Ivr currently has 2.8 million miles on his ride. He recently turned 70 years old. He hopes to make it to 3 million miles by his 73rd birthday. Do the math: he will have to drive a minimum of 180 miles each day, every day. Seems insane, but he’s already made it further than Volvo and anyone else would ever thought he would.

Back in 1966, Irv purchased the car brand new. He managed 1500 miles in just the first two days. In 1998, when reaching 1.69 million miles, Irv entered the Guinness Book of World Records and has been beating himself ever since.

We wish Irv and the classic Volvo P1800 the best of luck, we hope to be writing about his 3 millionth mile in 3 years, if not sooner.

As you can see, that didn’t happen. Reporters on the scene earlier that day witnessed other Volvo models successfully complete this exam without incident. Unfortunately, the only video footage they have is of the failed avoidance – which we have available to you for your laughing pleasure:

Volvo Crash Test Fail

Big cars are so out – as Volvo is showing with news today that they will ax their successful Wagon fleet, along with a waning V8 vehicle segment. As reported via Jalopnik; “the V70 wagon’s getting the axe after 11 years of production. The V8-option in the S80′s also going bye-bye and the V50 wagon’s not long for this world.”

“Chalk it up to internal competition at the Volvo brand, but the V70 just can’t hack it against the much more popular and aggressive XC70. The V70′s lost the sales race against the XC70 since 2000 and hasn’t made any headway in market share either. Combine the weak performance of the regular wagon with the installment of the new XC60 and it no longer makes sense from Volvo’s perspective to keep the V70 around. Sadly, it’s going to be axed from the North American market in 2011. To amends the product lineup Volvo will be offering the previously XC70 soft-roader in a watered-down FWD option.”

You see, a lot of people think Panamera is just plain hideous. And while 960 station wagons never won style awards, they were beautiful in their own late 90′s – early 2000′s way. As of 1:20pm EST today (Monday Feb 22nd) there are 581 fans for Volvo’s 960 station wagon and 5,182 fans for Porsche Panamera. Looks like it’ll be an upward battle between foreign car makers – with the help of Facebook & Twitter things will get ugly.

Is Volvo doing its impression of a Toyota? Perhaps this car was having an identity crisis and thought it was a Camry. 27 viewers were injured earlier this week, when a Volvo 960 at Blue Ridge Auto Auction in Georgia abruptly shot foreword into the crowd. The 1995 model was up for grabs when the gas pedal reportedly stuck. No charges are being filed against the person behind its wheel.

“According to Gilmer County sheriff’s investigators, 27 of the 100 or so people in the crowded building were injured, six of which were airlifted to nearby hospitals. At least one patient reportedly remains in critical condition and three were treated for their injuries and released…The final cause of the accident is still under investigation, and police are saying it will likely be a few more days to determine whether or not the accelerator was stuck open”

Source: AutoBlog

We’re not exactly sure why Volvo wants to attract the 11-14 crowd. Maybe obnoxious children will get their parents to buy them new Volvo’s when they turn 16/17? We like what The Car Connection’s blog had to say: “As far as we can tell, the biggest tie-in between Volvo and Twilight seems to be that New Moon was shot in Vancouver, which looks a little like Sweden if you squint.” Regardless of why, Twilight is already a multi-million dollar film franchise, and brand recognition like this is something Volvo will undoubtedly take advantage of.

The FT quoted a person close to the sale saying Geely had offered just less than $2 billion for Volvo. Other media reports have put the price tag at around $2.5 billion.

“The R-Design model boosts the XC60′s already sporty aura and gives the car an even more refined character in terms of both driving experience and design. These are properties that we know appeal to the discerning buyers of this type of cars,” says Lennart Stegland, president of Volvo Special Vehicles.

Confident exterior

On the outside it is easy to recognize those typical R-Design attributes: door mirror housings, trim mouldings and décor trim in matte silk metal finish, skid-plates and twin chrome tailpipes. The five-spoke Cratus aluminium wheels are also unique for the R-Design models. In standard form they measure 18 inches but there is also the option of a stunning 20-inch. This dimension is new to the Volvo XC60 and is only available with the R-Design pack.

Another new feature is that the lower section of the car is now colour-matched to the rest of the body on the XC60 R-Design, instead of the matte black execution of the standard model. This creates the impression that the car sits closer to the ground and gives it a more dynamic look – even though ground clearance remains unchanged.

