I was looking for a utilitarian car, preferably with a manual transmission, and my family's favorite car salesguy told me he just got a 95 850 GLT wagon he wanted me to check out. I knew very little about Volvo, and wasn't all that impressed with the non-turbo's rated output, but I really liked the car in person. The 2.4L 5-cyl had sufficient and satisfying torque after all, at least as applied through the 5-speed.

So now I'm a Volvo guy. I'm wondering -- just how many 5-speed cars were made for the USA market? Very few, I'm guessing, based on the eBay and newspaper ads I've browsed through.

I must confess that I'm still curious about how likely it could be that I can find a parts car with a turbo 2.3L and manual transmission. What are my chances? From what I've read, Volvo had little financial incentive to certify an OBD-II car with a turbo and manual transmission here, and I'm not sure that ANY such 850/S70/V70 Volvos exist here except for the 2003 V70R's that can only be ordered new. Anybody got some figures?

TIA,
Steve