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In Review: 2023 Volvo XC90 Recharge

For 2023, the Volvo XC90 comes only as a mild hybrid or, as with my tester, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). It's lovely to drive, but it can be distracting to try to operate its controls inside the centre screen. Find out more in my review at AutoTRADER.ca.

In Review: 2022 Volvo XC60

Volvo's midsize sport-utility is a joy to drive, and it's gorgeous and comfortable, but why does simply changing the temperature have to take so many steps? Find out more in my review at Driving.ca.

In Review: 2022 Volvo XC40 Recharge

Volvo has put an all-electric drivetrain into its XC40, known as the Recharge. It's a gorgeous car and great to drive, but not everything is perfect. Find out more in my review at AutoTRADER.ca.

In Review: 2021 Volvo S60

The Volvo S60 is beautifully-styled and a great car to drive, but its stark Scandinavian interior, while lovely, means its operating system can be frustratingly awkward. Find out more in my review at AutoTRADER.ca.

In Review: 2020 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) may be the best choice for those who like electrics but need more range. A PHEV will run on its battery alone after you plug in it, but once that runs out, it'll keep going as long as it has fuel in its tank. Volvo has a few, including my tester, the XC90 T8. Find out more in my review at AutoTRADER.ca.

In Review: 2020 Volvo V60 Cross-Country

I love this wagon for its fantastic good looks, its sweet driving feel, and the fact that it's practical without being an SUV. But then there's that screen in the centre of the dash, and it all falls apart. Find out what I mean in my review over at the National Post (Driving.ca).

Here are the brands Ford used to own...

What do Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and Mazda all have in common? At one time, they all belonged to Ford. Find out how that happened -- and then how it un-happened -- in my "Rearview Mirror" column at the National Post (Driving.ca).

The best and not-so-best design turnarounds

Design isn't the only aspect of a vehicle, but it's the first impression, and automakers spend a lot of time and money trying to get it right. Some do ... and then, for whatever reason, some don't. Find out which ones fall into those categories in my story over at the National Post (Driving.ca).

In Review: 2019 Volvo S90

It's gorgeous and it drives like a dream, but oh, that centre screen... Find out more in my review at the National Post (Driving.ca).

Volvo: A new way to get a car

As the world goes increasingly online to buy its goods, auto manufacturers have to keep up. The latest is Volvo, which is introducing a subscription service for specific models that gives you a single price per month, with almost everything in it. Find out more in my story over at AutoTRADER.

Preview: 2019 Volvo S60

Volvo's in the process of updating its portfolio, as well as its manufacturing facilities: the all-new 2019 S60 is the first car to roll out of an equally all-new plant in South Carolina. I didn't get much seat time, but you can read all about it in my story over at AutoTRADER.

In review: 2017 Volvo V90

Smooth, sleek, and lovely to drive, Volvo's new wagon is a winner -- except for some rather unusual items that will cost you extra. Find out more in my review over at AutoTrader.

What makes a self-driving car work?

A lot of very high-tech systems, most of which are already in vehicles and just waiting for their chance to do it alone. Find out more in my story over at the National Post.

First look at Volvo's new S90 and V90

Volvo is now in the process of making itself over with new models, built on an all-new modular architecture, and a policy of four-cylinder engines only. How's that working out? Find out more about the two latest ones coming down the pipeline, the S90 sedan and V90 wagon, in my story over at the Toronto Star.

Who teaches self-driving cars how to drive themselves?

At Volvo, some of the work is done by Marcus Rothoff, who not only has to figure out how to get the car to drive itself, but what infrastructure needs to be set up and what laws are required. Find out more in my story over at the Toronto Star.

What's it like to run Volvo?

Another in my series on people connected with the auto industry: Marc Engelen, president of Volvo Cars of Canada. He's certainly serious about the job, visiting all of the country's dealers in person after he arrived from Belgium. Read all about it in the Toronto Star.

Volvo design: Looking almost 40 years ahead

That's Jonathan Disley, advanced design manager at Volvo, and he has quite a task: he has to work toward car designs that we'll be seeing anywhere from 2030 to 2050. Why so far ahead? Find out in my Toronto Star story by clicking here.

The power of marketing

  Never underestimate the power of marketing. Volvo has produced some very important safety innovations over the years -- this is the company, after all, that gave us the three-point seatbelt, and had a full contingency of active and passive safety features before most of us knew what the terms meant.

But I just read a new survey by Consumer Reports, which asked readers to judge new vehicles based on a number of factors. Almost every automaker offers every safety feature found on the average Volvo, at least on some or most models. Yet when it came to safety, Volvo led the category by 71 percent. The second-place company? Ford -- at nineteen percent. Yes, Volvo are good, solid, safe vehicles, but a difference of 52 percent? Come on, people ... get a grip.

The Volt: Look what it started

  Just a couple of weeks ago, General Motors unveiled the production model of the Chevrolet Volt, and now the floodgates have opened.

One of the three electric prototype models that Chrysler unveiled recently is an extended-range, meaning that, like the Volt, it runs on plug-in battery power and when that runs out, it goes to a gasoline engine that makes more electricity, rather than running the wheels itself. And at the Paris Motor Show today, Volvo announced that it will also have a similar vehicle, scheduled for production after 2012, which will run on battery power and then on gasoline to generate electricity.

So I wonder: did everyone have the same idea at the same time, or did automakers see the Volt concept unveiled in 2007, run to the drawing board, and then wait for the production model to be presented before making their own announcements? It sure seems odd that others are coming out with similar cars so quickly -- and very heartening, too.

Note to Volvo: Maybe you need better drivers for customers

Volvo sent out a press release today about the Weavers, a Kentucky family who "should be on a survival TV show". The company intended the release to emphasize that Volvo makes safe cars.

To me, the release told me that some people who drive Volvos should spend a little extra for some advanced driving control lessons. (Keep this in mind: driving lessons teach you how to drive. Driving control lessons teach you how to control the car, which is far more important.)

First up is son Jeremy, who was 17 years old and delivering pizzas in his first car, a Volvo 240. According to the release, "On his normal delivery round on one rainy evening he was unlucky enough to veer off the road. His car slid down a 10m slope and was brought to a halt by heavy trees."

Now, maybe Volvo operates in a different world, but on my planet, you're not "unlucky enough" to veer off the road. You veer off the road because you are no longer in control of the vehicle. I have driven on a lot of rainy evenings. Oddly enough, I've yet to be "unlucky enough" to veer off the road.

Next up is mother Nancy, who was giving her daughter's family a ride to the airport. "Enroute, traffic on the highway suddenly ground to a halt and Nancy lost control of the car; it flipped at approximately 100 km/h."

Okay, so Volvo got it right on this one: she lost control of the car. But flipping it because traffic stopped in front of her? How close was she following, and how far ahead was she looking?

I'll give them the final one: a storm blew down a tree that landed on their 1985 Volvo. Some things you just can't anticipate. But in this case, two out of three ... well, it's bad, and I'm guessing probably preventable. Remember, there are no accidents, only crashes.

Safety: Start at the beginning

In the news: Volvo has announced a new goal. The Swedish automaker is aiming for "zero accidents" and is determined that by 2020, "no one should be killed or injured in a Volvo."

A lofty if impossible goal, which the company is addressing by analyzing data and outfitting its vehicles with numerous safety features, including those that monitor the driver's drowsiness, the distance to the vehicle up ahead, and devices that eventually could auto-brake and auto-steer around other vehicles or pedestrians.

To its credit, Volvo says that it follows the principle that "the driver should be in command", and that the various devices are only assistants. But the flaw I see is that Volvo is giving the driver far too much credit. The only way absolutely no one will be killed or injured in a Volvo is if absolutely no one is ever actually in a Volvo.

Rather than cars that steer and brake themselves, here's what I'd like to see: people who drive the cars. That means no cell phones, no coffee cups, no hamburgers, no text-messaging. It means far better driving tests than we presently use to determine if someone's safe enough to be behind the wheel. It means periodic testing, and more access to skid schools and defensive driving courses. And it means people using the gray matter between their ears as more than just stuffing in their skulls.

Here in Ontario, three young men were killed in a single-car crash when their Audi S4 -- actually, an S4 belonging to the father of the 20-year-old driver -- went through a guardrail and plunged into a river. Between them, the three -- two of them 20 years old, one 19 -- had fifteen traffic charges over a three-year period. The lone survivor of the crash has said they had all consumed alcohol, and when the driver sped up, one of the passengers told him that was "great driving". The survivor admitted to turning up the already-loud stereo just before the crash.

As they say, ya can't fix dumb. I admire Volvo's ideal; I don't want to see anyone die in a car crash. But sometimes, even the most sophisticated vehicle simply can't save people from themselves.

Volvo: 2,000 jobs out the door

Well, it's not just GM's Oshawa truck plant closure and Ford setting back the F-150's introduction anymore. Volvo has announced that it's axing 2,000 jobs, including 1,400 white-collar workers and 600 blue-collar positions.

It seems that the weak U.S. dollar and the price of raw materials is reaching all the way over to Europe. The company will get rid of some 1,300 people at its plants and offices in Sweden, another 500 consultants on contract to the automaker, and then an additional 300 warm bodies worldwide. The Swedish carmaker posted a first-quarter loss this year of the equivalent of US$151 million.

And don't think it's going to stop there; the elephant rolls over, and it isn't just the Great White North that feels its weight anymore. It's a very scary time to be tied to an auto company, and what's even scarier is that those shock waves go many miles beyond the gate at the front of the plant. I wonder just how far the bottom really is, and where this is all going to end.

Thinking outside the box

This is what's turning my crank today. This is Hot Rod Jakob, and it's a Volvo.

Yes, a Volvo.

This amazing machine was created in Sweden by award-winning car builder Leif Tufvesson at his Caresto shop, and after a tour of the Nordic countries, it'll come to SEMA in Las Vegas in November 2008. Tufvesson showed his last two Volvo creations there, as well.

He took his inspiration from the 1927 ÖV4, the first series-production Volvo. This new version faithfully copies its hood curvature, windshield frame, radiator shell and grille, but uses a carbon-fibre chassis, Volvo T5 turbocharged five-cylinder engine, Volvo M90 transmission, and steering wheel and shifter lever from a P1800.

Tufvesson is no stranger to the North American hot-rod scene, but he grew up working on Volvos and for a while built concept cars for the company, so "instead of obtaining inspiration from an old Ford, as is usually the case in hot rod circles, I wanted to build something that meant more to me personally."

Inspiring it is, and my hope is that enthusiasts on this side of the water will look past their long-held traditions that a hot rod must be a North American vehicle, and appreciate this phenomenal piece of work for what it is. I can hardly wait until November and a chance to see it in person.