Volvo Will Cap Speeds on New Vehicles

Volvo drivers will have to content themselves with a maximum speed of 112mph in the near future. Starting with 2021 models, the automaker says it is putting a cap on the top speed its new vehicles can reach as part of a safety push, reports the Verge. Of course, the Swedish automaker isn't exactly known for catering to speed demons, as NPR points out in a teasing warning: "No more will practical station wagons meet on empty streets at midnight, drivers revving their engines and eyeing the finish line with steely intent, Birkenstocks slamming down on gas pedals."

But the move dovetails with an ambitious Volvo goal of seeing no deaths or serious injuries in Volvo vehicles by 2020. "We can have a discussion about whether we are acting as a 'big brother' and we are happy to debate that," CEO Hakan Samuelsson tells Bloomberg. "I think we will attract more buyers than we’ll lose." In any case, the move may have more of an impact on Germany's famed Autobahn than on American highways. (More Volvo stories.)