The XC70 Surf Rescue is one of the hottest to come out of watching the bay since... well... Baywatch.

Volvos race, believe it or not, and whether it's a gravity racer or a V8-powered Volvo they're always quixotic and wonderful.

Volvos make for great hot rods. Don't ask us why, they just do.

Most importantly, Volvos make being safe sexy. Someone, please, send us a mint 144 for Christmas.

Wayne, aka Stratocastrator, was at the wheel and walked away from the wreck without a scratch. Being a veteran of decades of balls-to-the-wall dirt-track racing, he didn't consider this to be much of an impact.

Wayne's tough, but it turns out that the Volvo 240 is even tougher! You know all those ads Volvo used to run, touting the rollover protection of the 240? They weren't bullshitting- the roof wasn't even mashed down to the roll cage! According to team captain Hellhammer, all the car needs to run again is a new left front wheel.

But you don't care about all that stuff- you want to witness the carnage! OK, we're happy to oblige:

Thanks to Larisa Wolf for the photograph at top!

The video below, provided by the V8olvo team, tells the whole story. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the Volvo will be ready to race later this morning. It seems unlikely that the TR7 can be fixed, but you never know what miracles of duct-tape repair might happen at a 24 Hours Of LeMons race!

We've got some still photos of the action as well, thanks to Jesse of the Killer Bee MGB team.

I'm having a tough time figuring out the year of this 122S; the early-series yellow-on-black license plates mean it's no newer than '63 or '64, and the grille also suggests that era, but we'll need a real Amazon expert to tell us for sure.

This car appears to be in excellent original condition, and it's even a two-door!

I spotted this Volvo parked in front of a local Volvo shop, across the street from the '87 BMW L6 and parked in the exact same spot that gave us the '70 164. Check out the Bertone 262C in the background.

They envision a lightly hotted up version of the standard car more in the mold of the S4 or 335i than the M3 or the P2 generation S60R and V70R. Why? Volvo fans don't want to go faster, they just want to look faster.

Our sources say the new S60 will likely come with the 305 HP T6 engine from the XC60 as one of its powertrains. Is there really a need for an appearance package on top of that? [Swedespeed]

Though BMW and Toyota aren't the only major automaker to not make the list of 27 vehicles, they're the most notable considering Chrysler managed to get four vehicles on the list and Volvo managed the same despite having belts on their XC60 disengage in a side-crash.

Click on the thumbs in this gallery and you can see the full list of IIHS-ordained cars in each category. For the most part, it's a sign of the cars you're least likely to want to drive. For instance, they explicitly exclude the WRX and SI versions of the Impreza and Civic.

Large Cars:
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

Midsize Cars:
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009
Chrysler Sebring 4-door with optional electronic stability control
Dodge Avenger with optional electronic stability control
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

Small Cars
Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si) with optional electronic stability control
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza except WRX
Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot with optional side torso airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan

Having been forced to watch the original Twilight movie I can relate the plot to you very quickly: A high school girl with greasy hair falls in love with a 100-year-old, but still young looking vampire whose main powers are looking moody and sparkling. Ignoring the pedophilia and concentrating instead on the fact that the two don't have sex, Christians the world over have seized on the movie as a wonderful example of abstinence (Should I have sex with a sparkle vampire? What would Jesus do?) and encouraged their pubescent daughters to obsess over the movie's star, the dreamy Robert Pattinson.

At some point during all the ridiculousness and sparkling, there's some brief message about protecting the people you love. Volvo's seized on this, pushing its products heavily in the movies and now running an ad campaign to tie in with the sequel, New Moon, which opens next week.

Ignoring for a second the bizarre Christian thing that's going to insure that a generation of girls grow up with an incredibly fucked up idea of sex, the target demographic for this teen marketing campaign movie is 12-year-old girls. Is that really the market for Volvo XC60s? We mean, they can't even drive yet!

Then there's the direct parallel Volvo's drawing between the website it's using to promote its product placement and that creepy Christian thing the movies have going on. The website's name? What Drives Edward? Would Jesus be that creepy?

