Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We loved our Swedish made Volvos. They were durable and tough. I have a friend who got 430,000 miles out of his, until some hussy ran a redlight doing 80 and destroyed it (friend made it out with only a few broken ribs and some stitches). They looked respectable, no matter how old they were. They were reasonable to fix. I could put four new (on sale) Michelins on one for $300.00. The seats were designed by Orthopedic Surgeons, and performed accordingly. They were highly-evolved...ergonomic marvels, and practical in so many subtle ways. And best of all, they turned potentially deadly accidents into non-events.
We don't keep our cars for long, anymore. But when our kids have to replace a (fragile) tire on their Lexus IS250s, they start moping around. 300 bucks for one tire? We won't even mention my own car. That thing probably wants to send me a bill for just looking at it. I'm afraid to drive it, as I was its predecessor. With the Volvos, the thought of racking up mileage never entered our heads. Nor did we worry about placing the cars "in danger". They were tough. I want another tough car.
Oh! And maybe I should add that Volvo was traditionally viewed as a car for the Intelligentsia. Its appeal was mostly limited to those with superior capacities for Critical Thinking. I realize that people of that description are reproducing at below-replacement, while the dumdums are outbreeding them two-to-one. I mean, the dumdum population has nearly doubled, since Ford ate Volvo. One friend remembers being at a private repair shop with his Chocolate Brown 240 Wagon (Preppie Handbook #1 choice, right down to the color). The other car there was a slightly older 240 Wagon, in the same color. My friend learned that it belonged to the scion of the world's wealthiest (at that time) Jewish family, who owned the worlds largest privately-held corporation. That's the kind of company Volvos put you in. And you could drive them forever, and still have a status ride.
I'm so sick of fragile, expensive-to-repair cars. Who makes a viable successor to the (Swedish) Volvo?
Last edited by GrandviewGloria; 02-21-2012 at 12:57 PM..
I'm so sick of fragile, expensive-to-repair cars. Who makes a viable successor to the (Swedish) Volvo?
If you need an AWD vehicle, then I'd suggest you look at Subaru.
If you don't, then there's a lot of transportation cars in the marketplace today that equal or exceed the qualities you expected and received from your older Volvo's.
Everybody has the safety features that you appreciated in your older cars ... restraint systems, SRS, crush-zone construction, etc. Overall durability is to be found in a wide range of vehicles, perhaps a look at the owner reports in C-R will help guide you to the "better" cars in the marketplace today.
Do consider that the USA emissions/fuel economy requirements today dictate that cars must be built more lightly than they were years ago if they are to offer the safety and amenities that the market requires. The old heavy built Volvo's have long been gone from the marketplace as a result, as they have been discontinued by other manufacturers, too. Should also mention that Volvo's of recent years aren't inexpensive cars to buy or maintain, either.
I was going to say, why not just get a Volvo, the new S60 for instance, not a great looking car, but the seats are fantastic.
You're going to struggle to find any car, new at least, where tires are under $100 and nothing ever goes wrong. Not enough people want that, and cars do more these days.
That's why I lease cars for 36 months. They are under warranty and I just pay for basic maintenance. Much eaiser to than losing sleep over a wimpy car that is going to eventually break down and need expensive maintenance. Hell, I don't even need to buy tires, that's a couple car payments for me!
Why not get another Volvo if you are completely satisfied with their product?
Quite a while back, Ford ate Volvo (EU rules forbade Sweden to rescue the company from the hostile takeover, which tells you everything you need to know about the EU). Ford redesigned the cars, and they started looking like ghetto tennis shoes. Then, Ford moved Volvo headquarters to Southern California. Now, the Marque has been sold to some Chinese concern.
Anyway, as far as we were concerned, Volvo ceased to exist, when Ford ate the company.
Quite a while back, Ford ate Volvo (EU rules forbade Sweden to rescue the company from the hostile takeover, which tells you everything you need to know about the EU). Ford redesigned the cars, and they started looking like ghetto tennis shoes. Then, Ford moved Volvo headquarters to Southern California. Now, the Marque has been sold to some Chinese concern.
Anyway, as far as we were concerned, Volvo ceased to exist, when Ford ate the company.
In your post you said Swedish made, and they still are, the fact that they're now owned by a Chinese company isn't a bad thing and their newest cars are not bad products, Volvo newer really ended up making another Ford product, they always stayed a little different.
And as far as crash safety goes, they still lead the pack.
If what you're saying is that you want a car built by the company that owns the brand, in it's country of origin, with excellent safety ratings, you're seriously limiting your options.
I was going to say, why not just get a Volvo, the new S60 for instance, not a great looking car, but the seats are fantastic.
You're going to struggle to find any car, new at least, where tires are under $100 and nothing ever goes wrong. Not enough people want that, and cars do more these days.
Because they're no longer Swedish cars. Swedish values were built into those cars. Of course Sweden and Swedes are scheduled for extinction, too. But anyway...
With inflation, I'd be paying maybe $125.00 for Michelins, of course. And plenty went wrong with our Volvos. But they were worth repairing, pretty-much ad infinitum.
Because they're no longer Swedish cars. Swedish values were built into those cars. Of course Sweden and Swedes are scheduled for extinction, too. But anyway...
With inflation, I'd be paying maybe $125.00 for Michelins, of course. And plenty went wrong with our Volvos. But they were worth repairing, pretty-much ad infinitum.
What Swedish values?
You mentioned safety and seat ergonomics in your first post, both are elements very much alive in current Volvo's, so what is it that is lost, that you are looking for in a different brand?
Oh, and Volvo HQ is in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, which also houses their Safety Center. And aside for two assembly plants in Asia and a manufacturing plant in Belgium, everything else is located in Sweden too (all manufacturing and assembly plants).
Oh! And maybe I should add that Volvo was traditionally viewed as a car for the Intelligentsia. Its appeal was mostly limited to those with superior capacities for Critical Thinking. I realize that people of that description are reproducing at below-replacement, while the dumdums are outbreeding them two-to-one. I mean, the dumdum population has nearly doubled, since Ford ate Volvo. One friend remembers being at a private repair shop with his Chocolate Brown 240 Wagon (Preppie Handbook #1 choice, right down to the color). The other car there was a slightly older 240 Wagon, in the same color. My friend learned that it belonged to the scion of the world's wealthiest (at that time) Jewish family, who owned the worlds largest privately-held corporation. That's the kind of company Volvos put you in. And you could drive them forever, and still have a status ride.
If you want a car that reinforces your inflated opinion of yourself and serves as an outward symbol of you belonging to the "intelligentsia" club then I would highly recommend a Prius. Outside of that the Swede's Aryan brothers down in Germany produce some cars under the BMW name that seems to have become the yuppies new best friend; though some yuppies, particularly in the upper Midwest and Atlantic seaboard now seem to be developing an affinity for Audi's. Perhaps this divergence has something to do with the long running conflict of the intelligentsia. Should one ally themselves with the bourgouisie, BMW or with the proletariat, Audi (seeing as it is owned by VW, the "peoples car")?
So, intelligentsia bent on reversing the harm that man has wrought on the planet with no concern for something like petty socio-political schemes, get a Prius.
If you are one who allies themselves with the bourgouisie, get a BMW and express to the world your success and love of liberalism and "compassionate" capitalism...hey, I give to charity at work.
If you are one who allies themselves with the proletariat, get an Audi and express to the world your passion for socialist ideals, but with the caveat of reminding the sheeple in their VW's, that you are in fact their superior.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
