Well it's very evident that we are both very passionate about Volvo's (and that's a good thing) and I accept that fact that we BOTH can agree that we "disagree" (boy is that an understatement or what ?) .
The point of my previous post is that I've been in the business of automobile manufacturing for nearly 15 years and that gives me an unique insight into this crazy business of automobile manufacturing than perhaps those on the outside looking in. what I'm saying is this: It is a business, it is about profits, and to generate profits you have to sell in large volumes. to sell the most cars ,to make these profits, you MUST APPEAL TO THE MASSES. it is about VOLUME. the faster you make them the cheaper they cost (to produce) and the more money you make on each and every one. it is unfortunate but, be thankful that Volvo survived as long as it did as an independent automotive manufacturer. as we all know, they were sold to the Ford Motor Company 3 years ago. Why do you suppose they sold Volvo? because Volvo could not sustain itself as an independant automobile manufacturer, and that is sad, they made a fine product, but that alone was not enough to sustain a sales volumes high enough to obtain profits. there simply were not enough people out there who wanted to buy the traditionally styled Volvo products. so here we are 3 years into the Ford ownership of Volvo and all of the sales figures ( record sales in 2001) have shown a great deal of public (mass) acceptance of Volvo products. Volvo generated 700 million dollars profit in 2001. Ford has committed 6 BILLION dollars for Volvo to develop future new Volvo platforms. Yes some of them will be shared platforms ! why? because even a company as large as Ford cannot afford to produce a separate platform for each and every car model. it's just simple economics.

let me assure you of one thing, Ford has historically used common platforms with SOME Ford content on the entry level models ONLY. I have no reason to believe that they are going to "Fordize " the entire Volvo vehicle line. in fact Ford is much more interested in using Volvo safety engineering and intergrating it into Ford products. one example of Volvo safety engineering that was used on a Ford vehicle is the Volvo Inflatable Curtain, this is the airbag that deploys from the roof liner and runs from the "A" pillar to the "C" pillar, Ford consulted with Volvo safety engineers about installing this safety feature on Ford vehicles and Ford has made this safety feature a standard feature on the Ford explorer. Volvo will continue to be a large source for safety features and innovations for the FORD MOTOR company. Ford recognizes that this is the hallmark of Volvo engineering and that this is the main reason why Ford acquired Volvo, not so they could re- badge Ford products and sell them as Volvo's. They bought expertise in safety engineering and, of all of the PAG GROUP brands, Volvo continues to enjoy the most autonomy of them all.

So David, let's "do lunch" (my treat) but, you realize that you'll have to ride in my V70 ! (let me know when you'll be in Dearborn and I will see to it that we break bread together. (perhaps we both will dine on olive branches!) lol
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2002 V70. Silver metallic. stock.w/tinted windows