Savage on Wheels | Mark Savage

Pricey Volvo XC90 brims with high-tech options

http://www.jsonline.com/business/pricey-volvo-xc90-brims-with-high-tech-options-b99543845z1-318507351.html



I may be relocating to MN or WI-states. I read this on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel online. Though you AWD/FWD folks would like it.

Though Minnesota appears less screwed up than WI and WA.

And as an article on the RWD side of this forum suggests, and I have no garage to care for my three Volvo 240s, it may be the end of the RWD Volvo era for me, soon.

Subaru or Toyota? Doubtful I'll ever have the scratch for a new Volvo. Doubtful I'll even like the new Volvo models.

So, is this XC-90 drive by wire and is hackable for steering, pedals and such.

The new S-90 and V-90 models pending arrival are also FWD/AWD.

Still waiting for the return of the RWD Volvo automobile like the mighty Volvo 164. Shall never happen.

Hope that helps.

Back to getting that next tech writer job in a harassment-free workplace.

Stay away from that large town in northeast WA state. Corruption, evil, mal-intent, and mediocrity. The entire region eastward. Awful.

cheers,

MacDuffed Mundaes.
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The Volvo 164: The Mightiest of All Volvo Automobiles in Perpetuity

I don't think my F350 weighs 4600 pounds empty. Who is going to be able to fix all those high tech gadgets, blind spot warning, parking assist, etc. when they fail ? Do you suppose the four corner air suspension is going to get replaced at 200,000 miles ? I'll pass.

Greg

Ford says that your F350 is a ton more than 4,000lbs. Of course, these are for new trucks that have BLISS, etc for options.




Base Curb Weight - F-250 SRW 6.2L 5941/6351 lbs. 6230/6629 lbs. 6328/6731 lbs. 6442/6828 lbs. 6547/6942 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-250 SRW 6.7L 6589/7001 lbs. 6907/7254 lbs. 7070/7461 lbs. 7106/7462 lbs. 7279/7668 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (17" Wheels) 6.2L 6010/6423 lbs. 6298/6686 lbs. 6367/6769 lbs. 6481/6866 lbs. 6615/6979 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (17" Wheels) 6.7L 6656/7076 lbs. 6973/7330 lbs. 7106/7508 lbs. 7143/7528 lbs. 7316/7720 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (18" Wheels A/S) 6.2L 6066/6483 lbs. 6354/6741 lbs. 6423/6824 lbs. 6536/6922 lbs. 6670/7035 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (18" Wheels A/S) 6.7L 6711/7131 lbs. 7029/7385 lbs. 7162/7563 lbs. 7198/7584 lbs. 7371/7776 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (18" Wheels A/T) 6.2L -/6517 lbs. -/6775 lbs. -/6858 lbs. -/6955 lbs. -/7068 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 SRW (20" Wheels) 6.7L -/7165 lbs. -/7417 lbs. -/7594 lbs. -/7620 lbs. -/7809 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 DRW 6.2L 6433/6850 lbs. - 6831/7242 lbs. - 7057/7460 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 DRW 6.7L 7080/7500 lbs. - 7579/7982 lbs. - 7799/8200 lbs.
Base Curb Weight - F-350 DRW (PU Box Delete) 6.7L 6487/6907 lbs. - 6986/7389 lbs. - 7206/7607 lbs.
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat

Good God! $66K for a piece of junk? Of course the ride is harsh with those 21 inch wheels.

MN winters aren't that bad! Except for the snow 'emergency' days in the Twin Cities, where you need to move the car out of the street so they can plow curb to curb. The problem up here is that when it snows, it won't melt until April.

The SUV drivers all wind up in ditches whenever it snows, turkeys!!

If you move here, get a garage. But you are right, no one knows how to work on a car that doesn't have an OBD port. Even the pre 2002 cars are considered to be ancient.

Don't get a diesel. It is relatively flat, so AWD doesn't buy you much. Snow tires? They do clean the roads off fairly well until it gets 0F and lower, then the ice is just too hard.

MN is better than WS. But if you move to Madison, that is a couple of hundred miles south of the Twin Cities and within range of Chicago.
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat

Hi KlausC,

Thank you. Good to read from you!

I actually have very little affinity for the newer FWD / AWD model Volvos.

