2007 Volvo Xc90 3.2 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volvos will brake for bicyclists with new detection technology

Anyone who pedals a bicycle knows that one of the biggest dangers to riders is a motorized vehicle - Volvo estimates that nearly 50 percent of all cyclists killed in European traffic have collided with a car. In the United States alone, 618 riders lost their lives in bicycle/motor vehicle crashes in 2010, and the number of injuries surpassed 52,000.
To help drop those numbers, Volvo has just announced Cyclist Detection with full auto brake - a technology that detects and automatically applies a vehicle's brakes when a cyclist swerves in front of a moving car. The basic components of the system include a radar unit integrated into the front grille, a camera fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror and a central control unit. The radar is tasked with seeing obstacles in front of the vehicle and calculating distance, while the camera is responsible to determine what the object is. The central control unit, with rapid processing capabilities, monitors and evaluates the situation.
The technology, which will be sold bundled with its Pedestrian Detection and called Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection, will automatically apply full braking when both the radar and camera confirm a pedestrian or cyclist are in the immediate path of the vehicle. According to the automaker, the technology will be offered on the Volvo V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models from mid-May in 2013.

Junkyard Gem: 1984 Volvo 760 Turbo

When it came time for Volvo to replace the aging 200 Series (which debuted in 1974 but looked nearly identical to the mid-1960s-design 140 it was based on), the result was the 700 Series. This car first hit Volvo showrooms in 1982, and the initial models were all upscale 760 sedans with the same PRV V6 engine that powered the DeLorean DMC-12. The cheaper four-cylinder 740 appeared in North America for the 1984 model year, which didn't stop Volvo from selling a 760 with a turbocharged four-banger in the same showrooms. That's what we've got for today's Junkyard Gem, a first-model year Volvo 760 Turbo in a Colorado self-service yard. As it turned out, the 740/760/780 not only didn't replace the 240/260, it didn't even outlast it. 240 sales continued all the way through 1993, while the 760/780 and 740 got the axe in 1990 and 1992, respectively (to be fair, the later 900 Series was based on the 700 Series and was available new here until the very last 1998 S90s and V90s were sold). During the 1984 model year, American Volvo shoppers could choose between a new 240 Turbo (in two-door, four-door, and wagon forms) or the 760 sedan with their choice of oil- or gasoline-burning turbocharged engines. Yes, the 1980s truly were The Turbo Decade. For 1985, a turbocharged version of the 740 sedan was added to the lineup, though that was also the final year here for the 240 Turbo. This engine is a 2.3-liter "red block" four-cylinder, rated at 160 horsepower when new. That was two fewer horsepower than the more angrily boosted 2.2 in the 240 Turbo that year. The 740/760 scaled in at just a few more pounds than the 240, though it seemed bigger at a glance. Supposedly you could get a U.S.-market 760 Turbo with a four-speed manual transmission, but every example I've ever seen had the four-speed automatic. This one racked up just a bit over 200,000 miles during its life. Not bad, though I've found a 740 Turbo wagon that got close to 500,000 miles before ending up in the junkyard. The interior looks decent enough for its age, though I suspect these cloth seats replaced the original leather ones after the cowhide fell apart beneath the High Plains sun. It's hard to get more 1980s than a graphic equalizer/sound effector.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Zero to 55 in 7 seconds flat!

Volvo Polestar reveals new V8 Supercars engine

Volvo may be better known for turbo fives and inline fours, but in 2005 it launched the XC90 with a new eight-cylinder engine built for it by Yamaha. Fast forward to this past June when Volvo announced its intention to enter Australia's V8 Supercars series, where it would compete with the likes of Ford, Holden, Nissan and Mercedes-AMG. This is the engine with which it intends to do so.
Revealed this weekend at the Sydney 500, this competition-spec powerplant is based on the same B8444S that powered the XC90 and S80 (not to mention the Noble M600), but tuned for racing duty to be shoehorned into the new S60 touring car. The 60-degree aluminum block has been bored out from 4.4 liters to 5.0, its compression ratio boosted to 10:1, modified to run on E85 bio-ethanol and its redline increased to 7500 rpm. Volvo also promises a unique engine note from its new racers.
While Volvo and its racing partner Polestar haven't released official output numbers, regulations call for outputs between 620 and 650 horsepower - in any event, a whole lot more than the 311 hp it produces in stock form. (Noble managed to squeeze that much out of the same block, but that required twin turbochargers while this unit remains naturally aspirated.) Scope out the details in the press release below and the photos from the reveal in the gallery above.