FIRST IMAGES OF THE ALL-NEW VOLVO S60 – SCULPTED TO MOVE YOU

Here are the first official pictures of the all-new Volvo S60 – sportier and more dynamic than any previous Volvo car.
"The all-new Volvo S60 is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car's technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel," says Stephen Odell, President and CEO at Volvo Cars.
The Volvo S60 can be equipped with Pedestrian Detection – a groundbreaking safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver doesn't react in time.
The all-new Volvo S60 will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March next year. Production of the sporty saloon will start early summer 2010 at Volvo Cars' plant in Gent, Belgium.
"The customers in this segment want emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. The S60 has it all. We are convinced that it will be one of the strongest contenders around," says Stephen Odell.

In spite of its ferocious name and its compact but good looks, the Volvo Amazon is not a sports car. Far from it: the Amazon is a Swedish family sedan built half a century ago. With its small Euro engines, it took inspiration from Sweden’s glaciers when it came to acceleration in spite of the curb weight of 2,400 pounds, a helium balloon in these times.

Not this particular Amazon, though, put through the paces by the Getaway in Stockholm people. Instead of the original car’s double-digit amounts of horsepower, Linköpings Motorsport’s mad creation has a full five hundred at its disposal. Combine that with the delicate curb weight and the sight of this cute little box hurtling itself along forest roads suddenly makes sense.

And as for the handling? “It’s like a snake on a hot summer day,” is how the video’s narrator puts it.

There is something incredibly delicious about this Swedish school or performance tuning. It makes you shudder just to think what these people could do to yet another Swedish car: the mighty Koenigsegg! Christian von Koenigsegg’s earthbound fighter jets would probably reach for the skies in no time.

Photo Credit: klareralt/Flickr

Hat tip to Máté Petrány.

Car: Tata Nano
Place on the list: 49
Reason it's BS: The Tata Nano isn't ugly, it's simply space efficient. Given the constraints of price, footprint and upright packaging, it pulls off the microcar shape rather well actually. There are certainly uglier cars on the market in India and China right now.

Car: Ferrari Enzo
Place on the list: 42
Reason it's BS: Save the Enzo's! The Ferrari Enzo wasn't built to win beauty contests, it was designed to showcase Ferrari's F1 racing pedigree and tie those techniques and technologies to their road cars. Form follows function and while it's not classically beautiful it's fast and unique. In any case compared to the Mondial, it's a supermodel.

Car: Plymouth Prowler
Place on the list: 31
Reason it's BS: When the Prowler was introduced in 1997, it was the coolest car on the planet, bar none. Unfortunately it was packed with an engine from an Intrepid, and suspension tuning best described as one-of-a-kind. Despite its glaring flaws and how you might feel about the retro-mod style, it was certainly a car that got people looking. When you spot them today, you turn and look longer than you should, admit it.

Car: Lamborghini LM002
Place on the list: 25
Reason it's BS: BusnessWeek complains about "geometric doors, angular fenders, and a busy hood." Perhaps they forgot it was introduced in 1986 when everything cool was geometric, angular and busy. They don't even mention the fire-breathing (for the 80's) 5.0 liter V12 from the Countach under the hood and the take-no-prisoners attitude. You don't get a moniker like "Rambo Lambo" by being lame.

Car: DeLorean DMC-12
Place on the list: 20
Reason it's BS: Are they joking? The DMC-12? Of any car from the 80's this one still plays well on public streets. The stainless steel body is unique, the ridiculously heavy gullwing doors draw crowds and the fastback style screams 80's coke dealer, and nobody was more up on all things stylish in the 80's than coke dealers.

Car:Subaru Brat
Place on the list: 18
Reason it's BS: Apparently BusinessWeek's too busy adjusting its top hat and monocle to enjoy the finer things in life, like riding in the jump seats in the Subaru Brat's cargo bed. It's even got decent capability for an early soft-roader.

Car: Aston Martin Lagonda
Place on the list: 16
Reason it's BS: Oh come on? Really? The Lagonda? It pushed the limit of longer, lower, wider to absurdity and mixed in out of control braggadocio. By all account it was admittedly every bit British reliable, but who cares? Hire a team of mules to pull it around town as you look out upon the unwashed masses from your obnoxious 80's chariot.

Car:Volvo 240
Place on the list: 13
Reason it's BS: Don't you go messing with the 240 BusinessWeek. You have no idea the depths of Volvo love out there, especially by the boxy-but-trusty 240. We dare you, dare you to find a more dedicated owner base. Fine, it's a bit boring, but so is the Camry and that's not on the list. We actually find it handsome, especially with the quad headlight design. You best watch your back BusinessWeek.

