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Back in July, Volvo hinted that it would be introducing small cars with diesel engines into the American market. This, of course, is an idea that we can get behind. In Europe, Volvo offers two four cylinder diesel engines displacing 1.6-liters and 2.0-liters as well as a five cylinder diesel of 2.4-liters. Here in the U.S.? Nada. Thanks to a sharp-eyed reader, though, we at least know that Volvo is testing diesels here in the States. Specifically, what we see here - according to the nameplate - is a C30 with a 2.0-liter diesel engine. We can't be certain why the new model was here, as the shot was taken in Arizona near Volvo's test track. The Phoenix area is often used by manufacturers testing their cars in extreme heat (and this is the dead of summer), so this could just be an engineering mule and have nothing to do with the U.S. market. On the other hand, Volvo says it wants to introduce diesel engines here by 2010, so we can always hold out home that a diesel-powered C30 is on its way. Thanks for the tip, Brian!

Click to view a hi-res gallery of the Volvo C30 Green Racer

In the campaign to make racing greener, the World Touring Car Championship has been a leader. Following the example set by its sister company Audi at Le Mans, Volkswagen's Spanish subsidiary Seat began taking race wins in the WTCC in diesel-powered Leons. But the series has announced it is beginning to phase in ethanol, and of all the carmakers in the world, Volvo has stepped up to the plate.

We brought you initial news of the C30 Flexifuel Green Racer when it was unveiled for the local Swedish Touring Car Championship, in which it has already been winning races against fossil-fuel regulars. Volvo has now revealed, however, that the Green Racer is heading to the top-tier World Touring Car Championship. The event will be a one-off demonstration for the time being, as the Volvo won't be eligible for points and will only compete in the one race, next weekend at Brands Hatch. For both Volvo and the WTCC, however, it should be an interesting exercise. Check out the press release after the jump and the images in the gallery below.

[Source: Volvo]

Late next year, Volvo will start field testing 14 trucks fueled with dimethyl ether, a biomass-derived fuel. DME is produced by gasification of biomass materials, with the syngas converted to a fuel through a catalytic process. The Volvo development program is being paid for in part by the Swedish Energy Agency and the European 7th framework program. DME evidently works well as fuel in diesel engines but offers much lower particulate and NOx emissions. There are however issues that need to be addressed. DME has poor lubricity compared to conventional diesel and is stored similar to liquified petroleum gas in low pressure storage tanks at about 5 BAR. The field tests are part of a European program that will also look at DME distribution and storage. The field testing in Sweden will occur over a three year period.

[Source: Newspress.co.uk]

Over at Auto Fiends they have some new camera phone pics of the Volvo XC60 crossover out on a test drive in the Los Angeles area. While in and of itself, that is no big deal, the photographer noticed something unusual about this particular vehicle. Above the fuel filler door was the the tag "Diesel Fuel Only." Since Volvo hasn't offered a diesel-powered car in North America since the mid-eighties, this is an unusual sight. Just because Volvo was testing a diesel in the U.S. doesn't necessarily mean they will sell one here, but we can certainly hope. Over in Europe, Volvo offers the XC60 with a 2.4L inline five cylinder diesel at two power levels, 163hp and 185hp. Either of those would be adequate for the XC60 if they choose to make one of the engines Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant. More importantly, perhaps, is that if they do federalize the diesel it could appear in some U.S. market Fords as well.

[Source: Auto Fiends]

click above image for high-res gallery of the Volvo C30 Efficiency

In what sounds like an extremely unsurprising move, Volvo is planning on introducing more small cars and more diesel engines. Certainly, timing could not be better as small cars are handily outselling their larger, less fuel-efficient older brothers. Diesel engines are beginning to make a comeback of sorts in the U.S. market as Volkswagen, long the only automaker still holding the inexpensive diesel flag in the states, has reintroduced its TDI engine and such automakers as BMW and Porsche are planning on offering oil burners to their customers shortly. We would absolutely be ecstatic to see a vehicle like the C30 Efficiency concept, which was shown off at the last Motor Show in Frankfurt, introduced to the U.S. market. That concept car, with its 1.6 liter diesel engine, posted extremely good fuel economy numbers of over fifty miles per gallon. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered, wouldn't you agree?

