Volvo XC90 grabs IIHS Top Safety Pick+ on its way out

The Volvo XC90 may be the oldest car in Volvo's lineup, with 2013 being the last year for the XC90 before it's replaced by an entirely new model, but it has just captured the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick+ award. The award is a relatively new title, requiring a car or truck to achieve "Acceptable" or "Good" ratings on each IIHS test. Crucial to the Volvo XC90's achievement of this award was its performance in the new small overlap front tests, which test how a vehicle behaves in an front offset crash with a stationary object at high speeds.

GM's Lutz to retire May 1

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz plans to retire from the automaker effective May 1, according to a statement released by GM on Wednesday. Lutz, 78, had been serving as a senior adviser to GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre after shelving retirement plans to take charge of the automaker's marketing after it emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009. An outspoken executive who both challenged global warming and championed GM's all-electric Volt, Lutz is credited with revitalizing GM's product development efforts after being hired by former GM CEO Rick Wagoner in 2001.

McLaren P1 GTR: first official info on the 986bhp track-only P1

By Michael Karkafiris First Official Pictures 13 June 2014 14:40 Here’s the official confirmation of McLaren’s track-only version of the already insane P1. The McLaren P1 GTR will pack 986bhp (or a nice, round 1000ps in metric), 83 ponies more than its street-legal sibling, a wider track, full slick racing tyres and bigger downforce levels  than the regular P1 – if you can call a car like the P1 ‘regular’. Rumours talk about a fixed rear wing instead of the deployable one on the standard car.