Car: Bricklin SV1
Place on the list: 11
Reason it's BS: Okay, this one's a bit on the ugly side, if you look only at the outside, but it was one of the first cars to push the idea of safety in a sports car, even though because of its heavy construction it wasn't particularly sporty. It's got a logical shape, and the nose is designed to prevent expensive damage repairs. Sure it's a bit cluttered in places, but come on, gull-wing doors.

Car:Chevy El Camino
Place on the list: 1
Reason it's BS: Number one. They've got to be kidding. Two words on this one: Screw. Off. First of all, lumping the entire series into one big pile is just plain ignorant. Secondly, it's rude. The El Camino from the outset was a looker and stayed a dynamite design all the way until the fall in the 70s. But then again, everything was pretty fug in the 70s. If they even try to say the 1960 and 1972 were ugly, they might get a Jalopnik-shaped shoe to the butt.

Photo credit: SuperChevy

Booth, in a statement today says,

"Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand"

Yes, because any time we see a Chinese restaurant offering Swedish meatballs, we think we're getting the heights of culinary delight.

Of course that can't be any worse than when we see Swedish meatballs at Denny's — which, come to think of it, we've been seeing since 1999's sale of Volvo Cars to Ford for $6.45 billion. [via AutoNews]

Previously, infrared cameras from companies like Mercedes have been able to identify pedestrians, but were only capable of drawing a driver's attention to them through a display screen. The Volvo Pedestrian Detection system adds an extra levels of capability to that — tracking their speed and direction and the ability to automatically apply the brakes — leading the Swedish brand to claim huge safety advances.

While over-protective parents and everything-is-someone-else's-fault Nazis will see a clear benefit in a car that removes a driver's ability to run over their spoiled, playing-in-the-street children, we're a bit more skeptical of the need for this technology. Surely the only 100% effective method of eliminating car/pedestrian interfaces is to separate roads from pedestrian areas. We'd much rather see more pedestrianized streets in city centers and barriers between sidewalks and streets than we would expensive, prone-to-failure technology. Like other safety aids-antilock brakes springs to mind as a good example-we can see drivers learning to rely on the Pedestrian Detection system over their own judgement and skill, then failing to pay attention at crucial moments. [via Facebook.com/Volvo]

Yesterday saw a candidate that appeared to be AWOL from Ice Station Zebra's mail route. Despite the lack of info and claim of immobility, the $5,700 asking price seemed reasonable enough to 57% of you, garnering the arctic Jeep a place in the Nice Price Hall of Fame.

What if that Jeep wasn't off-roadie enough for you? What if you need something with a little more ground clearance - and forward-control - to rock your world? Well then here's a Volvo to do just that. Debuting in 1959 as a multi-purpose vehicle for the Swedish military (think Hummer driven by blonde people) the L23-series served as a test-run, with 90 of the forward-control trucks built before being replaced by the L33. That model traded the L23's three-main B16 with the sturdy five-main B18 (the Guinness world record holder for mileage is a B18-powered P1800 with over 2.5 million miles on it!), and was offered as a hard top, half top and open varieties.

Today we have a '67 not-quite-lapis blue Laplander with an asking price of $9,000. The ad offers but two photos and a brief description- including that it currently runs well, and comes with a fetching color-coordinated trailer, PTO-operated winch, and front-mountable blade - but no other detail. Lacking an interior shot, here is a page from the instruction manual so you can get a gander at the fold-out windscreen and never-a-dull-moment collection of drivetrain levers.

The added goodies will help you fulfill your Mr Plow fantasies, and should the current Global Warming hype turn out to be 180° from reality, this will see you through even the harshest of winters.

So, what do you think of this Volvo with an attitude? Does that $9,000 price tag make you want to lap up this Laplander? Or, does that cost make you feel all boxed in?

You decide!

Spokane Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to HammSammich! Mmmm, sammich

Yeah, once a car gets a full roll cage and fixed racing seat it becomes slightly less comfortable as a commuter car, but you'll get used to it. The Faster Farms Chickens' 1966 Belvedere takes one team member to work and back every day, five-point harness, no side glass, the works. His friends and family edge away from him in horror think he's a hero for his choice of vehicle, and now you could inspire the same pity respect! We've found a couple of retired 24 Hours Of LeMons machines that fit the bill nicely.