At the River Park Square mall in downtown Spokane some time ago, the local Spokane Volvo dealership put Volvo models on display. The prior Volvo XC90 model version was there, as was an S60 and an S40.

I could not ever afford the new XC90. The Journal-Sentinel review, I think, indicated the trim level or feature set model tested by the auto reviewer was the premium or premium package.

Oh, I'd agree, though, the low-profile 21-inch wheels would be choice in a land of perfect surfaces for them wheels. I'd expect, should you test up that Volvo XC90 like a Range Rover of some sort, you'd want the beefy tires (Michelin, Continental) with bigger, yet stiff sidewalls. I guess someone that can afford a 66k$ auto can afford a winter wheel / tire set, and have the space to safely store them.

The newer Volvo models on displays are so sparkly, so bejeweled. While very pretty and shiny, I'm not a fan of the bling-bling, yet still sparkly.

These newer Volvo models do not have an OBD port for use by the owner / operator? I did not know.

Does Volvo now encrypt the ECU and other data systems, forcing a dealership visit if OBD sets a fault and illuminates a dash light? I understand this is the state of all new autos for some time, that while the autos may have an OBD port, and you can go to the Kragen or AutoZone, you can't read the codes unless using an OEM OBD code reader, like that not sold to the public for your Mercedes, BMW, and also VW?

Do these new Volvos have the same hackable systems as demonstrated by the ethical hacker folks and the new Jeep? Featured on the PBS News Hour or something. At essence, remotely, the hacker disabled all the brake, steer, and drive by wire systems, forcing the Jeep off the road, at least safely.

I've been told VW build quality after 2004, and the use of cheap ABS plastic in thermal applications make VW ownership an issue that requires aggressive and vigilant care. Like the engine coolant thermostat housing is now black ABS plastic.

Does Volvo now do this too? I read on the RWD form of parts for transmissions (M40?) in the later 120s or something are now made in China and defectively cast.

I wish Volvo would build OEM parts in North America. I still begrudge the closing of the Halifax plant in Nova Scotia. Though that was assembly.

The greatest thing China could ever do is to produce German-Nordic-U.S. quality in everything they make. I like honesty. Better to deliver value to the customer first and not the shareholder.

I have the three Volvo 240s. Yes, Minnesota is better. And I very much like your state Senators to the U.S. Federal Senate. Not too much unlike WA-state with the honorable and mighty Senators Cantwell and Murray.

Yet Scott Walker, WI governor, mentions the Laffer curve publicly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

Search for it. Not to the advantage of the U.S individual citizen and tax payer. He's all Wall Street, like Jeb Clinton and Hillary Bush and Diamond Joe "Credit Card de-regulator" Biden.

I thought Madison was upstate (North) WI. As Epic is there, and lost a bid on a huge contract. I like Madison. I like the North Woods in MN and WI and upper MI-states.

Sorry to wander, so. Too much strong tea.

Back to work getting the next tech writer jobby-job. A nice, normal job someplace where the folks there are also nice. Minnesota.

I'm sick and tired of the Western states.

Sick and tired of the moral relativism.

Why I like RWD Volvo. Absolute morality in there somewheres.

Hope that helps.

Thank you.

MacDuffed.
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The Volvo 164: The Mightiest of All Volvo Automobiles in Perpetuity

As a long time retired computer programmer, I have told friends to beware of the time someone gets access to Onstar. It could then be possible to disable every GM vehicle by indicating the vehicle stolen. A million cars stranded on the road...

All cars since at least 1994 have an OBD port, usually under the dash on the left. No mechanic can work on these cars without one, they just don't know how to repair a car if the car doesn't tell them what is wrong. Even with the cars older than 2001, mechanics just don't know to trouble shoot. Don't fault the mechanic, they just aren't taught and the younger ones don't know enough to use logic.

The only codes common to all cars are those related to emissions. Car companies have their own codes, which are more detail than the generic Pnnnn codes and address things like ABS, SRS, power seats, climate control, and any other computer board. There are a few code readers that can access all of these codes, but the learning curve is usually long and hard.

It doesn't matter which state you move to, it is the job that counts. Remember, the Midwest uses an ungodly amount of road salt and rust is rampant.
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat