I reckon some of y'alls will remember a fella who used to post here as Dan B. 122/1800 guy that always bitched about late 240s, 740s, buttwarmer problems...etc. Well, ge got rid of his last early Volvo a few years back and started driving nothing but Model A Fords, which is pretty respectable I suppose..

Yesterday, he went out and bought himself a 850. Well... Ok, he bought it for his wife, but still. Showed up at my house last night with it looking all spiffy and stuff. He wouldn't quit raving about what a great car it is. And not only that, but he went on to rave about how well the buttwarmer worked. Guess he's done gone soft on us...

-Matt B

My question is... When can I come and pick up his old 245 turbo?
--
Bob W.
16 Volvos ('58-'91)
445-544-122-240-740
Four turbos

I know how it goes. Over the years, I've had a two 122's and a 544 as daily drivers, and still have a 445 that was the family car when my children were born. But, I live in northern Vermont, so my current daily driver is an Audi A4 quattro. Its quiet, has a heater that cranks the btu's, has unbeatable-in-the-snow 4 wheel-drive, and best of all, the galvanized body helps keep the car rust-free until its paid for.

However, as I head off for work each morning, I still wish I was driving my 1800 once in a while. Modern cars seem to isolate you from the driving experience, and I think the thing that we all appreciate about old Volvos is the fundamental-ness of driving them. Basic, simple, reliable, and possible to work on by mere mortals without special tools and an OBD-II code reader in their back pocket.

Ha! And I thought I thought I was going soft by adding a 245 to the old Volvo fleet... doesn't have buttwarmers, but that's why we have serious chili and beans, no?

8^)