Joyriding
Please allow me to introduce the newest member of our family: The Volvo S60R. As usual, I’ve gone overboard with the pictures, but it’s only befitting my new love. With its 5-cylinder turbocharged engine and 300 hp, this baby does 0-60 in like 6 seconds. It’s fast, but it’s smooth as silk to drive. It hugs curves like a little girl hugs her dolly – it never lets you go. We got the Magic Blue exterior and Atacama leather interior, which looks and feels like a worn in baseball glove.
On the outside, this car is your staid Volvo sedan. Safe. Practical. Yuppie to the core. A family car. But what people (and hopefully the cops) don’t know is that the R is a driving machine. We’ve been talking about taking it out to a race track. There are enthusiast clubs that we can join that do just that. Production is very limited per vehicle year, and most of them are sold in Europe. Owning an R is like belonging to an exclusive club; we’ve only seen two on the road – one before we took ownership, and the other one yesterday. We pulled up and exchanged the secret handshake. That’s what you do when you own an R. (Okay. You can throw up now.)
Seriously though – I LOVE this car. We’ve got satellite radio which rocks. It’s beautiful on the inside and out – the seats are the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in. I get my own memory setting for the seat and side mirror positions. The key looks like a switch blade (G and I have already done our “when you’re a Jet you’re a Jet till the end” impressions.) And it drives like a dream. Almost too well. I’ve already gotten the “we can always get a new car but we can’t get a new Cara” lecture from G and I’m trying to be good. But it’s so so much fun to be bad. I told him I’d either get bored or get a ticket. Which do you think will slow me down?
Paint me green — I’m jealous. I want a Volvo. It’s my dream car. However it’s a Wagon I want (I forget the model it is — hubby knows — the one with lots of power under the hood and lots of space for the kids, dog and whatever else I need to tuck in it) … Congrats on your new family memeber, she’s a beaut! What’s her name?
Go, girl, go, but not like a yo-yo schoolgirl…play it cool, girl…real cool.
I’m going to be singing West Side Story all day long now, thanks.
Congratulations! Jeep owners have a wave but a secret handshake? Now THAT’S cool!
Fabulous. A new car is such a great thing. Have fun, but take G’s advice to heart.
It’s beautiful. Congratulations! Satellite radio sounds like fun!
yeah – what everyone else said. Do you think they make body casts in Atacama leather??!! slow the fuck down.
Jumpin’ jee-hosephat, just a joyous jalopy!
fun!fun! it’s gorgeous!
I’ve been having some of the same fun with my new car…just get yourself a radar ; )
ah, gorgeous car! i’ve been wondering what you got and i’m glad to see it’s a volvo. keeping my family in business 🙂 enjoy the speediness!!
oh my, the secret lives of knitters…
Drive carefully!
Umm, me likey!
Ah, car porn! Nice car.
I get the same lecture from Aaron in my Turbo S Beetle – we can get a new car but we can’t get a new Cece – but some cars are meant to go fast! I think she would be angy if we drove less than 80 miles an hour on the way to work!
Beeeeautiful!
The speedo goes to 160!? Grrl, lets go for a ride. Can I drive? I know places in Utah we can drive as fast as we want and not get caught.
The cops see red cars first so at least you have that going for you. It’s WONDERFUL! Lucky grrl.
It’s beautiful, Cara! I’ve got an S60-AWD, and love the looks of this car–even if mine doesn’t quite have the power under the hood that yours does. (It’s wonderful in the snow, though.) And hey–with those curvy tail-lights and all, this is NOT a boxy Volvo sedan. Who cares if it’s got four doors, it’s COOL!
But gosh, now I’m sad that AWDs don’t get to share the secret handshake….
Enjoy the new car but slow down! As a fellow leadfoot I know how hard it is. Better to spend the money on gas for joyriding than on speeding tickets or dings.