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

Dealers for car companies have tried various carbon neutral offerings. A Land Rover shop in Oregon, for example, gave away carbon offsets for the first 50,000 miles of each new vehicle sold last year. But what did it take to make the new Volvo Trucks dealer in Verona, Italy totally carbon neutral? Solar cells on the roof.

Thanks to that eco-friendly update, the dealership produces more energy than it uses and the excess is fed back into the grid. Heat is generated from methane gas, but Volvo was clear that the solar panels above the building more than make up for this in carbon offset terms. The dealership was opened late last week, and Volvo is looking to make more of its dealerships carbon neutral. Not all will use the solar option, as local conditions will determine what renewable energy sources are used where.

[Source: Volvo]

Volvo is now offering a Getrag Powershift dual clutch transmission in its smaller cars - the C30, S40 and V50. The new gearbox is paired up with a 2.0L four cylinder turbodiesel. Volvo is using a six-speed wet clutch unit with a torque capacity of 332lb-ft. The diesel engine is rated at 136hp and 236lb-ft of torque and yields combined mileage ratings of 39.2mpg (U.S.) in the C30 and 39.9mpg in the sedan and wagon models. Those are improvements of about 8 percent in comparison to a conventional automatic transmission. The dual clutch transmission has an advantage over conventional automatics because it eliminates the losses inherent in a torque converter and provides greater flexibility in gear ratio selection. Compared to a conventional manual transmission, the faster shifts and electronic control provide efficiency increases as well. Unfortunately for American drivers, we can't get the diesel here (yet) but we will be getting the Powershift gearboxes in the not too distant future, perhaps in conjunction with the launch of the Fiesta.

[Source: Volvo]

Not all electric conversions are small Geo Metros, Volkswagens or Porsches. For sale on the San Francisco Bay Area Craigslist, here, is an eVolvo. It's a converted 1995 Volvo 850 sedan. It's got new batteries and new low rolling resistance tires. The seller claims a range of about 40 miles with 15 kWh of lead acid batteries. Asking price is $14,000. Searching through the EVAlbum database, a useful resource with over 1,500 electric vehicles listed by their owners, one only finds three Volvo conversions in the U.S., including, I believe, this car listed by its previous owner in Seattle.

For Volvo fans awaiting the ReCharge plug-in hybrid, we've previously reported about, this could get you into an electron-driven Swede today.

[Source: Craigslist]

Click on the image for high-res shots of Volvo's FlexiFuel police model

Last year, Volvo introduced a line of vehicles in Europe capable of running on E85 fuel which it refers to as the FlexiFuel range. Already available in the C30, S40, V50 and V70 and S80 models with engines ranging from 1.8 to 2.5 liters, Volvo has seen fit to add a new police-specific V70 to its range of flexible fuel vehicles. Perhaps this addition will allow for more than just 50-100 sales in the U.K. As with the current V70 and S80 FlexiFuel models, the new emergency vehicle will come equipped with the turbocharged 2.5 liter inline five cylinder engine offering 200 horsepower and a very reasonable 300Nm of torque at 1500-4500rpm. This output allows for a top speed of 130mph and a run from 0 to 60mph in 7.6 seconds -- not too shabby at all.

Volvo's V70 police car again raises the point that the U.K. police force often chooses very practical vehicles for law enforcement duties. While the estate body style makes perfect sense for police duties, we can't imagine the authorities in the U.S. rolling around with wagons any time soon (except for the Romulus MI police who have the speed traps set up in the vicinity of Detroit Metro Airport with their unmarked Dodge Magnums).

