First of all, you can get all the people you want to e-mail, write, call or demonstrate in front of Volvo's hadquarters...nothing will come of it.

It is not a matter of "not passing emmissions". A XC with the manual transmission cannot just "be made and get shipped over here". A certain model with a certain type of transmission has to pass not only EPA certification for emmissions (piece of cake for a car like the V70 XC) but it has to be crash-tested and certified by the Federal Government, which wouod still be a piece of cake...only that a test like that would cost more than $1,000,000 to be set-up, completed and evaluated. A price that is hardly worth it for Volvo since only a fraction of the demographic group that buys the V70 XC would be interested in it. No one (who is sane) is going to devote millions for a small group of people.

You can support your theory that "enough people would buy it if it were available"...it does not matter. Anyone who works for a Volvo Retailer will tell you that while there is a certain number of individuals who inquire about manual transmission Volvos (and those are very few, anyway), the amount of people inquiring or expressing their displeasure for the lack of manual XCs (like yourself) are almost NON-EXISTENT.

How many models of the XC's competitors come with manual transmission (AWD models)??? Not too many...Take all this from someone who LOVES driving a manual transmission Volvo (and owns one)...


Yannis
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2001 V70 T-5M, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., Sunroof, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17' 'Tethys' alloys