Oh, you know, I’m a Roadster girl… I like to go fast with the top down and the music playing!!! WooHOOOOOO. It doesn’t matter what I drive, I drive it like a sportscar (so commented a passenger in my 1984 Buick wagon once). What I do try to keep in mind, though, is that you can buy a pretty nice pair of shoes (or bunch of yarn) for the price of a speeding ticket these days…
Go to the track.
And BE CAREFUL. (That’s my maternal side talkin’, not the sportscar side…)
nice ride … but if you speed often enough, the law of averages says you’ll get caught. i did.
it’s fun being part of a car cult though, isn’t it.
You don’t do anything half-way, do you? 😉 That car is a beauty! I love Volvos (have one that’s as old as the hills, but she’s a good ol’ girl).
Enjoy! (but stay safe! ;-))
Nice wheels. Just remember, tickets eat up a lot of yarn money.
woohoo! brand new car! congrats!
also, it’s funny that you have a scandinavian car and i have an american one.
Yay for new cars! The husband has been volvo shopping lately and that one is too cool. I love cars that look “normal” on the outside but are super fun to drive. That’s the best! Oh, and the interior is pretty, too!
Sweet new wheels, girl! 😉
Ohhh! Congratulations!! I’m so jealous….we just test drove the S40 (yes, the baby volvo) and I am soooo looking forward to making the big purchase very soon. Have you named her yet? Enjoy!
While I own a Honda now, I come from a long line of Volvo owners. My parents had a Volvo before they had me — they got their first in 1975, when it was a stupid ugly European car, not a yuppie icon. They’ve never NOT had a Volvo since then. My only sibling also drives a Volvo. He and my dad have gone to “invitation only” Volvo owner events where they unveil their new cars and let you drive them — really fast — around special tracks and obstacle courses to prove how safe their cars are. You should get yourself on that list 🙂 Enjoy the new toy….
Should we all be disturbed by the fact that I’m getting hot just looking at those pictures (this could be because we’re currently carless while we wait for the insurance company to decide when to send a check for our totalled old car)? Seriously, we can see how much you love that car, because those pictures are actually sensual. I’ll bet Volvo wouldn’t mind a few of those for publicity purposes.
Yeah, nice car. But you forgot to show a picture of the most important feature of any car-the cup holders. Are they good?
The Ticket.
😉
I’m here and alive….yippy…
xo!
Holy shit! At first I thought it was a Jaguar! lol
I love me some Volvo. *sigh*
Rawk it out! That car is bad-ass — love the orange/blue combo!
Ok, I can’t resist. Hold on … my honey & I love OUR R too! We got one almost 2 years ago now, and did the European delivery thing. Wow, was that worth it! We flew to Gotebourg over Thanksgiving 2004, got a factory tour there (but our cars aren’t made there – they are hand assembled in Belgium), then went across to Stockholm and saw the sights there. I’d highly recommend spending the time to do a European delivery if you ever get the chance to do this again. Our car was shipped by Volvo into NJ and got to us the first week of Jan 05.
So, enjoy! Keep that baby in the ‘Advanced’ suspension setting, and have fun! However, I do have to add .. why the h* did you go Automatic? The 6-sp is faster, and a whole bunch more fun. But in any case, enjoy the interior while it still looks gorgeously new. To protect ours (we also got the atacama upgrade), we eventually shopped around until we found a detailer that we finally believed would do the right things for it. It’s stayed lovely, with the exception of a little softening at the top of the folded edges in the driver’s seat.
Yes, there are lots of enthusiast sites. I’ve not looked at them for a long time, but do dig deep into the swedespeed.com forums for lots of info. And if you ever see a titanium grey with atacama and CT shoreline plates attempt to slow down to wave Hi at you, wave back! We do get down to Edgewater occasionally to shop at Mitsuwa.
ENJOY! Yee-hah! And smirk when no one ‘gets’ why our cars are so fun.
