I have nothing to report. That board, while better than most, is sorely worse than this one. Once I get the car (the first date I was given is August 4, which I fully expect to be much too soon), I'll let you know.

I'll be forced to drive around with the stock radio for a while to see if any of those rumors are true. Nothing in the manual seems to indicate that they are, though.

Hopefully not-too-naive question: are you trading in your old car? Do you have any kind of contractual statement about the trade-in value of your old car, months before the new one ever shows up? Did you promise to have the original factory stereo back in the old car? I'd be awfully nervous that the dealer would try to take it out of my hide in the trade-in. This seems to be a general problem with ordering your car for delivery N months in the future, but it's something I'm contemplating doing. Maybe it's easier to try selling your old car privately?

My current car is a 1987 BMW 325(e) with some bad body work on the rear passenger-side quarter panel, a badly oxidized paint job, an uncharged AC, needs a new head gasket, and is about 50,000 miles past due on having the timing belt replaced.

I think that it's probably worth about $250 at best.

So, no. I'm not trading it in.

Yes, congratulations on upgrading to a Sweedish super car. Are you getting the Sedan or Wagon? Man, can you imagine a Super Station Wagon! Perhaps I'm too addicted to station wagons, but that just seems like a fun concept. Blowing away hondas off the light in a station wagon... mmmmm

I would have got a V70R but I was never hot on the idea that Ford bought Volvo. I hopefully avoided the Ford influence by buying the 2000 V70; what appears to be the finest of the last true Volvo-influenced machines.

I DID however see an old V70R (i *think*) on the street near me. Maybe it was a 740R? Regardless, it was HOT, right down to it's tricked out front grill. MMmm, sports wagon. I just LOVE the silly irony of driving a station wagon like a race car. There's a reason I worked so hard to get one with manual transmission! ... and the worlds most easily replacable double-din head unit.

Hah! Got a VIN and my ETA moved five days sooner.

Less than a month to go....

I've been reading up on the S60R, and it looks like a fantastic car, except for the occasionally reported tendency for the rear end to bounce when the car is going around a corner. This sounds like a bug in the suspension control software, but you never know. I'll be curious to hear your experiences when you actually take delivery.

Meanwhile, the Subaru WRX STi people are reporting detonation issues (i.e., early gas ignition due to engine heat/pressure) in the engine, regardless of gasoline octane. I'm seriously reconsidering my desire to replace my flakey BMW until all the candidate cars that I might buy to replace it get their bugs shaken out.

reporting detonation issues

Yeah, um, that's not good. Haven't we learned our lessons from the Ford Pinto?

Any of the 67 WRX owners on the BBS care to comment about this?

except for the occasionally reported tendency for the rear end to bounce when the car is going around a corner

Yeah, it looks like it's an issue with the sensitivity of the DSTC and hitting a manhole cover during a turn. (The DSTC is supposed to notice slippage of very small amounts -- 12 to 50 degrees, depending on who you ask -- so it's really intended to work that way, but it works against you in this instance.) There's another issue with the shift linkage cable, but it's really cosmetic only.

Hey, it's the first year of a new model. Oddness is to be expected, unfortunately. At least I got in on a model before Ford totally took over.

Any of the 67 WRX owners on the BBS care to comment about this?

I don't think anyone on here has an STi. That's their new ultra-powered model that just came out.

Yeah I know but I had an impression some were eyeing it appreciatively. I think a known potential for exploding, regardless of how rare or whether it's a founded notion, makes a car significantly less attractive.

I've been following the STI detonation issue on the message boards.. this thread in particular has some good info in it by some of the big name tuners. It's looking like something with the factory fuel enrichment mapping... or something... heh. It's particularly bad with the CA 91 Octane shite.

