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Volvo adds the V60 wagon to its car subscription service
If you're interested in a car subscription from Volvo, but you're not a fan of SUVs, the Swedish automaker just announced that its new V60 wagon will be available with the service called Care by Volvo.
Volvo reduces autonomous driving tests to find the right sensors
Volvo is adjusting the timeline on its ambitious Drive Me autonomous program until it can find the right sensors. "The development in sensor performance and processor capabilities is going so much faster than we expected in 2013," program director Marcus Rothoff recently told Automotive News Europe. "Because advancements are being made at such a rapid pace, we want to make this decision as late as possible."
Volvo wants to sell cars like Verizon sells phones
At the 2017 LA Auto Show on Wednesday, Volvo revealed a monumental new means of owning and operating their vehicles. For $600 a month, the car company will sell customers an XC40 crossover SUV. That figure includes not only the cost of the car, tax and delivery, but also insurance (regardless of your age or location) and access to Volvo's new "concierge" service. All you have to pay for is the gas you use. They're calling it Care by Volvo.
Uber orders up to 24,000 Volvo SUVs for its self-driving fleet
Uber has just taken another big step from a ride-sharing service to a transportation provider. It announced that it will buy up to 24,000 Volvo XC90s, marking the first major vehicle fleet purchase by a ride-hailing service. Uber will take delivery of the SUVs between 2019 and 2021, then equip them with its own sensors and tech, allowing it to do fully autonomous, driver-free passenger rides. "This new agreement puts us on a path toward mass-produced, self-driving vehicles at scale," Uber's Jeff Miller told Bloomberg.
Volvo's parent company now owns a flying car startup
Those reports from the summer that Volvo's parent company had snapped up flying car startup Terrafugia? They were true. Geely has officially completed its acquisition of Terrafugia, turning it into a fully-owned subsidiary of the Chinese automotive giant. Terrafugia will remain based in the US and will continue working on flying cars, but it will have Geely's deep pockets and automotive experience to back it up. It's also taking on a new board of directors that includes a mix of veteran Terrafugia backers, Geely execs and Bell Helicopter's managing director for China.
Renault's self-driving car can avoid obstacles like pro drivers
The Renault Group announced today that its autonomous vehicle control system can avoid obstacles just as well as professional test drivers. The company said that in designing the system, it was actually inspired by these drivers' abilities and used them as a sort of benchmark as to what level its technology should be performing.
Apple lists the cars that can wirelessly charge your iPhone
Sure, you know that most wireless charging pads will top up the iPhone 8 or iPhone X, but what about the pad in your car? That's a little more complicated, but Apple is willing to help out. It just posted a list of manufacturers whose vehicles can charge the latest crop of iPhones, and it's mostly good news... mostly. Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo and the PSA group (Citroen, DS, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall) all have cars that will charge at least the iPhone 8 (and likely X), and can charge the 8 Plus if there's enough room. Be careful if you're a GM fan, though, as you'll have to be extra-picky about your driving machine.
Volvo's performance brand launches a 600HP plug-in hybrid
When Volvo declared that its Polestar performance brand would revolve around electric powertrains, it wasn't kidding. Polestar has unveiled its first car, appropriately named the Polestar 1, and it's a plug-in hybrid coupe that musters 600HP while managing a surprisingly large 93 miles of electric-only driving. This is an EV that just happens to have a gas engine under the hood, according to Volvo, and the odds are that you might never use fossil fuels during your daily commute. It also promises to be nimble thanks to a continuously adjusted electronic suspension and an electric rear axle to maximize grip. The 1 sounds like it could be a relatively guilt-free way to drive, then. However, it's almost more important for what it isn't.
Starting in 2020, it’s going to be much easier to buy an EV
For the first time ever, buying an electric or hybrid car from most of the big automakers is a viable option. But these electrified vehicles are still a small part of the entire automotive world. At the Frankfurt auto show in Germany, many car companies either finally pledged or reiterated earlier promises to increase the number of electrified cars to their lineups by 2030.
Volvo buys premium app-based valet service Luxe
Volvo has just acquired the app-based valet service Luxe, which let users coordinate a driver to park, wash and refuel their car. But the Swedish automaker didn't pick it up just to convenience its customers -- it wants Luxe's technology and engineers, too.
