Volvo's next-generation City Safe system now detects cyclists and pedestrians too.

While there are some folks who feel any added piece of safety technology is only making us worse drivers by becoming more reliant on them, others feel quite differently. The arguments both ways can get heated and - unfortunately - there's very little hard data to back up the claims on both sides.

Apparently, that's no longer the case, at least for one small fraction of what's available. The idea behind forward collision warning systems is pretty simple: through an array of sensors and/or cameras, the car's computer will somehow alert the driver when another vehicle's closing speed is too great.

Depending on the system, some will do more than just beep and flash: they'll apply the brakes too, avoiding the collision altogether. But whether any of them are worth the investment remains to be seen.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

If you're involved in the public relations, promotions or journalism side of the car business in Canada, chances are you've met Garry Sowerby. The humble Haligonian (by way of Moncton, NB) made his name by breaking four world records for endurance driving in the 1980s and '90s, including two successful around-the-world odysseys. His first record came with co-driver Ken Langley in the 1980 Volvo 245 DL Wagon above nicknamed Red Cloud, the last as part of a three-member team based out of England that broke the record again using a 1997 Vauxhall Frontera (what we got as an Isuzu Rodeo.)

Perhaps Sowerby's most famous, though, is record set for the Fastest Transit of the Americas, travelling from Tierra del Fuego in Argentina to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in a 1988 GMC Sierra. Tim Cahill, a US-based writer for Rolling Stone magazine penned a book afterward called Road Fever that should be on every car-nut's reading list.

Anyway, Sowerby's getting some recognition for his efforts 25 years after his adventures with Cahill by being inducted into the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in Petitcodiac, NB under the Road Challenge category, something very fitting for this true gentleman.

Congrats, Garry!

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

Since being taken over by China’s Geely, Sweden’s Volvo has seemingly been focused on large cars for North America. Quietly, the stylish and competent S40 and V50 compact sedan and wagon disappeared this year. And while a new compact four-door hatch, the V40, is a go for Europe, there is currently no confirmation that Volvo’s potential Audi A3/BMW 1 Series GT/Mercedes-Benz B-Class/etc. premium compact competitor is heading to Canadian showrooms anytime soon.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

The last long-weekend of the summer is upon us. Then it’s back to work or school for most Canadians, as yet another summer has come to an end. For new car dealers, it’s time to start stocking up on the new 2013 model-year inventories. But some new cars won’t be returning.

Here’s a list of new vehicles that are being canned for 2013. Let us know which—if any—you’ll miss as they drive off into the sunset:

By Diana T. Kurylko, AutoWeek

Volvo wants to derive economies of scale from a new front-wheel-drive architecture called SPA, for Scalable Platform Architecture.

The redesigned XC90 crossover due in 2014 will be the first to use the architecture.

SPA was designed for a new family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines that Volvo will begin using on existing models next fall. Eventually, the new four-cylinders will replace all of Volvo's current five- and six-cylinder engines.

Volvo is also considering whether to offer a gasoline hybrid on the XC60 or S60 in 2014 or to wait on new SPA-based new models.

By Davey G. Johnson

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.”

The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines. Given the proliferation of antilock brakes and adaptive cruise-control systems, EU regulators are thinking, “Why not mandate automatic emergency-braking systems in an attempt to reduce collisions?”

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Volvo outlined three new technologies that it says will help make the Volvos of the future a good deal safer: autonomous driving, “Intersection Support” and animal detection.

Volvo says it's tailoring technologies to the way people drive, by which it means poorly. The company claims that “surveys from three different research institutes in the United States reveal that modern drivers spend 25 to 30 percent of their time behind the wheel doing other things, such as focusing on mobile communication.” Volvo's new technologies are said take this into account and “provide the driver with the right support at all times.”

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

The Volvo hybrid truck, a.k.a. Mean Green, achieved two world speed records at Wendover Airfield in Utah, one for the standing kilometer and one for the flying kilometer. It didn't hit its planned top velocity of 165 mph (265 km/h), but 147 mph (237 km/h) is still a respectable speed for a truck originally meant for hauling trailers down a highway.

During the flying kilometer (0.62 mile), drivers get a small distance to gain speed before beginning the run. The standing kilometer is done from a stop. The Mean Green truck topped 95 mph (153 km/h) in the standing kilometer.

The semi has a modified aerodynamic body but is composed mostly of Volvo production components. Mean Green gets power from a tuned Volvo D16 engine and a modified version of the company's I-Shift gearbox. It has an electric motor providing 200 of the truck's 2,100 hp and 885 of the truck's 5,000 lb.-ft. of torque.

“We are very pleased with Mean Green's performance, especially at such a high altitude,” said Boije Ovebrink, Mean Green's driver and owner. “We knew Wendover would present challenges because it's more than 4,200 feet above sea level.”

The speed records were verified by the United States Auto Club, which is a branch of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The new records should be recognized by the group in 30 to 60 days.

The truck's previous records were 135.9 mph in the flying kilometer and 94.6 mph (152 km/h) in the standing kilometer. The runs were completed in June 2011 at the Hultsfred Airport in Sweden.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

For all the researching and stressing by new parents about what car seat to buy for their upcoming baby, even the safest, most expensive product will not protect kids from the violence of a crash if it isn't installed properly or if the kid isn't buckled in correctly.

It's all well and good to read the manual, but there's no replacement for hands-on instruction. That's why Volvo Canada and the Ontario Provincial Police have launched a springtime child car-seat clinic open to the public, regardless of what kind of vehicle you drive.

Besides helping with child seats, there will also be a roll-over simulator, someone to discuss pet safety in moving vehicles and refreshments too.

The first clinic is today, Thursday April 5 at Hamilton Volvo from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. while Volvo of Oakville is on Tuesday, April 10 with identical hours.

For a complete list of other clinics available across Canada, visit Transport Canada. 

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

GENEVA – Here we go again—another Geneva auto show, another batch of new wagon debuts that will never make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada.

At the close of the first media day at the 82^nd Geneva Motor Show, let me start with what I think was the most beautiful new wagon introduced here: the Jaguar XF Sportbrake (above) a more spacious (and to my eye, better-looking) version of the existing XF mid-size sedan. But don’t get too excited. Jaguar doesn’t have any plans to bring it to Canada, despite having natural rivals like the Cadillac CTS and Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagons.