Volvo

The first Volvo car rolled off the line in Göteborg, Sweden in 1927 and the first truck followed the next year. Over the decades Volvo became a major vehicle exporter, sending cars, trucks, busses and tractors all over the world. Volvo Car Co. was sold to Ford Motor Company in 1999 for a reported $6.45 billion.

Used Car of the Day: 1965 Volvo 122S

Unofficial Volvo week continues. I wanted to move on from Sweden but this 1965 Volvo 122S is too unique to pass up.

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Used Car of the Day: 2012 Volvo C30 R-Design

I know, I know, we've been Volvo heavy the past week or so. Sorry about that, but our forums keep filling up with cool Volvos.

Like this 2012 Volvo C30 R-Design.

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Used Car of the Day: 1998 Volvo V70 GLT

Yes, we're back on the Volvo kick. There's no real reason for this beyond the fact that the forum I pull from has been Volvo-heavy recently. And well, this one's a wagon. We all know wagons are cool again.

So, hit the jump to read about this 1998 Volvo V70 GLT.

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Yay or Nay? Volvo Launches Accident Ahead Alert Service

Volvo is introducing a new feature that alerts drivers of accidents reported on the road ahead. With similar services available for free on select phone apps, many of which can be integrated with your vehicle’s infotainment display, Volvo’s offering doesn’t sound incredibly novel on its face. But it’s leveraging real-time data from government-operated traffic management centers via the automobile’s proprietary user interface, technically making the feature the first of its kind within the automotive industry.

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Used Car of the Day: 1971 Volvo 142s

We're going back-to-back Volvo this week.

Today, it's a manual-transmission 1971 Volvo 142s.

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Used Car of the Day: 1992 Volvo 940 GL Sedan

Today we bring you a '90s Swede. Hit the jump to see this 1992 Volvo 940 GL sedan.

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Some Volvo EVs are Getting New Names

Alphanumeric vehicle names can be confusing, especially if they’re not directly tied to a vehicle specification or feature. Volvo ran into that issue with its electric and plug-in hybrid models, leading the automaker to change their names to more clearly designate their places in its catalog.

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Used Car of the Day: 1988 Volvo 780 Bertone

Today we're going north of the border to the home of our parent company to bring you this 1988 Volvo 780 Bertone.

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Volvo is Breaking Up With Polestar - Mostly

Volvo spun off Polestar years ago, but the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker has been footing part of the bill for Polestar’s operations since then. Things are changing for Polestar, however, as Volvo will hand the brand over to parent company Geely to focus on its growth and stability.

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The Volvo EX30 Is Delayed to Fix Software Issues

The Volvo EX30 promises to be one of the most affordable new EVs on the market, but it’s not quite ready for primetime. Volvo recently announced that it was delaying European deliveries of the SUV to fix software issues.

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Used Car of the Day: 1997 Volvo 850 GLT Turbo Wagon

We're staying in the Nineties today with this 1997 Volvo 850 GLT Turbo wagon.

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Used Car of The Day: 2011 Volvo C30 R-Design

Today we bring you a small, swift Swedish hatch with a six-speed stick. This one-owner 2011 Volvo C30 R-Design is for sale for $17,000 out of Washington state.

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Junkyard Find: 1983 Volvo DL Sedan With 327k Miles

I've been writing about junkyardified cars here at TTAC since November of 2010, when I documented a pair of Fiat 128s in a Denver boneyard. Since then, we've seen plenty of discarded Volvos here, but no Volvo 200 Series four-door sedans!

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Used Car of the Day: 1967 Volvo 122S Amazon

Today we bring you something a little different: A 1967 Volvo 122S Amazon.

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Volvo EX30 No Longer in the Running for NACTOY Award

The North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) awards are a big deal this time of year, as they can significantly boost a model’s fortunes on the market. The automotive journalist-led assessments have requirements on when in the year vehicles can be released to qualify for an award. The Volvo EX30 was on the list until yesterday when NACTOY President Jeff Gilbert notified the group that the automaker had requested its new electric SUV be removed from the running because it won’t arrive until deep into 2024.

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Used Car of the Day: 2007 Volvo V70R Ti

Today we're going wagon style as we bring you a 2007 Volvo V70R Ti.

