2004 Volvo Xc90 No Reserve Auction on 2040-cars

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Volvo Concept Coupe may see limited production

Despite the impressive production debuts from Porsche and BMW at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show - the 918 Spyder and the i8, respectively - there was one car that captured the attention of the press and the public alike, enough so that we awarded it our overall top pick of the show: the Volvo Concept Coupe. Most concepts never make it to production, but the car's reception has been so positive that Volvo's board of directors is considering to produce it in limited quantities, Auto Bild reports. Italian coachbuilder Bertone could handle the limited production run.
Styled after the classic P1800, the Volvo concept was similar to the new Porsche and BMW in that it was equipped with a high-performance hybrid drivetrain. But Volvo took a different route from there, giving the sleek coupe a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor at the rear axle. All in, the combo is good for 400 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque.
If the Concept Coupe makes it to production, it may not get the trick hybrid drivetrain mentioned above, Motor Athority reports, but a milder plug-in hybrid setup or even just a conventional fuel-burning engine. In any case, it would be a treat if Volvo produced a fully functional, street-legal Concept Coupe, though at that point we're thinking it would be due for a name change.

These are the cars being discontinued for 2024 and beyond

While we get new and updated car models every year, its inevitable that we'll need to say goodbye to some nameplates as well. This time around, it feels like we have confirmation or reports of an unusually large number of vehicles being discontinued in 2024 and the coming years.  We shouldn't be surprised. A large number of automakers are approaching their various target dates for electrification of their fleets. As such, some beloved internal combustion cars are going away, sometimes with appropriate fanfare like special editions. Others are slinking away quietly, killed by slowing sales and changing consumer trends. Of course, the end of production doesn't necessarily mean permanent death. Some of these models could be resurrected in later years ... and probably as an EV. With that in mind, here are the vehicles that are being discontinued in 2024 and beyond.   Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio Alfa Romeo ended the production of its combustion-only Quadrifoglio models in April 2024 as the Italian automaker moves toward an electrified future. This isn't the end of the Quadrifoglio entirely, though, with Larry Dominique, Alfa Romeo senior vice president and head of North America, writing, "I look forward to presenting the next chapter in the four-leaf clover’s journey."   Chevrolet Camaro GM is ending production of the Chevy Camaro after 2024, but is sending it off in style with a CollectorÂ’s Edition. WouldnÂ’t it be cool, though, if Chevy brought it back as an EV?   Chevrolet Malibu Rumors of its demise have been around for a while, but now itÂ’s official. GM will end production of the Chevy Malibu in November of 2024. The assembly line in Kansas will be retooled to build the replacement for the Chevy Bolt.   Dodge Durango The three-row Durango is slated to be replaced by the Stealth nameplate after 2024. The Durango name could make a comeback later, according to rumors, on a body-on frame SUV based on the Jeep WagoneerÂ’s platform.   Ford Edge This is the last year for the Edge in the U.S., with the final unit rolling off the assembly line in April. On sale since 2007, the Edge topped 100,000 sales in all but three full years of production.   Ford Escape Newly refreshed for the 2023 model year, FordÂ’s popular Escape compact SUV is reportedly taking its leave in 2025 in order to usher in — you guessed it — an EV in its place.

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Volvo V90

Volvo's "Brick Era" of squared-off rear-wheel-drive machines lasted from the debut of the 144 in 1966 all the way through the 900 Series cars of the 1990s, with the wildly successful 240 being the most iconic of the breed on our shores. The final chapter of the Swedish Brick saga came in the 1997 and 1998 model years, when the 960 sedan and wagon were rebadged as the S90 and V90, respectively. Here's one of those cars, a refrigerator-colored (and refrigerator-shaped) V90 wagon that got forcibly retired after a crash in Northern California. Volvo revived the V90 name in 2016, and you can buy a new V90 right now if you so choose. Today's Junkyard Gem, however, is the culmination of four decades of improvement to the original 140 design (itself based on much of the Amazon's chassis features and sharing plenty of components with the 1940s-era PV Series cars), while the current V90 comes straight out of the 21st century. I've been going out of my way to document just about every discarded 140 and 240 wagon I find, with some 740s and 940s mixed in. Many Volvo longroof owners still maintain a fanatical devotion to the rear-wheel-drive bricks, and I've found some of these cars in junkyards with impressively high final odometer readings. The fuel-efficiency and interior-space limitations of the old-timey brick design kept 960 sales lower than those of their predecessors, though, and I haven't met any 960 owners who share the level of devotion that 145 and 245 owners lavish on their cars. This car just squeaked past 150,000 miles during its 24 years on the road. The body and interior look to have been in very nice condition, showing that meticulous owners took good care of this car throughout its life, but then it got T-boned on the right side. This sort of damage isn't worth fixing on a quarter-century-old European wagon, and so here it sits. This engine compartment looks very similar to that of the old 240, though this modern 3.0-liter, DOHC straight-six and its 181 horses runs counter to the super-sensible spirit of most of those 1970s Goteborg bricks. The 960 was far more plush than its ancestors, and priced accordingly. In 1997, this car's list price started at $35,850 (about $60,660 in 2021 dollars). By comparison, a new 1975 245 wagon had an MSRP of $5,795 (about $29,940 today).