[RonHendriks1966]

Yeah, I noticed it to. There is a scene in the TV-serie Friends where the statement is: Well that Volvo is kinda boxy

And I love Marmite (too)

[Col]

Yeah, I noticed it to. There is a scene in the TV-serie Friends where the statement is: Well that Volvo is kinda boxy

And I love Marmite (too)

Courtesy of "Crazy People"

[Cambo]

Not very surprising... With the exception of some of the Korean manufacturers, a couple of Germans and a few exotic brands I think most makes have been bailed out by governments

If you do your homework you will find that Ford sold Volvo Cars to Geely Holding Ltd. No government bailout like the US government did for GM.

Very interesting, also I didn't say that Volvo had been bailed out (Geoff H said that) I was just saying that it wouldn't suprise me if they had been.

Here in Australia we are constantly giving money to the auto industry. Its one of the Australian Labor Parties favorite ways to waste my taxes and buy themselves some votes.

So Volvo is owned by the Chinese now?

They have gone into bankruptcy.

Cheers,
Cameron

[Voytech]

Another Volvo C30 owner here (4 years now) and I also do not think the comment reflects current Volvos.

For the sake of posterity...

[monochrome]

The style of Volvo my wife drove for 14 years - then my daughter, then my son . . . Not the actual car, but still . . . it weighed a few pounds more than the Suburban I was driving at the time.

[EDIT: In the interest of preserving thread civility, the above statement was made as a long-standing family joke about Mom's car. The actual weight of a 1990 Volvo 240DL US spec. Wagon was 3140 lb. A 1990 Chevy Suburban with manual locker and a third-row seat was 4400 lb. Mom's car went 0-30. Dad's car went 0-60. That's another family joke.]

[Geoff H]

Ford Motor Company owned Volvo Cars. Ford were close to bankrupcy, just as GM and Chrysler. Ford solď Volvo Cars. Now Volvo Cars is very profitable and increases marketshares. No goverment intervention at all. Just great cars, designed around you.

BBC NEWS | Business | Swedish car firms get bail-out

Just do a search for 'Volvo bailout'...

I never post such things without checking background first...

[lesmore49]

I had a 1962 Volvo PV 544s with the B 18S engine. It was a great car, overbuilt, strong, great handling, brakes and acceleration for it's time. Back then Volvo's were regarded as sports sedans..so much so that the PV was a common entrant in sports car racing...racing vs the sports cars of the day.

The PV was also a credible rally car and used by some professional rally teams.

It was safe, solid...my 62 had a padded dash and a 3 point seat belt harness, well before this became common on other makes.

However in decades to follow, I felt Volvo lost their way to a certain extent. They were still regarded highly for their safety..but they became 'softer'...less sports sedan in their DNA with models after the PV.

Good cars no doubt. But I feel Subaru has taken over their mantle that Volvo once held....unique cars, with a dash of the sports sedan, safety and their own strong engineer's take on what is important in a modern automobile.

I have heard/read somewhere that some say.... if Nikon is the Honda of Japanese camera makers, then Canon must be the Toyota and Pentax fits the Subaru of Japanese camera makers.

[lesmore49]

The style of Volvo my wife drove for 14 years - then my daughter, then my son . . . Not the actual car, but still . . . it weighed a few pounds more than the Suburban I was driving at the time.

...did it really weigh more than the truck based Suburban ?

Les

[monochrome]

Good cars no doubt. But I feel Subaru has taken over their mantle that Volvo once held....unique cars, with a dash of the sports sedan, safety and their own strong engineer's take on what is important in a modern automobile.

I have heard/read somewhere that some say.... if Nikon is the Honda of Japanese camera makers, then Canon must be the Toyota and Pentax fits the Subaru of Japanese camera makers.

As I posted above, after the last Volvos' last gasps we switched to a Honda and a Subaru. I'd be happy to be thought of as a Nikon and Pentax guy

[wzdevito]

I heard that and started to take offense, but then laughed at the poor guy trying to denigrate the camera's design, but inadvertantly giving it a compliment. A compliment that the K-01 can only *hope* to live up to. I think that as a child, he got tired of riding backwards in his Granfather's old Volvo wagon and never gave them another look. IMO, Volvo's are marketed as not only luxurious, but also a safe, reliable, and intellegent choice for one's auto. Again, standards that the K-01 would be happy to claim. Sure, Volvos used to be boxy, but has he not realized that they've been more stylish for well over a decade?

I bought an '01 wagon (V70XC) in '08 -- that's about what I can afford. I absolutely loved the look of it and still do. For our first couple road trips in the mountains, we seemed to be just as enamored with the beatiful car looking at home in the scenery as the scnerery itself. Can a car actaully 'enjoy' its trip? This one looks like it does. My favorite pictures are the ones where it looks sad that it's taken us as far as it's allowed to and we had to go on foot without it.

So forgive me for posting so many photos, but I can't pick a favorite. And now in 2012, my '01 wagon still looks and drives as new and I plan that it will continue that way for a long time to come.

[dgaies]

I'll just throw one up of our newest Volvo, bought almost three years ago on Valentine's day (who said romance is dead!)

[johnmflores]

I don't think that Volvo is the right gestalt.

[monochrome]

...did it really weigh more than the truck based Suburban ?

Les

Nah - that was a family inside joke like, "Mom's car goes zero to thirty in . . ."

Suburban was 4400 ish pounds, but a 350 cu.in. (5.7L) small block V-8
Volvo Wagon was 3140 ish with a 2.3L 4-cyl. engine

[lammie200]

Have you ever seen a 3 on the left side of an ODO?

I guess that I am lucky. I get to see a big fat zero on the left side of my ODO on my 850 Turbo until I sell it. The damn thing broke at 85k miles. It is a well known issue with this particular model. Actually I have had one problem after another. Looking forward to replacing it, but the taxman will be taking all my money in a few months. Damn taxman!

[monochrome]

I don't think that Volvo is the right gestalt.

Heh. I actually thought about making a really sarcastic post about the Soul using all the K-01 objections. Your take is better. Through November KIA sold 92,440 Soul's in the US. A big seller like the Accord is around 280,000, so KIA is doing great with this funny little car. KIA sold more than 440,000 cars in the USA all-in through November. Do you think Pentax would be happy to sell 92,000 K-01's in the USA this year?

My daughter's iPhone photo of her car taken with her new iPhone. I think the iPhone is useless, but the car is unique and appealing. But can it stand on its end?

I guess there's so much to discuss there . . .