#Volvo

Today's UCOTD is a save-the-manuals special. That's right, this 2007 Volvo C70 has a six-speed stick.

Volvo is dropping front-wheel drive for the XC40 and XC60 crossovers for 2024. However, this also means the XC40 will lose the 2.0-liter B4 turbo (194 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque) and now have the B5 variant (247 hp and 258 pound-feet) as its singular powertrain. Since the XC60 comes exclusively with the B5 already, the only change is that front-wheel drive will be removed from the menu.

On paper, the 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Ultimate seems like a fine compact EV. And it looks cool. Yet it has quirks that detract from the experience – which would be OK if the driving dynamics were just a tick better.

“Quirky” is an adjective that’s been applied to Volvos in the past, in ways both good and bad, and it certainly applies here, though the quirks are more confounding than fun.

Despite all-electric vehicles being heralded as environmentally sound solutions that would kick down the door to affordable mobility, there haven’t been a lot of good examples hitting the market recently. Most models are aimed at the affluent, resulting in 9,000-pound behemoths with six-figure price tags. General Motors recently released the absolutely ludicrous GMC Hummer EV while the Chevrolet Bolt is being discontinued.

Meanwhile, Volvo has introduced the EX30 — a pint-sized EV that’s to serve as the foundation of its all-electric transformation. But it’s difficult to say whether or not it’s going to deliver on those early promises of electrification.

Polestar is reportedly taking over Saab's defunct plant in Sweden to expand upon its European research and development operations. The 15,000-square-meter building, located in Trollhattan, is said to be focusing on the brand’s powertrain development.

Though it’s a bit more adventurous and sporty than its parent company, Polestar’s designs haven’t drastically strayed from Volvo’s calming look. That’s changing – albeit slightly – for 2024, with the introduction of the Polestar 4. The coupe-SUV features a concept car look, including a large solid panel where the back window should be.

Today's UCOTD is a modern wagon with just 26K miles on the clock and 20-inch wheels.

Volvo has reportedly filed a new patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that would add digital protections designed to prevent modern car thieves from doing what they do. While the golden age of car thievery typically involved criminals skulking around in the dark to find an isolated model they could jimmy open and then hot-wire, today’s thieves tend to linger in crowded parking areas our outside homes with computers that scan and capture the codes being transmitted remotely from the key fob to the car.

Yep, we're going back to the wagon well with today's used car of the day. What do you expect? We're journalists. We're obligated to love wagons.

Is it wagon time? It's always wagon time around these parts. And this 1998 Volvo V90 is one of fewer than 10,000 produced. It's one of the last rear-drive Volvo wagons that was built entirely in Sweden.

Today's UCOTD is a speedy Swede with a stick.

Volvo CEO Jim Rowan wants to sell cars directly to consumers, but his statements and moves in other countries have the automaker’s American dealer network up in arms. Speaking on an earnings call, he expressed frustration with Volvo’s distance from its buyers and said the company plans to learn as much as possible from the new sales model in the U.K. before rolling it out to other countries.

Volvo Cars is reintroducing its subscription model in California, despite having previously gotten in trouble for violating the state's franchise laws. While the automotive industry has attempted to hype the premise for years, vehicle subscription services haven't gotten much love from consumers and tend to exist in a legal gray zone that makes regulators uneasy. We even bashed them years ago for being one of the most expensive ways to get into an automobile, with only a modicum of features to help rationalize the added expenditure.

In service of promoting its own sustainability goals, Polestar has opted to offer seating with small print that details the carbon footprint of your chosen upholstery. Though it doesn’t actually matter whether you’ve selected wool, Nappa leather, or faux-leather vinyl (which Polestar calls MicoTech) because the company appears to have labels ready for every option. It’s commercialized virtue signaling at its finest and will become commonplace on every model it sells, starting with the 2024 Polestar 3 SUV. 

It's that time of year. Time to look back, take stock of the year that's just passed, do some self-reflection, and think about the best and worst cars we drove in 2022.