Long time readers know that I have a huge soft spot for the cars that are built by the descendants of Uncle Olaf, yet it has been a very long time since I’ve driven a new Volvo when it was new. When the C30 was announced in the Fall of 06, I fell in love with the shape almost immediately. The fact that the shape was penned by a Canadian was just an added bonus.
I picked up the not so little 4 seater this afternoon and very quickly fell in love. From the grippy cloth seats to the way the controls fall easily to hand, this car fits me like a glove. Not to mention that the 2.4 liter 5 cylinder sounds like an Uber Quattro and the 5 speed transmission is buttery smooth. This isn’t the boosted version, but who cares? It makes the right noises, squirts through traffic with ease and just feels COOL.
Later in the week, you’ll get the full report. I’ll give you the hint already that it will be pretty positive.
Oh yeah…the 3 hockey bag test is on hiatus for this one!
When most people think of a vintage Volvo the image of a boxy but good 140 or maybe even a 122 if their memory goes that far back. What many don’t realize is that the Swedish icon has a history that dates much farther back than the Sixties. In fact, Volvo’s roots date back to April 1927. The first Volvo actually rolled off the line on April 14th, 80 years ago today!
Volvo has released a brief history of their brand over the decades. You can read it after the break. Continue reading →
Some kind soul has gone and posted the Fifth Gear road test of the new Volvo C30 on YouTube, and now we bring it to you. I still love the styling. It’s cool that they’ve included the glass tailgate, just like in the old P1800 ES. The center console looks really cool & the blind spot warning system seems like a great idea.
Regular readers of The Garage know that I have somewhat of an obsession with old Volvos, especially of the 122 variety. Set in amongst the 3 C30’s is the VOX Amazon. Call it a 125 with a huge attitude. Like 600 hp worth of attitude! Mattias Volk’s killer 125 won the title of Sweden’s Hottest Volvo at a show in Landskrona Sweden last summer. Why not go one step further and crown it the World’s Hottest Volvo Wagon.
Shortly after releasing info about the new C30, Volvo showed some artists drawings of the concepts slated to appear at the 2006 SEMA show. Those 3 drawings showed some creative thinking and the potential for some serious performance. The reality seems to live up to those drawings. Volvo has jsut released a whole host of pics of all 3 beasts. Interestingly, the IPD model (which I expected to be the most real) is the most radical, sporting NOS bottles, tuner sized speaker bank and gullwing doors. The Evolve machine is most definately this most intriguing to me now that I’ve seen the pics. This yellow monster looks ready to hit the track and you can bet that we’ll see it in action in some series next year. I think this is a clear indication of the direction Volvo is planning to take with the C30.
Volvo press release after the break. Also there are tons of pics in the cool new photo gallery we are testing out. Continue reading →
Following unveiling the new C30, Volvo announced that the new 2 door will be sold in the US market. If memory serves correctly, the last time we saw a 2 door Volvo on North American soil was the 1984 242T. With a 2.5 liter 5 cylinder putting 218 hp & 236 lb/ft this will be one hot hatch. We can’t wait to get our hands on one of these when it debuts as a 2008 model.
