No, I did not necessarily mean "10 SUVs a month". It may turn out to be this way or even more as I do expect sales for the XC70 to drop at least 15% when the XC90 comes up. Yes, they could have developed a product along the like of the Chrysler Pacifica which might have pleased you more. But they do have a VERY SIMILAR product; the current XC! That is not what people want. And in the automotive business you cannot buck the trend. You do that and you become a second-rate player or, even worse, you DIE! You cannot just be idealistic and try to fight against the windmills like Don Quixote. You don't offer what the people want, you are finished! Especially a small company like Volvo.

As far as Volvo's image being tarnished? I doubt it...was BMW's image tarnished with the X5? You could argue that BMW had a different image than Volvo but even so, they were known as THE performance company, THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE (please!)...did an SUV tarnish their image...an SUV was a vehicle that stood diametrically opposite their tradition. What about Mercedes?

The bottom line is that you can introduce a "new concept" within your product line but it better be a good one. Although I despise the SUV concept and the hypocrisy hidden behind that whole idea, I cannot not acknowledge the fact that the XC90 is a tremendous product with a lot of technological innovation brought forth by Volvo. In some areas, it will be a pioneer for other SUVs. One cannot help but admire Volvo for that.

BTW,it will not really block your view...it is only a few inches higher than the current XC70.

Yannis





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2001 V70 T-5M, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., Sunroof, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17" "Tethys" alloys