Porsche is adding even more performance to the practicality of a station wagon…. or “shooting brake” if you prefer.  The company has announced the new 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo.  The plug-in hybrid uses a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 and an electric motor to produce a total system output of 680 horsepower and 626 lb.-ft. of torque.  Porsche says it’s their most powerful Panamera Sport Turismo.  Look for it in dealers in the spring, starting at $188,400.

California could follow the lead of cities in Europe and Asia in banning cars powered by internal-combustion engines. Bloomberg is reporting Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board, says Governor Jerry Brown has expressed an interest in the idea.  France and the U.K. have plans to ban fossil-fueled vehicles.  China is expected to do the same.  If there were to be such a ban in California, Nichols told Bloomberg it could “be decades away from implementation”.

The next generation Volvo XC90 will be built on American soil.  The company has announced the large premium SUV will be built at the new plant in Charleston, South Carolina beginning in 2021.  Volvo revealed the Palmetto state would be the site of their first plant in the U.S. in 2015.  The facility is also scheduled to begin building the next generation Volvo S60 in the fall of 2018.