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Ford F-Series Super Duty earns Truck of Texas award

Texans love their pickup trucks, which you already knew. That means the Texas Auto Writers Association and its "Truck of Texas" award is a big deal. And the latest trophy goes to the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. The pickup truck managed to snag TAWA's award at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. The award marks the 13th time Ford's F-Series has been named the pickup king of the Lone Star State. Roughly 70 journalists converged outside at the Longhorn River Ranch, just outside of Austin, TX, for the 23rd annual Texas Truck Rodeo where a host of Ford's vehicles won awards. In addition to the F-Series Super Duty being named the "Truck of Texas," the 2017 Ford Super Duty won the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck award, while the 2017 Ford F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine won the Best Powertrain award. The journalists also awarded Ford for having the "Truck Line of Texas." Ford wasn't the only winner at the Texas Truck Rodeo, as Nissan brought home five awards, including one for the 2017 Titan in the fullsize pickup category and one for the Armada in the SUV segment. Ram also won a few accolades with its trucks. The 2017 Ram 1500 won for being the most luxurious pickup truck, while the 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon won the off-road pickup truck award. Last year, TAWA named the 2016 Nissan Titan XD the Truck of Texas, but Ford's all-new F-Series Super Duty managed to keep the Japanese automaker's full-size offering at bay. For the 2017 model, Ford placed aluminum body panels into the F-Series Super Duty's body, which not only shed weight, but also make the truck stronger. Scroll down to see the entire list of TAWA's winners from the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. Truck of Texas: 2017 Ford Super Duty SUV of Texas: 2017 Nissan Armada CUV of Texas: 2017 Volvo XC90 Truck line of Texas: Ford Motor Co.

2024 Volvo XC60 Review: Ignore the Germans, go Swedish

Pros: Elegant styling and beautiful cabin; spacious for the segment; excellent plug-in hybrid option; solid value Cons: Middling handling; pricey and strange Polestar performance model There's no doubt that European luxury SUVs are dominated by German carmakers. But what if you're looking for something a bit different? The 2024 Volvo XC60 may be the alternative you've been seeking, with unique Scandinavian design inside and out. Add in Volvo's commitment to safety, which should be of particular importance to family-minded shoppers, and the XC60 should have even stronger appeal. The XC60 is available as either a mild-hybrid or a more powerful Recharge plug-in hybrid, which can drive as many as 36 miles on electricity alone. We're certainly fans of the plug-in model, but its significant price premium may have shoppers settling on the more-than-adequate B5 base engine. More likely than not, prospective owners will spend more time configuring the interior. There are several choices of upholstery and interior trim that should fit a variety of tastes, and we're especially fond of the wool blend seats that are available on the Recharge. The XC60 isn't as sporty as the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC or Audi Q5, but that shouldn't matter much for the typical SUV driver. If you're one of the rare drivers who wants more athletic handling, the Polestar Engineered model should satisfy, but it comes at the cost of ride comfort. Considering the similarly sized Volvo V60 wagon would perhaps be a stronger alternative, including the raised, all-wheel-drive Cross Country model. Whichever route you take, the 2024 Volvo XC60 is a classy, safe and sensible alternative to the more common luxury SUVs. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Trim Levels   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2024? The XC60 lineup gets pared down a bit. The base B5 engine is no longer offered with front-wheel-drive and the more powerful B6 engine has been discontinued. There are some additions, though, including an air purifier for Plus and Ultimate trims and laminated windows for the Ultimate. A new Black Edition appearance package also debuts for the top trim. What are the XC60 interior and in-car technology like? Volvo’s attractive and refined shape is mirrored in its stylish, welcoming interiors.

Volvo and Ericsson to take Spotify on the road

Volvo is working to bring Spotify to its vehicles. Ericsson has announced it will provide its Connected Vehicle Cloud service to Volvo for future products, and Spotify streaming music is part of that service. Like Toyota Entune and other infotainment services, the Connected Vehicle Cloud will use the driver's smartphone as a modem to stream music and serve as a base for other applications, all of which will be controllable through the vehicle interface. Expect to see the service launch in 2014, though Ericsson stresses later generations will feature an embedded modem with its own SIM card that will piggyback off of the owner's phone data plan.
But that system won't show up in production vehicles until at least 2016. In the interim, Ericsson says it will continue to work with government agencies on its car-to-car communication efforts. That program could eventually help pave the way toward autonomous road trains capable of helping vehicles travel safely together while also reducing traffic congestion. Wired has a full break down of the Connected Vehicle Cloud strategy. You can read it here.