2005 Volvo Xc90 2.5t on 2040-cars

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Here are your 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists [w/polls]

The 2016 Detroit Auto Show will kick off with the announcement of the annual North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and the three finalists in each category have just been revealed. Following this announcement, the jury – which includes Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin – will re-evaluate each candidate before casting a final vote for the winner. This year's finalists are: Car of the Year Chevrolet Malibu Honda Civic Mazda MX-5 Miata Truck/Utility of the Year Honda Pilot Nissan Titan XD Volvo XC90 The 23rd annual awards will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 11. For now, we want to know where you stand. Let us know which vehicles you think should win, by voting in the polls below. Chevrolet Honda Mazda Nissan Volvo north american car of the year NACTOY

Volvo to complete concept car trilogy in Geneva

Volvo went through some doldrums around the same time it was bought by Geely, but it proved that it was back when it unveiled the P1800-inpsired Concept Coupe last August at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It followed up with the sleek Concept XC Coupe crossover (pictured above) in Detroit that echoed the next-generation XC90. Now, the Swede is readying one more concept to bring the trilogy to an end, and act as the centerpiece of its display at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
There are no images of the new concept yet, not even a teaser, but Volvo says that like the other two, it's designed by Thomas Ingenlath and shares common design elements. Since it has already imagined a future coupe and crossover, maybe the concept is a sedan. Volvo has confirmed that it rides on the modular Scalable Product Architecture platform that is being used on multiple future production models and uses its new Drive-E four-cylinder engine family.
The Concept Coupe and Concept XC Coupe will be on display with the new concept in Geneva so that visitors can get a complete idea of Volvo's future. Hopefully, the company has finally righted the course and is ready to compete on the world stage again. Scroll down to read Volvo's few details about the new concept.

Volvo's next-generation cars will feature gaming-derived graphics

Volvo joined forces with Epic Games, the company that created the Fortnite franchise, to give its next-generation cars a faster infotainment system with vastly improved graphics. Using technology gleaned from the world of gaming promises to unlock a long list of new features. Don't expect to see a Fortnite-themed display in the XC90's replacement; the partnership isn't going that far. Volvo explained that it will use the Unreal Engine, a real-time 3D creation tool developed for industries outside of the gaming world, to develop the digital interface it will program into future additions to its range. This technology will allow it to deliver richer colors, sharper renderings and new 3D animations. Good graphics aren't worth much if the software is annoying to use, so Volvo will power its next infotainment system with the third-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms designed by Qualcomm. We're told that the end result is a system that's over twice as fast as the one Volvo currently uses, and whose graphic generation and processing capacities are up to 10 times faster. Volvo hasn't released a video of the software in action yet, but we won't have to wait long to see it: the feature will debut in a new flagship model due out by the end of 2022. This isn't the first time that Volvo has enlisted the help of a technology company to design an infotainment system. Its current cars (like the C40 Recharge) are fitted with Google's Android Automotive OS infotainment system. And, the worlds of gaming and in-car technology have collided before: Nissan notably asked Polyphony Digital, the company behind the Gran Turismo franchise, to design the GT-R's display. Featured Gallery Volvo's Epic Games-powered infotainment system Volvo Technology Infotainment