Mercedes Benz E Class 1995 Fuel Pump [0420600] on 2040-parts.com

Carbon-fiber parts and a software fix help create a lighter, faster Fiat

Chrysler Group's Mopar parts brand and Italian supplier Magneti Marelli have teamed up on a design exercise based on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth that shaved weight and added horsepower. The vehicle, called the Venom, has a number of carbon fiber components -- hood and side mirrors, for example -- that makes it about 200 pounds lighter than the 2,512-pound Abarth. The Venom uses software updates and additional exhaust components to boost the Abarth's standard 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output by as much as 25 percent.

Volvo announces 2014 XC90’s world-first safety tech

The next Volvo XC90 SUV will arrive in 2014 with loaded with world-first safety technology to take on the Audi Q7 and Land Rover Discovery. The safety arsenal will include after-dark pedestrian detection, road barrier detection, as well as fully autonomous cruise control  and parking capability.  It’s the latest salvo from Volvo’s crack team of safety-obsessed engineers in the fight to realise the company’s ‘Vision 2020’ target – that no occupant of a new Volvo will be killed or seriously injured in an accident by 2020.

Dr Zetsche opens CES with keynote speech

Hot on the heels of the unveiling of the new Mercedes-Benz SL in Detroit yesterday, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG hot-footed it to Las Vegas to open the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with a keynote speech that highlighted the company's direction in the ever-important tech space. Car Design News made a similar journey from Michigan to Nevada to bring you the headlines.