You want your new car to be well-maintained, so what could be better than a veteran of the Battle Of The Somme, aka the mud-soaked 24-hour party that was The Lamest Day 24 Hours Of LeMons? It was just like Woodstock, only with more mud, more particle-board campfires, and way more busted engines. The Police Brutality '61 Fleetwood accomplished its mission of beating up breast cancer for charity, and now Police Brutality is ready to move on to even more terrible better race cars. For 500 bucks, you get this running, driving, fully caged 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood, winner of the Organizer's Choice trophy, and they'll even throw in a set of slightly used Fuzion HRi tires. Imagine the envy you'll inspire as you cruise the boulevard in this fine luxury race car!

You'd enjoy life to its fullest, driving that Fleetwood around town, but what if you've got a family? You could install more race seats (hey, kids are agile enough to climb in over the roll cage), but what about all the gear that you've got to haul when you've reproduced? You need a station wagon, and we can't imagine even the most uptight homeowners' association objecting to a safe-n-sensible Volvo 245. Such as, for example, the FAST-ish and the FURRiest Volvo wagon, which finished an impressive 18th at the Lamest Day and can be purchased for a mere 500 bucks. It comes with tasteful leopardskin-and-teeth decor and a nuclear-family-style rollcage, but you'll need to supply your own seats and wheels. Remember, this car blew away dozens of BMWs, Porsches, and Acuras at Nelson Ledges, so you'll feel proud to haul the family in the baddest-ass hot rod in your subdivision!

The Tunachuckers were up late fixing their toasted engine compartment (thankfully, they brought many spare parts), and after a full rewiring job, carburetor repair, and a lucky brake hose find (the fire started when a brake hose burst and sprayed the exhaust manifold), they're back out there. Meanwhile, the Milano team spent all day and all night getting their engine back together- not bad by Alfa standards- and they're now roaring around the track. Things are about to get very, very hectic in the penalty box, so I need to go dispense some justice; check in this afternoon for possible updates.

Here's a shot of their driver, moments after escaping his burning car at the side of the racetrack. BumperCam 2.0 (aka C PillarCam) captured plenty more good shots as well, so check back later for highlights.

That engine compartment looks pretty bad, but the Tunachuckers say they have all the parts they need to get the car back on the track tomorrow. In fact, they're already tearing it apart as I write this. Go, Tunachuckers!

The new Volvo C30 is all about the looks. The exterior gets a new-look front fascia to match the unique rear end of the three-door hatchback that's all about manliness. The angled lines of the front bumper, the new headlamps, drawn offset and up, are meant to reinforce "the impression of speed and sportiness." In the middle of the front fascia is a new, larger iron mark just like that found on the face of the rest of the Volvo range. The air intake has also grown in size and resembles the intake in the XC60. The grille now has a new pattern that's used solely on the C30.

Otherwise, the rest of the exterior changes are rather undramatic — like the option to choose five different colours on the lower trim — the C30 Contrast Colour Collection — visible exhaust tailpipe in the T5 and D5 models, two new wheel options and, for the first time, white wheels are available.

The interior also gets a refresh for its Frankfurt Motor Show unveiling next week — new colors and a newly-redesigned center stack. Other than that, it's the same Ikea-ized interior as the last model.

The lack of change to the Focus-platformed hot hatch extends under the hood with the same engine combinations as the previous generation.

The new Volvo C30 - with a sporty new front and even more choice

The new Volvo C30 steps out and shows the model's full potential and personality. This can be seen in the fresh, self-assured design of the front. And it is emphasized by a wide range of options, including an urbane, bold accessory styling kit.

The C30 is Volvo's most playful and spontaneous car model. It appeals to customers who spend most of their time in the city environment and who impose considerable demands on the car's design, driving properties and personality. The Volvo C30 can be configured in an almost unlimited range of variants thanks to a wide selection of drivelines, design details and equipment levels. And the new C30, which makes its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2009, offers even more choice than before.

"Since its introduction in 2006, the Volvo C30 has become highly appreciated for its unique appearance. This applies in particular to the rear. With the new front, it feels as though everything has fallen neatly into place and that the car's entire personality has been boosted to an entirely new level," says Daniel Backman, Product Manager for the new Volvo C30.

The new exterior is also a better match for the way the C30 drives - challenging, direct and with a whole lot of attitude." continues Daniel Backman.

