2004 Volvo S60 2.4 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volvo already planning road-going V8 Supercar?

After decades of cat-and-mouse battle waged between Holden and Ford, Australia's V8 Supercars series has expanded considerably. Mercedes and Nissan both joined the grid last season, and Volvo has followed suit this year. So when 2014 championship kicked off earlier this month in Adelaide, everyone was watching to see who would come out on top.
The answer is Holden, which took first place in all three of the weekend's races. In fact the General Motors division locked out the podium in the first and third races and took first and third places in the second race, letting just one other manufacturer onto the podium the entire weekend - and that was Volvo. The Polestar S60 scored second place on its first race weekend, beating all the Nissan Altimas, the Mercedes E63 AMGs, the Ford Falcons and most of the Holden Commodores.
Now that's hardly winning the championship, but it's a very solid debut. And that point was not lost on the people back at headquarters in Sweden, who are already thinking about making a roadgoing version of the race-spec V8 Supercar.

Volvo shows inflatable child seat concept [w/video]

Volvo is bringing its emphasis on safety and design to the littlest members of the family with its concept for an inflatable, rearward facing child safety seat. The design is meant to help traveling families by offering a lighter and less bulky alternative to traditional car seats.
The design is quite ingenious. The seat is covered in drop-stitched fabric, which fills with air to create the form of the seat. An electric motor in it allows inflation and deflation in less than 40 seconds, according to Volvo. It weighs less than 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and folds small enough when collapsed to fit into a bag. It even has a Bluetooth connection, so parents can begin expanding it remotely.
The inflatable seat in the brainchild of Lawrence Abele, Volvo's design manager at its Monitoring and Concept Center in Los Angeles, CA. "For many, travelling with young children is a challenge; any assistance to simplify the parents' life with young children is a great thing," he said in a statement released by Volvo. The chair remains a concept for now, and the automaker isn't saying whether it's going to put it into production, but it's a clever solution to a common problem. Scroll down for a video showing it in action and to read the release.

Volvo V70 and XC70 and Ocean Race special editions wash ashore ahead of Geneva

Volvo will unveil the third in its series of new concepts to the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, but it will also bring a flotilla of special editions to the Swiss show. The V70 and XC70 are getting limited-edition models called simply Edition, and the V40, V40 Cross Country, V60 and XC60 will have Volvo Ocean Race Editions.
The Edition models outfit the cars with an extra sprinkling of style. The V70 Edition gets high-gloss black trim on the grille, mirror caps, side window frames and tailgate and rides on silver, 17-inch wheels with high-gloss black 17-inch and 18-inch wheels as options. The XC70 Edition adds some gloss black exterior upgrades too, plus high-gloss black, 18-inch diamond-cut wheels. Both models are swathed in black leather upholstery with cream stitching.
The Volvo Ocean Race Editions celebrate the brand's sponsorship of a 38,739-nautical-mile yacht race that will circumnavigate the world from 2014 to 2015. All of them sport the race logo on the tread plates, front fenders, infotainment display on start-up and special seven-spoke wheels. Inside, there is the choice of black or blonde leather seats with orange stitching. The 60-series cars also sport a map of the race route on the rear load cover.