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Used Car of the Day: 1991 Volvo 240

Today's UCOTD is a 1991 Volvo 240 that's the proverbial "driven only to church" car.

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Used Car of The Day: 2002 Volvo S60 AWD

Today we're bringing you a high-mileage 2002 Volvo S60 AWD that is available at a bargain price.

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U.S.-Bound Polestar 3 Finishes Testing and Heads for Production

Polestar’s EVs are elegantly styled and offer great tech and safety equipment, but the automaker only has one model on sale in the U.S. right now. That’s about to change, as the Polestar 3 is nearing the completion of its development phase, and the U.S. model is expected to enter production early next year.

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Volvo: No More Diesels After 2024

It’s no secret that Volvo wants to become a completely climate-neutral company, and the automaker has promised to go fully electric by the end of the decade. As part of that transition, Volvo is completely phasing out its iconic diesel powertrains by early next year.

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Polestar is Cooking Up a Smartphone for the Chinese Market

China is the world’s largest auto market, with nearly 30 million cars sold there last year, and automakers of all stripes are eager to grab a piece of the action, especially with electric vehicles. Tesla, Ford, General Motors, and most luxury brands offer broad product lines in the country, and that includes Volvo and Polestar, both owned by Chinese auto giant Geely. That relationship with China gives the automakers the ability to offer unique products there, and Polestar’s latest innovation is a great example. It has developed a new smartphone that it plans to sell with its debut SUV in the country, the Polestar 4. 

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Volvo EM90 Minivan Probably Not Coming to North America

Earlier this year, Volvo teased the all-electric EM90 minivan. However, the model will reportedly be exclusive to Asian markets — disappointing dozens of North American residents who still believe it’s the most practical vehicle type.

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Used Car of the Day: 2005 Volvo V50 2.5T AWD

Today we have another manual-transmission wagon. What can we say? We're automotive journalists. At least this 2005 Volvo V50 2.5T AWD isn't brown.

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Used Car of the Day: 2007 Volvo V50 T5 AWD

Want a car that's cheap, a bit of a project, and a stickshift? This 2007 Volvo V50 T5 with all-wheel drive will fit the bill.

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Volvo Ending Sedan/Wagon Sales in UK, Could North America Be Next?

Volvo Cars is suspending sedan sales in the United Kingdom and it looks like North America could be next if we consider the brand’s rationale. The company has said its sales volume has skewed so heavily toward SUVs and crossovers that it doesn’t make good sense to offer anything else.

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Volvo Delays EX90 to Deal With LiDAR Software Integration Issues

As the automotive world moves closer to semi-autonomous and someday, autonomous driving functions, vehicles will need more sensors and advanced tools to “feel” their way through the surrounding environment. Volvo plans to do that with the upcoming EX90 EV, but it appears the advanced sensor array could be causing delays.

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2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country Review – Quiet Luxury

The word “quiet” in the headline applies in two different ways to the 2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country wagon. It means quiet in the literal sense – the cabin of this car isolates noise nicely, as befits a luxury car – but also in the more abstract sense. This is a car that seems to fly under the radar, even as it’s one of the last wagons left on the market.

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Iconic Automotive Designer Peter Horbury Died At Age 73

The automotive world recently lost a giant of design. Peter Horbury, the man credited with pushing Volvo from the brick-making OEM to one building flowing, curvy vehicles, has died. He passed away, aged 73, on a recent trip to China while visiting colleagues from his more recent employer, Lotus.

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Volvo the Latest to Adopt NACS

The exodus from CCS charging ports to NACS plugs continues apace with Volvo announcing its plan to incorporate the Tesla-designed tech starting in 2025.

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Used Car of the Day: 2007 Volvo C70

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

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Report: Volvo Drops Front-Drive Versions of XC40 and XC60

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.

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2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Ultimate – Not Quite Fully Charged

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.

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Volvo Unveils Compact EX30 All-Electric SUV

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.

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The Volvo EX90's First Production Run Has Sold Out

Volvo has come up with some truly compelling EV designs, and that’s before we talk about anything from Polestar. The automaker’s upcoming EX90 blends the XC90’s clean, attractive shape with advanced safety and driver-assist technology. It’s become so popular with prospective buyers that Volvo had to stop taking orders to catch up.