Major exterior changes

The renewal of the Volvo C30 is more comprehensive than is usually the case with Volvo's models. The entire front has been redesigned, including body panels such as the front wings. This gives the car a radical new appearance from the front, carving out a distinctive personality which clearly separates the new C30 from the Volvo S40 and V50.

"By integrating greater depth into the design language, the front has become more dramatic and expressive. Along with the angled lines of the front bumper, the new headlamps, drawn offset and up, reinforce the impression of speed and sportiness," says Fedde Talsma, Exterior Chief Designer at Volvo Cars.

In the middle of the front is the new, larger iron mark just as in the rest of the Volvo range. The air intake has also grown in size and resembles the intake in the XC60. The grille has a new pattern used solely on the C30.

"The fact that the C30 has enhanced its visual volume and self-confidence is entirely in line with Volvo Cars' design strategy. At the same time, the C30 has a one of a kind expression. The new honeycomb grille, for instance, means it takes just a quick glance in the rear-view mirror to see that the car filling your view is the new Volvo C30," continues Fedde Talsma.

Although the biggest design changes have taken place at the front, the rear also sports the same deep new lines and detailing. The contours are wavier and more dynamic than before. The black plastic panels have been replaced with more body colour lower down, in the same or a contrasting colour, to forge a closer visual contact between the car and the road surface.

The other new exterior features:

* Elegant and trendy new body colour, Orange Flame Metallic
* Visible exhaust tailpipe in the T5 and D5 models
* Two new wheel options - and for the first time, white wheels are available!
* The option to choose five different colours on the lower trim - the C30 Contrast Colour Collection.

Matching interior updates

The new Volvo C30 also offers a range of new interior options. Among other things, there is now an all-new colour combination known as Espresso/Blond, consisting of a dark brown upper section and a blond, fresh shade on the lower door sides. The blond tone is somewhere between grey and beige and is an expression of Volvo's strong Scandinavian design tradition. The Espresso/Blond interior permits the integration of energetic new highlight colours such as orange, green and blue in the fabrics, as well as a new colour for leather upholster, Cranberry.

"We know that a large proportion, almost half, of all C30 customers make detailed interior choices. They want to decide for themselves what their car should look like and are not interested in readymade packages. The new C30 gives them a range of fresh, modern style cues in terms of both colour and fabric to choose between," explains Maria Uggla, Program Chief Designer Colour & Trim at Volvo Cars.

"We have also focused on making it easier for customers to match exterior design elements with interior trim in an attractive way, something that has been made that much easier with the new Espresso/Blond colour combination," continues Maria Uggla.

Yet another new feature is the luggage compartment cover in the rear, which uses a new material and a new graphic pattern to further enhance the car's modern image.

New centre stack - Oyster Burst Déco

Volvo's special centre stack is already available in a range of innovative variants. Now another new option is being added, Oyster Burst Déco. Volvo's design team was inspired by the surface texture of the classic Swedish Hagström guitars that enjoyed world renown in the hands of stars such as Elvis Presley back in the 1950s. Hagström used the word "burst" in many of its model names and gave their guitars a pattern that shifted subtly from light to dark and back again. Just like in the new centre stack of the Volvo C30.

New expressive accessory styling kit

The Volvo C30 also meets the wishes of buyers with a broader car design interest. A youthful new accessory styling kit with a bolder, less polished style gives the C30 even more attitude. The kit includes foglamp décor, a front skidplate, side scuff plates with engraved C30 logo and a rear skidplate with a stylish aluminium look. For D5 and T5 two 90 mm tail pipes in polished stainless steel are added to underline the powerful engine.

The exterior detailing is complemented by a dramatic interior where the pattern of the floor mats forms a world map. The aluminium centre stack, including inner door handles, is inspired by an ancient nautical chart and a sea adventure map. Its pattern shows longitude and latitude lines as well as dashed direction lines to further emphasise the explorer theme.

New sport chassis with excellent characteristics

The new optional sport chassis for the Volvo C30 is considerably sharper, with stiffer, more distinct properties than previously. The steering is more precise owing to the installation of stiffer bushings. The steering ratio is lower, giving 10 % faster response to steering wheel input. Spring stiffness has been increased by no less than 30 % in order to increase the car's poise in enthusiastic driving. The dampers too are stiffer and are now of the exclusive mono-tube type that builds up pressure much more quickly. The roll stabilizers are stiffer to reduce any leaning tendency when taking corners. The new sport chassis is available in all C30 versions except for 1.6D DRIVe.

