Posted on 08/30/2011 6:27:20 PM PDT by WesternCulture
Recently, Toyota have been claiming to build the safest cars on Earth. Just like (Chinese owned) Volvo Cars have been doing for decades.
I happen to live in Gothenburg, Sweden, home of Volvo.
I also happen to admire and respect Japanese culture.
But I fail to see how average Toyota cars actually could compete with vehicles like the Volvo V70/XC70/XC60/XC90. The Avensis can, to a certain degree, but is not representative of their product line.
Toyota:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk9yGUu6dtA
Volvo Cars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtSOYEr-rYQ
Toyota:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk9yGUu6dtA
Volvo Cars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtSOYEr-rYQ
Don’t know much about those puddle-jumpers, but I feel very safe in my Ford F-350.
How’s Saab doing these days?
Neither if you please.
This is drivel since the gubment motors induced Toyota recall turned out to be operator error. My wife was t-boned by a Volvo wagon (coincidence) traveling at 55. She was struck squarely in the driver door. A bump on the head and a slightly torqued neck was the result. This was in an Accord and not a Toyota but is a good example of top tier Japanese safety engineering.
“How’s Saab doing these days?”
- I wouldn’t be surprised if they survived both of us.
Volvo- very expensive, complex/over engineered, not mechanically the most reliable nor durable, but very safe cars.
Albeit, their legend is highly inflated and padded with them having faked some of their staged tests years past and having to deal with their own set of blunders:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article7132485.ece
Toyota has nothing to worry about. Compare apples with apples (size and weight class of car) and they do just fine: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/
LOL. Drinking again.
I owned the 850 right after university. Pretty old car but one thing I have always noticed about the ole station wagons is that they are “heavy”, sturdy, reliable but murder $$$ on the service.
Driving also got me some nice cheap cribs. My former landlord who gave me my first apartment after graduation from uni later told me that the reason why she gave me the apartment after so many people looked at it because I drove the Volvo..plus, the back had a lot of room to umm..fool around.
“not mechanically the most reliable nor durable”
- We don’t know about cars made today, but Volvos and M-Bs have, up to now, beaten most other brands.
American cars of the 1950s also seem to sort among the most reliable ever manufactured.
(British made cars of the same era displayed a very short life-span)
Anyhow, there’s a particular reason to why American cars of the above mentioned era appear to be indestructable (from a statistic viewpoint); Namely the popularity these cars enjoy among enthusiasts like those of Scandinavia.
According to some sources, Sweden boasts more classic American cars than California.
- What would you do if you were an unemployed car freak living in Scandinavia?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vzn10YijM4
“LOL. Drinking again.”
- Have I ever apologized when sober?
I do not know about recent Volvos, but my first was a
P1800, two door sport coupe, bought from a friend who was quite knowledgeable about cars. (1965)
My friend, an aircraft parts distributor, as well as an auto affectionado, considered the Volvo to be the safest car on the road.
I was single and in my early 20s, so the car was perfect for me.
In my later years, I had a number of Volvo wagons, with excellent results.
My last few years in the US, I was in my old Volvo wagon, going about 60 when a pickup pulled out in front of me
at a crossroad. There was no way to stop, and moving to fast to swerve.
I smashed into the bed of the truck, spinning him 180 degrees.
I drove onto my appointment, another 15 miles away.
I had only a leaky radiator, along with minor body damage
Insurance, however, totaled it due the nature of the wreck, and age of the car, which had well over 100,000 miles.
Keep in mind, all of my four Volvos were 1960 to 1980 models.
It passed away earlier this year.
“one thing I have always noticed about the ole station wagons is that they are “heavy”, sturdy, reliable but murder $$$ on the service.”
- Yeah, Volvos are heavy (compared to most other cars imported to the US at least), reliable, but also expensive to maintain.
However, over here in Sweden they are among the least expensive ones to keep rolling.
Considering the economy of it all, I can’t see why anyone living in Sweden would drive any other car.
But I used to like BMWs. That is before Dame Edna began designing their fronts.
Dame Edna:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV6Q4Q9u1pU
What BMW once used to be:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_6_Series_(E24)
Great story.
I like my honda accord, and my three kids all fit in the back heh.
I’ve always driven foreign, toyota, honda. I like quality, and I like not supporting the unions, and I also like companies that aren’t owned by the government.
If I need a diesel truck, which I may at some point here, I would probably opt for the F-350, now that Ford fired International.
My uncle who now lives in Canada used to own the 650. He told me he drove it across America and if he didn’t have the time nor the cash to sleep at a motel, he parked alongside the road and slept in it.
One time, he told me he was at the Grand Canyon (drove all night and parked at a nice spot overlooking the canyon) and at 6 am, the sheriff knocked on the window, waking him up and he saw the greatest sunset of his life. He wasn’t supposed to park at that area LOL but the view was so perfect that the sun just rose from canyon towards the area.
Nothing does Dame Edna say about the BMW! What’s up?
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