Robert,

You are one of the more knowledgeable posters on this forum so I take your comment seriously and with respect. I make no claim to be wiser than anyone else on the matter but I do assume that a person can offer observations and ask questions from any station. In addition, being at the receiving end of the design, I might have something of value to offer. I made my original post because I wanted to understand the 'why' of the design. In fact, I said:
"Ever wonder why they designed the red block water pump the way they did?"
If there was a good reason for it, then fine. I stand by my observation that the design is out of character for a 'safe, durable, practical' car. I would add 'robust' to that list. I stand by my observation that the design of the water pump is not robust enough because it is sensitive to small, common maintenance / installation errors (levered pressure on the upper gasket, belt tension). Safety is as much a function of reliability as anything else - I don't want to be broken down in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As an engineer myself, I do appreciate the notion of design compromise and have made my share of blunders. I really value hearing the opinion of others. I guess I am driven to understand the 'why' of things and boy, would I love to sit down and have a chat with a Volvo engineer to hear what really was behind the design. What a treat that would be! Alas, this forum is the closest thing to the Volvo truth there is in the public domain.

In your challenge to "Show me a safer more durable and practical car.", I would need to know the relative weightings of the 3 criteria (safe, durable, practical) and definitions of those 3 terms before I can evaluate cars by your criteria. And all of the criteria would be context sensitive. And am I allowed to compare cars of different eras? But at any rate, I offer a 90-95 Ford Taurus 3.0 V6 wagon against a 90-95 Volvo 745. The safety ratings of both are good but I, thankfully, have no personal experience. My 3 Taurus wagons over years of heavy work, have, surprisingly, proved durable and reliable. So has my 745. Proper maintenance seems to be a key factor here. Both cars are practical. Sheer productions numbers and market penetration, parts availability, service availability, etc, tips the scales in favour of the Taurus when the family sets off on a trip.

Bill (just an inquiring mind)