The 2012 Volvo C30. Image: Volvo

Of all the reasons to buy a Volvo. “because I can have it tuned” probably doesn’t make the top ten very often. Nonetheless, Volvo does indeed have a corporate tuning partner, Polestar, which has developed a line of performance software for select 2008 and later Volvo models. If you own a C30, C70, S40 or (soon) a V50 with Volvo’s T5 engine, Polestar’s tune will net you an additional 23 horsepower and 29 lb.-ft. of torque.

Here’s the best part: your Volvo dealer will reflash the ECU for you, and the upgrade doesn’t impact your existing warranty coverage. Polestar claims that it won’t negatively affect fuel economy, either, but we suppose that depends on how much you enjoy your new tune. The price is a reasonable $1,295 installed, which is on par with tuning upgrades from other aftermarket vendors.

Polestar is the company behind Volvo’s racing efforts, and it’s worked its magic on the new S60 T6 R-Design, which gets a bump from 300 to 325 horsepower. Will the partnership between Volvo and Polestar result in more cars like the highly entertaining S60 T6 R-Design? We certainly hope so.

Geely is hoping to break even on this deal by 2011, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings is projecting to produce up to 300,000 Volvo cars a year at a new factory in Beijing, according to sources.

documents submitted to regulators by Geely reports that Zhejiang Geely, parent of Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile, will complete the purchase of Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo unit for up to $2 billion by May. If they this much capacity it would double Geely’s annual output, that reached 321,900 units in 2009 for the entire group, up 45% from a year earlier. They are targeting that by 2015, it will be able to perform sales of 2 million cars a year. Analysts say that Geely’s plan to break even next year as being highly optimistic at most. Geely has to build a plant first and Chinese buyers might need some time to accept a Volvo that’s made in China. Zeng it will take some time for them to break even.

Ford is expected to sign a deal by early 2010 with Geely, which will buy Volvo’s operations for about $2 billion. Geely isn’t planning on making too many changes to Volvo’s current development, production, or dealership operations when the sale is finalized, It’s

In recent years, Ford has sold Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover which helped them to return to profitability. Volvo was the most difficult to  off load. The problem in the Volvo sale has been the intellectual property rights associated with so many Ford products use a common platform with Volvo products. Li Shufu, the founder and chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent company of Geely, said that he looks forward to putting Volvo in the company. Geely is hoping they could help Volvo expand in the Chinese market as well as reduce production costs.

The North American International Auto Show kicks off on January 17th to the public. Although it will be missing a few car makers such as Jaguar, it will still be a big hit in the eyes of car lovers and enthusiasts alike. The new Volvo S60 will make is debut at the show next month showing off it’s classy yet sexy sporty looks, if that makes any sense.

You will notice in the images below that the doors in the rear open in a new fashion. Also, you may notice a few image interpretations of new safety features to come. As if you did not know Volvo is suppose to be the safest cars in the world so they stay up on the safety game. Enjoy!