Jaguar Land Rover is reportedly working on an extreme off-road version of the next-generation Land Rover Discovery.
Likely known as the Discovery SVX, the model would serve as a high-performance rugged counterpart to the street-focused SVR builds, with both developed by JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations division.

The company is expected to introduce its next-generation Discovery sometime next year, while the SVX off-roader will land a year or more later, according to an Autocar report.

“There is a market for more off-road capability, so of course we’re looking at it,” SVO head John Edwards said, without divulging any details surrounding specific models.

Engineers are said to be focused on developing new technical solutions to off-roading challenges, rather than simply lifting the vehicle a bit higher and adding knobby tires. The company has already previewed ‘virtual’ pillars that eliminate blind spots, while a ‘transparent’ hood projects a view from a camera onto the windshield via HUD.

Edwards previously hinted that an SVX Defender is in the works, taking inspiration from vehicles that drive in off-road competitions such as the Camel Trophy and Dakar Rally.

A production version of the Discovery Vision concept could bow later this year in Paris, though the company has not yet pinned down a specific unveiling date.

Honda has announced that its Takata recall campaign has been expanded to include approximately 350,000 more vehicles.
The additional vehicles will receive new passenger-side airbag inflators, which are prone to rupture and potentially cause shrapnel injuries. The company suggests any driver-side components have already been replaced in previous campaigns.

The revised list of all models affected by one or more airbag recalls includes the Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot, and Ridgeline, along with the Acura MDX, TL, CL and RL. Model years go as far back as 2001 and no later than 2011.

“The vast majority of Honda and Acura vehicles impacted by last week’s announcement were already covered by past recalls or safety improvement campaigns,” said Honda America service VP Bruce Smith. “In fact, many of these vehicles have already been repaired – we’ve replaced nearly two-million inflators since 2013, most of those in the last nine months alone.”

The company is receiving replacement parts from four different suppliers, averaging more than 50,000 repairs per week. The total number of backordered parts is said to have been cut in half.

Approximately 6.28 million Honda vehicles have been affected by the defect so far.

After shipping the first batch of vehicles from a China factory to the US market, Volvo has announced that it has formally signed an agreement to build its first American plant in South Carolina.
The Swedish brand will now move forward toward ground breaking by fall, with production slated for late 2018. The plant will eventually be capable of producing up to 100,000 vehicles annually, requiring 2,000 workers over the next decade and as many as 4,000 employees further down the road.

The company has committed to preserving 1,500 acres of wetlands, helping form a “green belt” around the greater Charleston region. The factory will also be powered by renewable energy, while storm water will be rerouted to form ponds that simulate wildlife habitats.

“Today we formalize an important milestone in Volvo Cars’ global transformation in the United States,” says Volvo Cars North America chief Lex Kerssemakers. “Our planned American factory demonstrates our commitment to the United States and our desire to be a truly global automaker.”

The company is attempting to boost sales to 800,000 units by the end of the decade, nearly doubling the current numbers. The company will revamp its entire lineup in the next few years as it works toward the lofty goal.

The Ford Focus has failed the “moose test” performed by Swedish magazine Teknikens Varld.
The test simulates what might happen when a large animal appears in the middle of an undivided road, requiring a quick swerve into oncoming traffic and then another quick correction to get back into the proper lane.

The magazine suggests the Focus behaves “downright dangerous” when fully laden with passengers and cargo, within Ford’s own specifications and Sweden’s Transport Agency guidelines. The driver failed to reach the expected benchmark of 70 kmh (43 mph), as the suspension bottomed out and the chassis skidded into several cones.

After removing 287 lbs, the driver was able to reach 47 mph and reported that it handled “like a dream.” Two competing vehicles, the Seat Toledo and Nissan Pulsar, also performed well in the test.

The same test previously raised concerns over the stability control system of the Porsche Macan and the rollover potential for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has expanded its Takata recall campaign to include more than four million vehicles sold in the US market.
Following Takata’s acknowledgement of a safety defect in approximately 34 million vehicles from various automakers, FCA has issued a fresh campaign to install a new dual-stage airbag inflator in a handful of models. The issue is being handled as a nationwide recall, rather than focusing on regions with high absolute humidity.

The defective component, known as the PSDI-4, can be found in various Ram trucks from the 2004 through 2010 model years, along with the 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen; the 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C, SRT8, Dodge Charger and Magnum; the 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota; and the 2006-2010 Mitsubishi Raider.

“In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver’s frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking and potentially seriously injuring the driver or other occupants,” the recall documents note.

The company cites at least one failure in the field, which led to “non-life threatening injuries,” and one failure from an inflator that was pulled from a Florida vehicle and subjected to lab tests.