Lean back and watch the eclipse...from your Volvo
On Monday, lots of people are going to head outside and check out the first total solar eclipse to be viewable in the contiguous US since 1979 and the first coast-to-coast one in nearly a century. But Volvo is giving its drivers another option. For those that want to experience the event alone and maybe with a little air conditioning, the car manufacturer is providing moonroof eclipse viewers for its 2018 XC60 cars.
Volvo’s self-driving cars are thrown off by kangaroos
Volvo, like seemingly every other company, has been working on their autonomous vehicle technology and it has run into an interesting problem. While testing its cars in Australia, the company found that kangaroos were both a nuisance and very confusing to its cars.
Volvo is working with NVIDIA to develop self-driving car tech by 2021
With virtually every major car manufacturer dumping R&D money into the field, it looks like autonomous vehicles are going to be a thing whether we want them to or not. Early Tuesday morning NVIDIA and Volvo announced that they are redoubling their self-driving system efforts by teaming with a number of other companies to develop and distribute a proprietary autonomous AI platform by the start of the next decade.
Volvo launches a dedicated performance EV brand
Car manufacturers are focusing more and more on electric cars, and now Volvo is making its EV intentions even clearer. It's announced that Polestar, its performance brand, will become a standalone line focused exclusively on electric cars.
Drivers win when automakers use Android
Android Auto only got a brief mention at yesterday's Google I/O keynote, but that's mostly because some notable news dropped earlier this week. Both Audi and Volvo announced plans to utilize Android as the OS behind their cars infotainment systems. That's notably different than Android Auto, which basically projects a simplified version of your phone's interface to your car's display. Audi and Volvo's implementations don't require a phone -- and the carmakers are free to customize the UI as they see fit. It's worth noting that this isn't a new idea, though some of the ways it has been used in the past leave much to be desired. Today, we had a chance to check out Audi's vision for Android in the car here at Google I/O. Seated inside of a concept Q8 SUV, a Google spokesperson walked us through the UI, though it was straightforward and sensible enough that you wouldn't really need a hand with it. Conceptually, it's not all that different than when a phone manufacturer skins Android with their own custom interface.
Audi and Volvo go all-in on Android
Audi and Volvo are making a very public commitment to Google after pledging to build Android into their next generation of cars. Rather than simply enabling your smartphone to interact with the vehicle, Google's software will be the operating system for these car's infotainment units. Users will, potentially, be able to use a wide variety of Android-specific apps on their whips, as well as use Google Maps for navigation. In addition, drivers will be able to control their AC, sunroof and windows from the same console that they find a new Spotify playlist or chat to their (Google) voice assistant.
Volvo's new XC60 is better than ever at not killing people
Volvo's 2018 XC60 isn't the newest thing at the New York Auto Show -- it was actually unveiled in Geneva -- but it was too Swedishly pretty not to spend time with. The XC60 will land in the US later this year (price unknown, sadly), but it turns out every XC60 will a little American by default. 2018 will see Volvo build a production facility in South Carolina that'll make every XC60 sold around the world. I kind of expect Volvo to sell quite a few, if only based on the strength of its tech package and design.
UberEats and Volvo think riders might want a backseat dinner
Tokyo might be known for its plethora of restaurants, but the beleaguered UberEats service and Volvo have put a brand new one in the backseat of a moving SUV. A partnership between the Swedish automaker, Uber and Iron Chef Yukio Hattori called the "All-Star Restaurant" is currently rolling around Tokyo, literally delivering a multi-course menu of dishes to riders in an XC90 Excellence luxury SUV.
Volvo's first EV will cost less than $40,000
When Volvo revealed its intentions to make its first all-electric car, it raised at least a few questions: would the EV carry a premium over Volvo's already pricier-than-usual lineup? And would it have enough range to be more than an urban commuter car? Apparently, the answer to both is "yes." The company's US chief Lex Kerssemakers told the press that the 2019-era vehicle should carry a price between $35,000 and $40,000, and should have at least a 250-mile range. That would put it at the lower end of Volvo's price spectrum, and pit it directly against the wave of new mainstream EVs like the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3.
Volvo melds technology and luxury in the XC90 T8 hybrid
The name Volvo conjures up the incredibly safe but visually bland 240 Wagon sold during the '70s, '80s and '90s. You'd buy a Volvo because you were practical and possibly a bit paranoid about other drivers slamming into you. But the Swedish automaker has been working hard to make its cars not only safe but also stylish and high-tech. That work has culminated in the hybrid XC90 T8 luxury SUV.
