~^ beancounter ~^ said:
steve...out of all your volvos...what one
did you enjoy best (all around) and why?
"Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA
Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '02 Volvos.
The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '02 through European Delivery."
The '71 1800E. The handling, acceleration, braking, great stereo
system, comfortable leather seats, gas mileage, and cool exhaust sound
were impressive. After 10 years, I sold the 1800E in '81 for exactly
what I paid for it. The depreciation was zero. I sold it because it
required leaded gas which was hard to get and because it was worth so
much. The couple that bought it already had one and wanted another.
The 1800E had two draw backs: 1) since it had a quick steering ratio and
didn't have power steering, it parallel parked like a truck and 2) the
high beam indicator light was hidden behind the steering wheel. I
installed a new high beam indicator lamp off to one side. Before I put
in the new light, I was constantly coming over a hill or around a curve
to an oncoming car and wasn't sure if my brights were on.
My second favorite was the '93 850. It was a quantum jump forward for
Volvo. The handling, acceleration, braking, winter handling, fuel
economy, and the great high-beams were a welcome improvement. I sold it
in '01 because it had 180,000 miles on it and was still worth 30% of
what I paid for it. The '01 XC70 is even better, but not as big an
improvement. I do love being able to speed away from stops in wet
weather with no wheel spin.
My third favorite was probably the first one, a '67 122 wagon. It was
great to be able to buy a car in 1967 with good disc brakes that
wouldn't fade in wet weather, a legendary safety record, peerless
reliability, comfortable 3-point seat belts, superb handling and good
gas mileage. I was coming off a '58 Mercury that was like driving a
boat and its brakes were useless if they got wet. It had something fail
on every major trip we went on and couldn't pass a gas station.
