my 1998s70glt is my first volvo...i have owned just about every german and japanese car...a friend of mine who was an ex-m/b factory mechanic drove nothing but german until about 5yrs.ago he switched to japanese...beware of the 60,000mile service on the Lexus 400 series...heard it was $3000...

i bought my volvo with 75,000miles off a friends lease and so far (knock on wood) no major problems...i have had my share of electrical gremlin which leads me to believe volvo is using the italians(another ford div) to do this system...the safety thing is for real...i say the volvo is built ever good as a m/b...my two m/b were not without problems...

i have always wanted a BMW but the closest i came was back when the Audi came ashore and i need a vehicle in snow country and FWD of the Audi sold me over the RWD of the BMW...quality-wise the japanese rice burners have a leg up still even though the gap is closing there still is a gap...

back to safety...what good is great crash ability if your car is always in a garage being fixed or you get paranoid from poor reliability and your afraid to take the car out on trips.Volvo needs to spend as much money on their electrical systems as they have lately on their new sheet metal designs and new models.Is Ford really in control of this division? i remember when F.O.R.D. stood for "fix or repair daily" or "found on the road dead".Volvo best get their act together soon....venting over...