Anyhow... i got to sit in and inspect one yesterday at lunch (a buddy here at work's roomate picked it up yesterday). The tires and brakes are intimidating on their own... it's pretty bad ass. The painful part is that the guy who bought it doesn't even know how to drive stick... this is his first manual car. Oh the pain. Hopefully i'll get a test drive once he breaks it in.

another interesting thread on the topic here.

once he breaks it in

Literally. It'll be time to replace the clutch and replace the transmission's dog teeth by the time you see it. Assuming he hasn't crumpled the rear end by rolling back into someone.

Yeah I know but I had an impression some were eyeing it appreciatively.

I'll eye it appreciatively when I stumble across a bundle of 100 C notes and can't think of what else to do with the money. Oh, and when they deliver a wagon STi here (I actually saw a bug-eye STi wagon in Hong Kong, but right-hand drive, left my wallet at the hotel, et cetera....)

I think my 2000 V70 has that traction control slippage protection stuff. Maybe it's DSTC. Regardless, it is totally annoying and I turn it off immediately after starting the car every time I drive. That and the ABS brakes just cause the car to flip out when I least want it to. Like coming to a stop where one of my tires is on a wet patch of leaves, or trying to use the brakes while going down an icy hill (nearly got killed by that one).

> At least I got in on a model before Ford totally took over.

Now, I thought 2000 was the last original Volvo year. I was under the impression that Volvord started in 2001, with the ovbious body style change (which I still don't like even though my sister just got an '03 XC70).

I was always proud to have a 2000 V70 since it was supposedly the last true Volvo AND had worked out all the electrical issues of the 98's and 99's. Oh, and it's a manual transmission too. And I was lucky enough to find it used. Man I LOVE second gear tire squeal as I pass unsuspecting victims at red lights.

All the current models, including the S60R/V70R, were well under development before Ford took over. There doesn't seem to be any parts bin swapping yet, but it'll happen soon. The small Fords, Volvos, and Mazdas will all be built on the same chassis, for example. The Mazda (the Mazda 3) is already out, and the replacement for the Volvo S40 is next year, I think. I don't know what the Fords are that will be on that chassis. Maybe the Focus will move to it?

hitting a manhole cover during a turn

Grrr. I sometimes think the drainage engineers in Cambridge deliberately put manholes where the covers are most likely to wipe out cyclists trying to turn at speed -- the one at the junction of Riverside and Abbey Road, for instance.

Peter

I'm curious about how under development the current models WERE before Ford took over. I figured Ford had an impact on the interior design of the 2001+ models. My sister's '03 XC70 has a totally different (and MUCH more ergonomic and better laid out) control panel than my '00 V70. Infact, many of the control differences resemble my old Ford Escort wagon and seem less European. I thought that was Ford's doing.

Also, my '00 V70 has the "buttons behind the wheel" controls that I've noticed on older 740's and (I think) 240's. So, I thought that design was the original Volvo one (assuming they stuck with it even though it sucked).

Ahhh, got it.

Uggh, no empeg.

I gotta get it installed soon. I'd forgotten how much of a pain in the ass CDs are.

Congratulations!

That's if you believe the "chip" people's claims. I did a software-only upgrade to my 150hp 1.8T and it made more like 188 & 200 lb-ft. at the flywheel. Of course, it was intentionally one of the milder ones (peak boost of ~11.1 PSI).

P.S. That was in an Audi A4 quattro, so I had to find somebody with an AWD dyno to verify those numbers.

It's a V70R, right? Pics please.

Since I'm new to this board and don't know your (apparently elaborate) automotive history, what color? Saw you passed on premium package, but any options, dealer or otherwise?

Nah, it's an S60R. (That is, the sedan, not the wagon.) I've been too busy driving it to take pictures yet. But I'll get to it.

It's Titanium Gray (medium-to-dark metallic gray) with Nordkap interior (very dark blue with a metallic sheen).

I got the Touring package -- laminated glass, fancy-ass air filter system, and grocery bag holder in trunk -- which I got mostly for the glass (lesser road noise) and the air filter (it automatically switches to recirc when it detects noxious external odors, plus an additional filter) and the Climate package -- heated front seats and rain sensor.

