woodrat

yeah I've had a few older volvo wagons and they were very tough. Volvo had rear seat shoulder harnesses in 1968.

tmleadr03

How about the Lexus (I think it was lexus) commercials that were saying that you didnt even need guard rails anymore because of the stability control that controlled the over/under steer so well. Showed a Lexus cornering around a mountain road in the rain and not having a problem.

Or for that matter a lot of the BMW commercials about there handling and breaking and such. Anyone remember the angles flying next to the X5?

Timmay2

Couple of motorbikes were going 50mph down the highway the other day.. Cars passing them on every side.. Traffic flows usually at 70-80mph. They decided when im approaching them to swerve into my lane. Needless to say i had to take an unplanned exit to avoid creaming them.

Point: Idiots are not bound by the vehicle they drive.

Shovelhead

Yup, passed a Darwin Award candidate last evening just before dusk on RT 360 in VA. (A 65mph road) riding a scooter in the middle of the right lane running flat out at ~30 mph.

midlife crisis

I really dont understand the thread. Your blaming the car maker for what? Making a better car because someone up above keeps making a better idiot?
And by the way- Volvo no longer owns the car division- cars is owned by Ford.
As far as Volvo goes, and their thinking- They own Mack Truck, Renault Truck, Nissan diesel, Prevost and just took control over Ingersoll Rand Off Road Equipment.
So far this year-truck deliveries are down (Mack down 47%, Renault slid 17% and at the same time Volvo truck sales are up 5%)
Whatever they are thinking- its working. (Stock up to 83- doubled in a year)
Do you mean to say only the car drivers are affected by the grill's badge-or everyone?

dieselJon

Idiots are bound only to themselves and not the vehicle. I think all this new gadgetry is to preserve the idiots so their families dont sue the company. Bakc in the 70-80's The vehicles were built to withstand a HUGE amount of impact. My mom was driving home one night in a late 80's suburban and got hit head on by a drunk. Mom doing 30 mph and I dont know what the other driver was doing but she was passing another car and didnt see Mom. Her car was totaled, had 2 broken legs, maybe a broken back, and was unconcious. My mom was shaken up but walked away. The suburban also was total because the drunk hit the driver side corner and shifted the whole frame right! Her car was new, Moms older, and know what the cop said to the paramedic when he asked about Mom? "oh her? She was in the tank."

With that said, guess what my first vehicle was? A 87 suburban She felt safe when I drove that thing. Now I think I am gonna give it a heart transplant, a nice 350 to a CTD.

just my .02 cents

dieseljon

Howy

Volvo actually did have some good stats back in the mid 90's to prove they were safe vehicles. It showed that no one had been killed or seriously injured in a Volvo in over 25 years and was record. They gave a life insurance policy out with a lot of their 1995 models along with the factory warranty. They were a great car company and used to really be a good safe car, but guess what, the blue oval struck and bought 'em.

Another oval around a crappy car.

tmleadr03

I think the issue people are having is the image we see on the commercials about how these cars think for you so you dont really have to drive them, just sit in the drivers seat. Its not true. I am a BMW Tech and when those cars are working they work wonderfully!!! They handle like they are on rails and stop on a nickel and give back change. But they still adhere to the laws of physics and the commercials I see give the impression they dont.

Now for reasonable people like most of us, we know that they are still just a car, but the DeeDeDee's out there have no clue and think that what they see on tv is reality.