2002 Volvo V70 T5 Wagon 4-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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Next-generation Volvo XC90 interior revealed

Volvo has officially kicked off the slow burn that will lead to the eventual unveiling of the next-generation XC90, in August. Its initial foray into the public eye will be with these, a series of 20 images of the new three-row SUVs interior, which is very, very Swedish (there are even the most adorable little Swedish flags on the seats).
In all, it looks like a positively sumptuous place to sit, with sharp looking woods and a crystal shifter, crafted by Orrefors Glassworks in Sweden. It's a clean, minimalist design that we imagine will age quite nicely.
Featured quite prominently - and the main part of the cabin that doesn't strike us as minimalist - is the very large touchscreen. Aligned in a portrait layout, which hasn't been done by too many automakers, it will be home to a new type of infotainment system that will make its debut in Volvo's flagship SUV. It also looks like we can expect digital gauges when the XC90 finally arrives.

Volvo Cars' May sales rise 13%, boosted by electric vehicles

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars' sales rose to 68,034 cars in May, up 13% from a year earlier, buoyed by a 27% jump in Europe and a strong performance by its fully electric EX30, the group said on Wednesday. Sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid models rose 37% to account for 48% of group sales globally, Sweden-based Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, said in a statement. "This month's sales figures are another measure of our progress towards our sales target of at least 15% growth for 2024," it said. However, sales in the United States and China fell by 5% and 1%, respectively. Shares in the company were up 1.9% by 0755 GMT. Volvo Cars aims to have electric vehicles account for half of its sales by volume by mid-decade and hopes to sell only EVs by 2030.   Featured Gallery Volvo EX30 View 22 Photos Earnings/Financials Green Volvo Electric

IIHS updates overlap test: 2 SUVs get good marks, 9 fare poorly

Vehicles in crashes keep occupants safe by deforming around the cabin in a way that maintains cabin integrity. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's moderate overlap test, introduced in 1995, has been a huge contributor to improved safety for front-row passengers in a crash. IIHS President David Harkey said, "Thanks to automakers’ improvements, drivers in most vehicles are nearly 50% less likely to be killed in a frontal crash today than they were 25 years ago." In the 'unintentional side effects' column, crash safety has gotten worse for passengers in the back seats. When carmakers reengineered the front crash structure to protect the driver, more crash forces got distributed throughout the rear. IIHS research claims rear passengers have a 46% greater risk of fatal injury than front-row passengers, but back-seaters haven't benefited from the same upgrades in safety as the front row. The IIHS updated its moderate overlap test to address the issue, putting 15 vehicles through the new regime. Two earned good ratings — the 2023 Ford Escape and the 2021-2023 Volvo XC40 — one was acceptable, three were marginal and nine were rated poor. Every one of the crossovers sampled got good marks for all passengers in the original test. That test sees 40% of vehicle's width on the driver's side impacting an aluminum honeycomb barrier at 40 miles per hour. The updated test puts a crash dummy representing small woman or 12-year-old child in the seat behind the driver, the dummy's sensors and grease paint measuring the effectiveness of the restraints and the forces a human body would need to endure. To achieve a good rating, the "measurements must not exceed limits indicating excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen or thigh." An institute engineer said, "In real-world crashes, chest injuries are the most common serious rear-seat injuries for adults." The sensors and video evidence showed back seat dummies in the Escape and XC40 endured minimal risk of injuries from excessive crash forces, from submarining under the seat belt, or from unwanted interaction with the side curtain airbag.   The Toyota RAV4 scored acceptable. The second-row dummy also endured minimal risk of injury to the chest and lower extremities. However, the lap belt slipped upward in a way that could increase abdominal injuries, and after the dummy's head dipped during crash impact, the head came back up between the rear curtain airbag and rear window.