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The Polestar 4 is Only Available for Preorder in One Country Right Now

The Polestar 4 is coming soon, bringing a striking design and no rear window. Though it will eventually become available in several countries, including the U.S., Polestar’s launching the oddball EV in China to start. The $60,000-ish Polestar 4 is now available for preorder only in China, using the company’s QR code and app.

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The Polestar 4 Gets Big Power but No Back Window

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.

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Used Car of the Day: 2020 Volvo V60 T5 R-Design

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

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The Mad Scientists at Volvo Are Bringing Artificial Sunlight to New Vehicles

Scientists making an artificial sun in a lab somewhere sounds ripped from a sci-fi villain movie, but one of the world’s most straight-laced automakers recently announced that it has come up with LED lights that mimic the natural light range and quality of sunlight.

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Volvo Patents New Tool to Combat Car Thieves

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.


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Used Car of the Day: 2018 Volvo V90 T6 R-Design

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.

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Used Car of the Day: 1998 Volvo V90

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.

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Used Car of the Day: 2013 Volvo C30 Polestar

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

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Volvo's CEO Rattles Dealer Network With Statements on Direct Sales

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.

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Volvo Revives Subscription Scheme for California

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.

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The Upcoming Volvo EX90 Will Eventually Come in Different Forms UPDATED

Volvo recently announced the EX90, a three-row EV with serious safety tech. Though the automaker only showed off one version of the new vehicle, company executives have hinted that other variants are in the works. 

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Used Car of the Day: 1975 Volvo TGB11

This super rare 1975 Volvo TGB11 utility comes to us from Richmond, Virginia.

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Volvo Teases EV SUV for 2023 Launch

Volvo is currently launching the EX90 electric SUV -- this may explain a sudden influx of social-media posts I've seen from Sweden over the past few days -- and apparently, the brand snuck a news nugget into its presentation.

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2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 Review: Responsibility

Part of becoming a parent is making compromises. Instead of a weekend in Vegas with some friends, you spend your vacation money taking the kids to visit a rat in a Florida swamp. Instead of enjoying a variety of interesting meals each night, it’s chicken fingers with boxed mac and cheese night after night after night.

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Volvo, Starbucks Team Up for EV Charging Pilot Program [UPDATED]

Volvo and Starbucks are teaming up on a pilot program to explore the installation of electric-vehicle charging stations at various Starbucks locations.

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Junkyard Find: 1970 Volvo 164

In North America, the Volvo Brick family first appeared with the 140 in the 1968 model year, and the sensibly square Swedes remained on sale here through the last of the S90s and V90s (formerly known as the 960) in 1998. I’ve managed to find junkyard examples of all of these cars, including such oddities as the 262C and 780 Bertone Coupes, but the Volvo 164 has been a tough one; prior to today’s Junkyard Find, I had documented just a single 164. On a recent trip to a snow-coated yard between Denver and Cheyenne, I found another: this scorched and punctured ’70.

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These Are the Best New Cars for OVER $90,060

Before we get to this list of “best luxury cars”, I feel like you might be wondering about that headline. Why $90,060? I chose that number because the ceiling for my “ best cheap cars” post was based on half the average selling price of a new car (more or less), and arbitrarily decided to keep going with that theme and set the floor for this list at approximately twice the current average.

As for the list, itself, I’ll try to answer it the same way you’d probably answer your rich friends if they asked you for help picking a new car: With a question of my own.

No, it’s not anything as pedestrian as, “What do you plan on using it for?” That kind of stuff is for the poors. For the rich people, the real question is: Who are you trying to impress with it?

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2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered Review: A Hot Hatch for the PTA President?

There’s a meme floating around, as memes do, with little localized variants. The one I see here in my little slice of Ohio reads something like: “Treat yourself like Interstate 70. Never stop working on yourself, no matter how much it inconveniences others.” Like most humor, there’s a bit of truth there – it always seems as of I-70 west of Columbus stretching at least to Indianapolis is in a constant state of either construction or in need of construction.

It was here on the pockmarked slab west of town I found myself driving on a brisk Sunday morn in the 2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered, hoping to experience the floaty-but-controlled ride I knew from my old 740 wagon and other spawn of Gothenburg. Not here. That Polestar Engineered badge adds a serious dash of sporting intent to the midsized crossover – a car already quick from three, count ‘em three, power adders to the ubiquitous two-liter four.