That means the added-cost options I didn't get were 18" wheels, the special (orange) leather, the R-only paint (bright green), the auto transmission, moonroof, upgraded stereo, nav system, and OnCall Plus.

Nice. Have you been able to replicate any of the weird suspension behavior they talk about on the SwedeSpeed chat boards? I'd be nervous if my rear end started hopping around the road.

So, when you do get the empeg installed, are you planning on using the factory speakers and amp? I look forward to hearing whether you can make it all work together.

(Meanwhile, I've been looking more and more closely at the Acura TSX. If you buy it with the normal stereo, you can buy a $100 aftermarket adapter and the empeg can fit nicely to its aux input. However, if you get the nifty navigation system, you loose. Today, people seem to be kludging it with FM modulators.)

Yeah. It's not as bad as the reports make it sound, but it is weird. (Actually, I take that back. I've not yet gotten the balls to thrash my new car, but it exists to some extent at lower speeds, even in a straight line.) I've got an appointment on Thursday at the shop for them to upgrade the software that's supposed to fix that.

are you planning on using the factory speakers and amp?

That's what I'm hoping to do. I'm not 100% sure that the amp they refer to is external to the factory head unit, though. I might eventually see if I can create my own fascia to match the Volvo's dash a little better.

Have you driven the TSX? I test drove one and was terribly unimpressed. It's got a surprising lack of power for a car touted as a sport sedan, and the seats were the most uncomfortable I sat in amongst driving half a dozen or so sport sedans.

Have you driven the TSX? I test drove one and was terribly unimpressed.

I test drove an automatic version. That was certainly under-powered, although I imagine the manual is somewhat better. Of course, it's a Honda engine, which means in six months you'll have six supercharger kits to choose from. I actually liked the seats, and was quite impressed by the interior fit and finish. The navigation system was surprisingly cool as well.

Needless to say, it pains me to be considering giving up my Z3 in favor of a four door sedan, but I'm sick of having a car that doesn't "just work". If I got the TSX, I'd be saving a whole bunch of money that could be put toward a "toy" car at some point in the future (say, a used Honda S2000). Meanwhile, before I make that decision, I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures with the S60R. If they can sort out the suspension software and it's possible to replace the head unit, then I'd give it a serious look. Of course, there's always the Subaru WRX STi, but the ricer-boy styling bothers me. At least they finally have a ECU patch for the engine detonation issue.

I drove a manual TSX but not an auto. It was by far the least powerful of the Cadillac CTX, Mazda 6s, Audi A4 3.0, BMW 330i, Volvo S60R, Lexus IS300, and possibly even a Mini Cooper S. It was also the least fun to drive. And did I mention the uncomfortable seats? Have you driven the IS300? It's smaller, and was probably the next least powerful, though still much more powerful than the TSX, but it was a load of fun to drive. Its seats were also uncomfortable, but only in a butt/thigh way, not lumbar. They might flatten out, or maybe if you've got skinnier thighs than I do. It's also more likely to ``just work'' like the Acura would.

My local dealer actually told me up front that manual TSXs are hard to come by, though, so you might want to check on that. I think the S60Rs are already pretty much sold out, too, unless you can find one sitting at a dealership.

The IS300 is definitely on the short list. I've test driven it and liked it a lot, although it also felt under-powered. The rumor mill for future IS300's is indecisive. In other Lexus cars, they've moved to a 3.3L engine, so it's reasonably to assume something like that for a future IS300. There's also a new Acura TL coming out (spy photos recently appeared on Acura-TSX.com).

I've been trying to convince myself that my daily driver doesn't need to have serious zoom-zoom. It's not going well...

The 3.3L (as in RX330, for one example) is a V6 configuration; the IS uses the I6 from the (short-lived) GS & SC300 models. So the more likely scenario is that ToyMoCo will keep that block the same and instead add variable valve lift/duration to the variable valve timing (a la the Celica's screaming 1.8L I4). That should get you 10-15% more ponies.