s40 | The Motor Report: Auto News And Reviews

Volvo To Build Diesel-Electric Hybrids By 2012

VOLVO UNVEILED the all-electric C30 BEV at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week, and today the Swedish carmaker has announced plans to have a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle in production by 2012.

Plans for a diesel-electric Volvo hybrid first came to light late last year, when Volvo announced it had been working on a range of [...]

Volvo - The Game Released, Hours Of Swedish Sideways-ness To Be Had

WE TOLD YOU about it last month, but now it’s finally here. Volvo - The Game launched yesterday , and we decided to kill some time research it further by downloading a copy, dusting off the gaming wheel and donning our e-helmet.

Produced by renowned racing game studio SimBin, Volvo - The Game had the right [...]

Five Volvo Models Nominated For World Green Car Of The Year

Swedish tax-payers needn’t worry that recent loans to Volvo is money well spent. Volvo has the highest number of models nominated for the 2009 World Green Car of the Year awards. Five highly efficient DRIVe diesel and E85 Flexifuel Volvo models are featured in the 22-car field.

The Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe, Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe, Volvo V50 1.6D [...]

Volvo V70 And XC90 R-Design Now Available

Volvo has extended the R-Design styling pack to include its XC90 and V70 ranges, a move it says will “increase their dynamic appeal for Australian customers”.

The R-Design styling pack has been available on the C30, S40 and V50 T5 models for some time now. The latest additions to the R-Design rank include the XC90 3.2, [...]

New Volvo S80 T6 AWD

Aside from the strong-selling XC90, Volvo has been struggling to trouble the scorer in Australia these days. But that does not mean that the Ford-owned Swedish brand does not have some worthy cars in its model line-up. Any and all of its T-designated models, ‘T’ signifying ‘turbo’, are satisfying and swift drives; [...]

Old Prius And New Prius To Rub Shoulders In Toyota Showrooms?

For a long time now Toyota has enjoyed a virtual monopoly over the hybrid market. Sure, there was the first-generation Honda Insight and the current Civic Hybrid, but those models never really posed much of a threat to the dominant force of Toyota and its Prius and Lexus hybrids.

However, that’s all set to change. Automakers [...]

BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid Concept to Debut at Paris

BMW has lifted the lid on its latest eco-friendly version of the 7 Series sedan - and there’s not a single hydrogen tank in sight. Unlike the current darling of the environment-conscious celebrity set, the BMW Hydrogen 7, the 7 Series ActiveHybrid uses a far more viable petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain to deliver its fuel economy [...]

Mercedes Aims for 1 in 5 New Car Sales to be Hybrid by 2015

Word around town is that Mercedes Benz expects 20 percent of its new car sales to be hybrid vehicles by 2015, and will embark upon a program of launching a new hybrid model every year from 2009 onwards to help it achieve this goal.

Tightening emissions and fuel economy legislation - and an increased awareness of environmental [...]

Volvo to Display DRIVe Enhanced Trio in Paris

With Nissan already confirming a fuel and emissions conscious approach to this year’s Paris Motor Show, Volvo has just announced that it too will be centering its Paris display on a trio of highly-efficient models.

The C30, S40 and V50 on show will all feature a range of Volvo upgrades, designed to improve efficiency and reduce [...]

Volvo gears up with their own Dual Clutch transmission

Volvo have announced the availability of a six-speed dual-clutch transmission (similar to VW’s DSG) on their 2.0-litre turbo-diesel powered models, including the C30, S40 and V50 models. Designed in conjunction with Getrag, the dual-clutch gearbox has been dubbed “Powershift” and Volvo are citing the environment as one of the main reasons for its development.

“According to [...]

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 price increases - twice

The new and absolutely stunning 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 has had its pricing announced – twice. First time around the price was listed as $US37,995 and most recently the price has been re-announced as starting at $US40,995.

According to the guys at Autoblog, who contacted Chrysler, the reason for the increase is a $US2,100 “gas-guzzler” penalty [...]

Volvo updates S40 and V50 for 2008

Volvo have announced a series of refinements for their 2008 model year S40 and V50 range. In an effort to increase the visual differentiation between the sedan and wagon variants and in response to owner feedback the following changes have been introduced.

• S40 front with lower, broader stance
• Sportier new grille for V50
• Slimmer tail lamps and new [...]