Really, this crossover has the feel of a buttoned-down hot hatch. How does it work, as the Brits like to say, on the school run?

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Quantum Leaps: Geely Saves Saab Instead of Volvo
These days, it’s hard to imagine a company better positioned to take on Tesla than Geely-owned Volvo and Polestar. Volvo made headlines back in 2015 when it promised that all new Volvos would be electrified starting in 2019 and ruffled more feathers when it spun off its successful motorsports brand, Polestar, into a purely electrified performance car line. Parent company Geely’s Chinese heritage allows Volvo nearly unfettered access to the all-important Chinese market and allows the company to benefit from economies of scale – through the Geely, Lynk & Co., and Zeekr car lines – that it simply wouldn’t be able to realize on its own.Over the past 10-or-so years, the Swedish company – once on the verge of extinction – has flourished, going from strength to strength. Ford looks absolutely ridiculous for having sold Volvo, now valued at more than $20 billion, to Geely for “just” $1.5 billion ( with Polestar going for another $20 billion, all on its own) back in 2010.Sure, Ford wanted to fire-sale Volvo – but Ford wasn’t the only troubled American car company holding on to a respected Swedish car brand looking to make some fast cash. With a push here and a nudge there, Geely could have bought Saab, instead.
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Junkyard Find: 1979 Volvo 245 DL With 338,475 Miles

Ever since I began my effort to document some of the interesting machinery that shows up in car graveyards, the quantity of discarded Volvo 240s has remained steady. Back in the late 2000s, I’d had an idea that just about every 240 owner would make the transition from safe and sensible Swedish bricks to green and sensible Japanese hybrids, and that the transition would be wrapped up by the dawn of the 2020s. Such has not been the case, although the 1970s 240s are getting harder to find. Here’s a high-mile 245 in a mile-high junkyard.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: Near Premium Midsize Sedans From 2011

Today’s Buy/Drive/Burn trio are near-premium sedans from the midsize segment. This set was a suggestion from commenter CoastieLenn on our B/D/B entry from last week. The year is 2011 – does Acura, Audi, or Volvo get the Buy nod?

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Rare Rides: Bertone by Any Other Name, the 1979 Volvo 262C

Today’s Rare Ride is an example of the first time Bertone added heaps of Italian build quality to an ordinary Volvo midsize. We’ve covered Bertone’s second effort ( the 780) long ago, so it’s past time we talk 262C.

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Junkyard Find: 1964 Volvo PV544 Sport

When I’m searching car graveyards for interesting examples of automotive history, discarded rear-wheel-drive Volvos from the Swedish Brick era (roughly 1967 through 1998) have been easy enough to find over the last decade. Yes, 140s, 200s, 700s, 900s— I’ve been able to document each type. Even the pre-brick Amazon isn’t so hard to find in the big American UWrenchIt yards. But the Amazon’s ancestor, the PV444/544, that’s a rare Junkyard Find, even though Americans could buy the PV544 through 1966.

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Where Your Author Considers Many Impractical Used Car Suggestions (Part II)

I’m back with more boring used car content, a topic some of you apparently despise with a passion. Caution: More used-car discussion ahead, get out while you still can if this is the case! For the rest of you, let’s review the impractical car suggestions you’ve made that earned a spot on the Yes, I Like list.

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Volvo Buying Itself Out of Chinese Joint Venture

Volvo Cars is plotting to buy out parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding and free itself of its Chinese joint venture. The Swedish (currently Swedish-Chinese) manufacturer has been hinting at the prospect of going public with an IPO, which most analysts believe would be bolstered by creating some distance from Geely.

While the Chinese Communist Party has ended mandates requiring electric vehicle firms from entering into joint ventures with established domestic businesses, the rule still exists for traditional automakers. However, the general assumption is that most will attempt to regain full ownership of their Chinese assets when the law is lifted next year. But critics are cautioning that the nation is under no obligation to maintain any commitment to foreign entities once they’ve split with their local partners.

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Rare Rides: A Very Exclusive 1998 Volvo S90 Royal Herms

Long before the S90 moniker was applied to a Chinese-produced front-drive car, it was (for a short while) the last chapter in a series of luxurious rear-drive Volvo sedans. What we have here is a last-of moment for Volvo, and a very rare one at that.

Presenting the S90 Royal Hermès.

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