Volvo has announced U.S. pricing and launch details for its new S90 flagship sedan after its North American debut earlier this week at the 2016 New York International Auto Show.
I’m already a big fan of the estate’s fluid design, but now there’s one more reason to love the Swedish marque’s new flagship: its price tag. The S90 T5 Momentum edition will start at $47,945 (including a $995 destination fee), which may be $3,500 more than the existing S80 sedan, but it’s an incredible value for what you get.
The T5’s 2.0-liter turbocharged Drive-E engine is expected to deliver 250 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. A leather cabin is standard, along with a 9.0-inch infotainment system and Volvo’s “Thor’s Hammer” LED headlights (which debuted on the XC90 SUV).
“We wanted to design a car that enhances the driver’s life, not a sedan that’s merely a status symbol,” explained designer Thomas Ingenlath.
If 250 hp doesn’t sound like enough to motivate the large sedan, buyers can opt for the T6 AWD Momentum package in exchange for $53,945. The T6 trim means both turbocharging and supercharging technology is integrated into the same 2.0-liter mill to the tune of 316 hp. The package also adds heated front seats, an upgraded driver information display and dual exhaust ports.
Rivals like BMW’s 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E350 come in a little cheaper than the T6 level S90 ($51,995 and $53,575, respectively), but they’re also down on power to the S90 (240 hp in the BMW and 302 hp in the Benz) and have smaller cabins. A more direct rival would be Audi’s A6, which starts at $47,125 and makes 252 horses.
Another distinction for the Volvo is its high-tech feature set. The S90 is claimed to be the first car in the U.S. to offer semi-autonomous capabilities as standard. Pilot Assist holds a lane and controls vehicle speed in traffic at speeds of up to 80 mph. The S90 also comes with an advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system that reacts to large animals and other vehicles and a detection system for road departure.
Orders for the new S90 are now being accepted and first deliveries are scheduled for this summer.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.