King Kaa 455 Audio Control System on 2040-parts.com

Upcoming Volvo XC90 gets new safety tech

The Volvo XC90 has been with us for 10 years now -- a long time indeed when it comes to product life cycles of comparable upmarket SUVs. The stylish sport utility was a popular seller in North America for a good part of that decade, and for a while was even offered with a 4.4 liter V8 engine developed by Yamaha and shared with the second-gen S80 (a first for a Volvo passenger car). But if there's one thing Volvo is known for, it's not V8 engines -- it's safety.

Book captures Ford's Farley launching F-bomb at GM

A new book about the Detroit auto industry rebuilding itself is showing that old rivalries are still alive and kicking in the Motor City. In Once Upon a Car by Bill Vlasic, Ford Motor Co.'s marketing chief lobs an F-bomb at General Motors. "We're going to beat on them, and it's going to be fun," the book quotes Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of global marketing, sales and service, as saying.

Lord Sugar leads roadworks campaign

THE GOVERNMENT is to look at the better coordination of roadworks by utility companies after complaints by peers. Labour's Lord Sugar led the call for action at question time in the Lords with support from Tory former chancellor Lord Lamont of Lerwick. Lord Sugar, star of BBC television's The Apprentice show, urged "commonsense coordination" between the gas, electricity, water and telecoms companies.