Drivelines - considerable freedom of choice here too

The Volvo C30's sporty chassis and steering can be combined with a particularly wide range of drivelines covering the full spectrum of needs from sparkling acceleration and performance to diesel engines with class-leading low fuel consumption and environmental impact.

C30 DRIVe with start/stop function

As of spring 2009, the Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is available with an advanced start/stop function that switches off the engine when the car is at a standstill, for instance at traffic lights or in a traffic queue. This cuts fuel consumption to as little as 3.9 l/100 km while carbon dioxide emissions are just 104 g CO2/km, the lowest in this segment.

Engine range, Volvo C30

The figures below are for versions with a manual gearbox running in the mixed driving cycle.

Petrol engines Power output Fuel consumption CO2
T5 (2.5 litres) 230 hp/320 Nm 8.7 l/100 km 203 g/km
2.4i 170 hp/230 Nm 8.4 l/100 km 200 g/km
2.0 145 hp/185 Nm 7.4 l/100 km 177 g/km
2.0F (Flexifuel) 145 hp/185 Nm 7.8 l/100 km 185 g/km
1.6 100 hp/150 Nm 7.0 l/100 km 167 g/km

Diesel engines Power output Fuel consumption CO2
D5 (2.4 litres) 180 hp/400 Nm 6.2 l/100 km 164 g/km
2.0D 136 hp/320 Nm 5.7 l/100 km 151 g/km
1.6D DRIVe 109 hp/240 Nm 4.5 l/100 km 119 g/km
1.6D DRIVe start/stop 109 hp/240 Nm 3.9 l/100 km 104 g/km

Engine facts in brief:

* All the engines are extremely compact and installed transversely in the engine bay for the best possible safety and maximum cabin space
* Turbo technology is used in the T5 engine and all diesel engines to deliver the best possible performance
* A six-speed manual gearbox is available for the T5 engine, D5 and 2.0D
* A five-speed automatic transmission with Geartronic is available for the five-cylinder petrol and diesel engines
* A six-speed Powershift automatic is available for the 2.0D and 2.0 petrol engines (2.0 petrol only in Asia)
* A particle filter is standard on all diesel engines
* The 1.6 DRIVe with start/stop function has extremely low fuel consumption, 3.9 litres per 100 km

A few facts: the number of possible combinations, new Volvo C30

* The new Volvo C30 is available with a choice of 13 different exterior body colours and with the lower spoilers in five different colours. All told, there is a choice of 49 exterior combinations (previously 13 combinations)
* If the 11 different aluminium wheels are added, the customer now has 529 possibilities of creating a unique car
* The 27 upholstery choices (previously 15) now make 14,553 combination possibilities
* A choice of 4 decor inlays in the centre stack increases the range of combinations to 58,212
* Being able to specify the car with or without a rear spoiler doubles the number of configurations to 116,424
* The customer can specify a roof hatch - or not. The available variants have now increased to 232,848
* The C30 is available with eleven different drivelines (manual/automatic transmission included), making 2,561,328 possible combinations
* What is more, the Volvo C30 can be equipped with a choice of three different audio systems, a variety of safety and security functions, parking assistance, Bluetooth and so on to suit customer wishes
* All in all, there are so many unique variants that Volvo estimates that if every single person in Britain - about 60 million people - were to order a new Volvo C30, no two cars would have to be alike!

Bodywork details like the front wings have also been redesigned, while the nose is more wedge-shaped. It's been given added three-dimensional depth by moving some elements of the front. On top, the C70 convertible gets the same Ikea-like three piece folding hard top as the last generation.

On the interior, the instrument panel's been redesigned, giving it a wider, sleeker look. We're also told by Volvo, the surface of the panel has a new texture designed to enhance "the feeling of quality." Right. Who needs actual quality when you can just enhance the feeling of it.

I find quite a few old Volvos in my local self-service wrecking yards; for example: this 144E, this Amazon coupe, this Amazon wagon, this 145 wagon, this Amazon coupe, and dozens of 240s. Please, those of you considering putting together an E30 for the 24 Hours Of LeMons- try racing an Amazon instead!