That’s one sleek baby. Seatbelts, girl. That’s about all I can offer.
Nothing will slow you down! It’s a beautiful car. Once a Volvo owner, always a Volvo owner. It’s weird…what can I say. It becomes your baby. Don’t touch the baby…don’t get too close to the baby…get that shopping cart away from my baby…you get the point! Enjoy your new car…you will continue to love it over the many years of enjoyment. Did I mention, there is supposed to be a 200,000 mile Volvo club. It’s like the the Energizer bunny…it never quits…it keeps going!
Sigh. We “retired” our old Volvo a few months ago. It had lived a good life and it didn’t make sense to pump anymore money into the beast. We bought it in ’89. Please understand that a car to me is (or was) nothing more than a mode of transportation. Does it start when I turn the key? Does it go when I push the gas? Does it stop when I hit the brakes. Simple.
That said I loved this car but not for the reasons you love your Volvo. Mine felt like a Mac Truck and had character and attitude. In the humid heat of a DC summer I often had to drive with the heat on to keep it from over heating. The radio only worked if the window was rolled 1/4 down and the windshield wipers once turned continued to happily wave until the ignition was turned off. It wasn’t that we had this car for so long but that it reliably transported us through many milestones. It carted us all over Europe, moved kids in and out of college dorms, got me safely home through snow and a bad sense of direction, doubled as the phone booth when I needed perfect silence to check on ailing parents. It hauled kids, plants, and recycling and was the perfect vehicle (being a wagon) to haul home the Christmas tree each year. It was the victim of new drivers and carried with it memories of many happy adventures. I wish you and your Volvo no less. May you enjoy many good years together!
I’m thinking neither can acutally slow you down! 🙂
My first time to your site and must compliment you on your taste in automobiles. Hubby and I are on our 5th or 6th Volvo. Currently it’s an S80. We had some 240’s back in the day and a 740. None were the “Go like stink” model, and yet with that gearing that Volvo has they go pretty darn quick. As we say, “Their not the Volvo your Grandpa drove”. But an automatic rather than a standard? In an R? She asked covetously. By the way, we’re both retired cops and know exactly what an R is. But yes, Volvo’s don’t generally scream to cops “Give me a ticket” like alot of other cars do.
Showed your blog to my husband just now and his pupils dilated and the andrenaline started as it always does when he sees an R.
Have lots of fun and I can’t give any driving advice because we still drive like we’re going to a hot call. We live for adrenaline.
Love your blog btw.
Oh my, those pictures are amazing. Again! I love your new car. Drive over to my house and we’ll go out for a spin.
Such a nice new car! I got one a few months ago and was too skittish to show it off. I hope you enjoy it!
And what’s about my “Amadeo Modigliani”?
thanks,
Holy Cow, nice car! Are those seats really ORANGE? Or is it the cowhide color and my monitor is screwy. I’m thinking – it would always be a happy day riding in orange seats.
Oooohhh- Car porn at it’s finest!
Gorgeous! We’ve been looking at cars and that was top o’ my list. Unfortunately with three kids and their various accoutrements I think I need a bigger car until they are a little older. Enjoy! Inhale that new car smell!
Congrats on your new car! When we got our Mini I was a speed demon as well… until I got a ticket. Not for speeding, for “running a red light” (it was yellow!). Been stopping at every yellow light since.
How cool is that!! I always fall in love with my cars!! Volvos are it for me. Ours are ancient and still loved! Congratulations may she allude all cops and give you great pleasure and safety for a long long time….and when you are done with her give me a call!!
Lovely! May you have many happy drives together!
Rrrrrnnn. Rrnn. Rrnn. Rrnn. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnn.
Rawr! So can we see the switchblade key? Bonus points for s treaming video of one of you doing the “Jet” song
Does this car seriously have the orange leather? That is SO COOL! I’ve never seen that. You’re lucky it looks so sporty AND is safe. Sigh (I covet.)