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Volvo brings a whole new 2014 showroom for Geneva's approval

Sometimes it takes smaller automakers a bit longer than the industry average to rotate and freshen their product lineups. Volvo has taken a big swing for the 2014 model year in that regard, and has brought along a full product portfolio of new cars.
In the main, this means that the Swedish brand has fast-tracked facelifts for its already-attractive assemblage of sedans, wagons and crossovers. Volvo mainstays S60 and S80 have both gotten appearance modifications to freshen them for dealer lots, as well as added features inside the car. We're particularly happy to report that the spirited "60 cluster" models - S60, V60, XC60 - can now be had with optional paddle shifters on new, three-spoke steering wheels.
Below you'll find a whole bunch of image galleries of the revised Volvos, live and in person from the show floor in Geneva. For a bit more background on the Volvo updates, feel free to read our original announcement of the news or scroll down to catch the press release.

Why this could be the perfect time for Apple to make a car play

While the automotive and technology worlds have been pouring billions into autonomous vehicles (AVs) and preparing to bring them to market soon as shared robo-taxis, Apple has mostly sat on the sidelines. Of course, Apple is the last company to ever make its intentions known, and the super-secret tech cult giant hasn't been totally out of the AV game based on the clues that have slipped out of its Cupertino, Calif., citadel over the past few years. Related: Apple self-driving cars are real — one was just in an accident News first broke in 2015 that it had assembled an automotive development team, in part by poaching high-profile talent from car companies, to work on a top-secret self-driving vehicle project code-named Titan. (Thank you very much, Nissan.) Apple also subsequently broke cover by making inquiries into using a Northern California AV testing facility and receiving a permit to test AVs on public roads in California. But then as the AV race started to heat up in the last few years, Apple reportedly began scaling back its car activities by downsizing team Titan. More recently, Apple's car project has shown signs of life with the hiring a high-level engineer away from Waymo and luring one Tesla's top engineers and a former employee back to Apple. It also inked a deal with Volkswagen to provide a technology platform and software to convert the automaker's new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for employees at tech company's new campus. That is a far cry from giving rides to Wal-Mart shoppers, like Waymo is doing as part of its AV testing in Phoenix. But this could be the perfect time for Apple to enter the AV market now that ride-sharing is reaching critical mass and automakers and others are planning to deploy fleets of robo-taxis. Apple could easily establish a niche as a high-end ride-sharing service – and charge a premium – given its cult-like brand loyalty and design savvy. The growth of car subscription models could also play in Apple's favor since is already has many people hooked on paying for phones in monthly installments – and eager to upgrade when a new and better model becomes available. To achieve this, some believe Apple will fulfill co-founder and CEO Steve Job's dream of building a car. And as the world's first and only $1 trillion company it's sitting on a mountain of cash that certainly gives it the means. But other tech darlings like Tesla and Google have discovered how difficult it can be to build cars at scale.

Greetings from Trollhattan. I'm Emily, but I'm not a Saab.

What’s Swedish for “never give up”? Saab, apparently. The fondly-remembered car company formerly called just that — and now named NEVS — is only a shell, employing just a limited crew in the land of trolls. But itÂ’s got something to sell, and that something seems like it's really something. ItÂ’s called Emily. The Emily GT exists as six prototype electric cars, according to NEVS, with a combined horsepower rating (per car) of 484 powered by an enormous 175-kilowatt lithium-ion battery thatÂ’s good for 600 miles of range. In development almost since Saab's demise — the company, once owned by General Motors, was closed down in 2010 — the Emily is a very real product and needs a real sponsor, according to NEVS CEO Nina Selander, speaking to Carup. “It is for sale, it is also a joy to be able to show it. It should be allowed to live on, itÂ’s too nice, too good and too modern a car for nothing to come of it. Interested parties are welcome,” she said. Photos of the car show a modern, forward-thrust profile with handsome lines, a look similar to the last Saab 9-5 and VolvoÂ’s S60 (must be a Swedish thing) and a fashionable, sci-fi-ish interior. A hopeful engineer on the project estimates that the car is less than two years away from some kind of series production, but according to the modest NEVS website, the company is currently in “hibernation” even as it continues to solicit buyers for the Emilys. Said Peter Dahl, the Emily project manager, “Many have asked us what we have been doing for 10 years. We have developed 13 different car projects, this is one of them.” Related video: Volvo Saab Automotive History Electric Future Vehicles Classics