Thrilling driving experience with excellent comfort

The R-Design chassis is stiffer, features stronger damping and has more distinct driving properties – without impacting too much on ride comfort. All passengers can still enjoy a long and pleasant ride on any type of road surface. Further, the fact that the chassis has not been lowered ensures that the XC60 R-Design maintains its ground clearance for off-road capability.

The new, more direct steering gear also significantly contributes to the driving experience. Owing to faster steering response, the driver benefits from a more alert car behaviour and more precise communication with the road surface. This in turn gives the driver the confidence to push the car to its limits and fully enjoy the sporty capabilities of the XC60 R-Design.

Modern and exclusive interior

Inside the car, exclusive metal finish is the dominant theme, with aluminium inserts in the steering wheel, door mouldings and the iconic centre stack. The sports pedals are made of brushed aluminium, with rubber inserts for precise grip, feel and control.

The elegant dark centre stack features a décor with a circular pattern that expands outwards in a dynamic way. This pattern also reoccurs in the oblique striping of the sculpted, duo-tone seats. Further, the seats are available with the choice of two colour combinations, with light beige or dark black as the main theme.

The front seats feature an advanced seat design with two firmness levels in both the backrest and seat cushions, thus providing a body hugging yet comfortable seating position during inspired driving. The sports steering wheel trimmed with perforated leather and featuring the engraved R-Design emblem is a constant reminder to the driver of the car’s special character and excellent driving properties.

Volvo XC60 R-Design – An overview

Exterior:

* Grille in silk metal finish with R-Design badge
* Front fog lamp décor in silk metal finish
* Door mirror housings in silk metal finish
* Five-spoke 18-inch aluminium wheels – Cratus (20 inch optional)
* Sill mouldings in aluminium look
* Twin chromed tailpipes
* Colour-matched lower body mouldings.
* Chrome-plated rear skid-plate with black mesh
* Sport chassis
* 7 body colours to choose between including the R-Design unique colour Passion red

Interior:

* Sport seats for great cornering support and comfort
* Unique upholstery in smooth leather with a choice of two colour combinations: off-black with soft beige inserts or vice versa
* Embossed R-Design emblem in the front backrests.
* Watch Dial instrument with blue gauges, unique to the R-Design model
* R-Design sports steering wheel trimmed in perforated leather
* Sports pedals in aluminium
* R-Design centre stack trim with a unique décor pattern
* Gear selector trimmed with perforated leather
* Off-black sports mats

R-Design a success for Volvo Cars

R-Design was launched in 2007 to satisfy the immense interest among younger car buyers, in particular, who want to equip their cars with sporty, personalized options. With R-Design, they got access to tastefully composed options packages featuring exclusive design details and thrilling sport chassis.

Today R-Design is found across almost the entire Volvo product range in the C30, S40, V50, S80, V70, XC60 and XC90 models.

“R-Design has been a great success for Volvo Cars. This sporty, exclusive sales version has helped us attract new customer groups who would perhaps not otherwise have chosen Volvo. The introduction of the XC60 R-Design shows clearly how strongly we believe in this concept and we have noted considerable pre-launch interest in this product from our markets,” says Lennart Stegland, president of Volvo Special Vehicles.

Source: Volvo

Reports, which cite a Chinese government source, say Geely plans to start production of a new Volvo car in China’s Guangzhou Province after introducing the XC90 SUV to the country. They go on to say Geely is prepared to invest up to US$10 billion in Volvo’s global operations.

But Volvo denies that such an announcement exists. “An announcement related to the sale of Volvo Car Corp. would only come from Ford Motor Company,” it said in a statement. “As of today, neither Ford Motor Company nor Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden has made any announcement regarding the sale of Volvo. Reports of such a sale by any media outlet are speculative and, therefore, are not accurate.”

The 500 MPH cannon imitates the side impact of another car without actually destroying any cars in the process. So no damaged car, no danger to a test driver. Researchers have said “the new test could prove useful in the development of next-generation stability control technology.”

The system is built around a Martin Engineering Hurricane Cannon, a high pressure water cannon normally used in mining operations. It has been modified and mounted to a static frame which is attached to the cargo bay of a chopped up Volvo V70R. An orange tank is pumped up with 135 PSI of shop air, the end of the silver tube is sealed up with a sheet of plastic and the safety gate is closed. In operation that gate is opened up and the plastic holds back the water. The gate is there to prevent anyone from being injured should the thing accidentally go off. That pipe is filled with ten gallons of water and then shot out during a practice drive. pretty nifty! A great snag from Jalopnik.