Since last year, Saab and Volvo have been working together to develop a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Volvo officially announced the project in March 2008, and showed us pictures of the ReCharge concept on the road. Those were nice to see. The Invest In Sweden Agency will be updating visitors to the Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor Conference and Symposia in Tampa, Florida (which starts May 12) on the status of plug-in and electric vehicles in Sweden. The focus will be on Swedish hybrid technology projects, including what's happening with the Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC). This is where the Volvo-Saab - along with the Vattenfall energy company, ETC Battery, FuelCells Sweden and some parts of the Swedish government - project is taking place. The SHC will be funded with $40 million over five years. More details after the break.

Click the photo for a high-res gallery

Ever since news of the Volvo ReCharge plug-in series hybrid came out, we've been hankering for the Swedish EV to make its way into production. The all-wheel drive propulsion will be provided courtesy of wheel motors at all four corners with juice coming from a lithium polymer battery pack mounted in the trunk with sufficient capacity for 62 miles of electric driving. Once the battery state of charge dips to thirty percent, a 1.6L four cylinder flex-fuel engine bolted to a generator starts up to re-charge the battery. Volvo says that the ReCharge can do a 93 mile drive on 2.8L of gas, which comes out to 124mpg (U.S.). That sounds perfect, we'll take it.


On to Number 9.

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While safety is likely the first thing that springs to mind when the automotive conversation turns to Volvo, the Swedish auto manufacturer would like the average person to know about its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. To that end, Volvo has launched its 'Clean inside and out' program, which outlines everything that the automaker is trying to do in protection of the environment.

After the break, we've pasted Volvo's latest press release detailing some of its environmental policies, but one figure stands out in our minds: all new Volvo's are 85 percent recyclable and 95 percent recoverable and have been so since 2002. In an age where cars are often looked as necessary but disposable objects, we can respect the distances that Volvo is going to address their environmental impact.

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Reducing the environmental impact of garbage is anything but a new idea, but what often seems overlooked are the actual vehicles doing the dirty-work of picking up our trash. Volvo's trying to do something about that with hybrid garbage trucks that are currently undergoing testing in Sweden. If testing goes well, Volvo plans to begin producing the hybrid trucks in 2009.

Volvo's hybrid technology consists of a 320 horsepower diesel engine which shuts down at rest combined with an electric motor that powers the truck at speeds up to 12 miles per hour. Regenerative braking is used as a means to recapture energy to recharge the lithium ion batteries. Besides being much quieter in early morning trash pickup duties, the total gas savings and C0₂ emissions are expected to drop 20-30 percent.

Also of note is Volvo's research into DME for fuel in an attempt to lower emissions and reduce diesel soot. DME is produced by creating a syngas which is converted to a liquid fuel. This type of fuel is already in use as a propellant gas in aerosol spray cans. See both press releases after the break.

No, Volvo hasn't created a diesel "range-extender" for their ReCharge concept nor have they divulged details of a love-child from its Saab liaison. What Volvo has done is prove the newly-coined adage, "not all hybrids are created equal.", with a monster that could crush the competition. Literally. Volvo has used the strengths of hybrid-electric technology to save fuel and increase the power of their earth moving behemoth, the L220F Hybrid wheel loader.

An Integrated Starter Generator [ISG] coupled with a state-of-the-art battery of undisclosed chemistry is at the heart of this hybrid. Not only can it immediately "spin up" the motor for start / stop capability but it also assists the diesel while it's at low RPM with an instant 700Nm boost. Fuel savings are said to be 10 percent.

If you happen to be in Las Vegas this weekend you can catch up with this Volvo live at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition. If not, hit the jump for all the exciting details from their press release.

click photo for high-resolution gallery

The Volvo ReCharge concept is kind of the dark horse in the plug-in hybrid race among the major manufacturers. It's a good looking with nice specifications (60+ miles of EV range sure sound appealing), but Volvo isn't totally committed to bringing this vehicle to the street. This may change with today's official announcement that gives more details on the partnership we first heard about in December between Volvo, Saab, electricity provider Vattenfall, battery provider ETC, and the Swedish state. Volvo's investment in the project will be over 11 billion SEK ($1.8b US) for the next five years. You can read the announcement after the jump and check out pictures of the ReCharge in the gallery below.