gluckman and Mike Austin talk SEMA madness, mis-aligned steering wheels, wireless charging, McLarens (they're sports cars!), and decals. We also have an excerpt from a recent interview with James May and Jeremy Clarkson of The Grand Tour and Top Gear fame. As always, we talk about a variety of cars we've been driving and then respond to some questions from listeners. And as a bonus, there's a trivia question mixed in. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want questionable buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. Oh, and please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #491 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention Stars Selling Cars The Ford Flex is dying SEMA! Dodge Durango Shaker concept New Mercedes inline-six engines Our interview with Jeremy Clarkson and James May Mercedes-Benz E-Class McLaren 570S Ad of the Week: Volvo ABCs of Death Spend My Money on used cars Rundown Intro - 00:00 The news - 02:15 Clarkson/May interview excerpt - 17:12 What we've been driving - 21:12 Ad of the Week - 39:02 Spend My Money/listener questions - 44:13 Total Duration: 57:05 Get The Podcast 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 Celebrities Podcasts SEMA Show Cadillac Dodge Ford McLaren Mercedes-Benz Volvo ford flex the grand tour mclaren 570s SEMA 2016