esrosedotblog

We used to be committed Saab owners but GM ruined that. They bought them out and Saab sold out to them. And the dealer arrangement. Piss poor. A bunch of Chevy salesmen who didn't understand the Saab at all.

So we were off to Volvo. Hard to swallow as long time Volvo sneerers we took the pill and got over it.

A beautiful "station wagon" later and now a 2103 convertible, the last of the hard tops, has turned us into excited fans. Nothing like converts for enthusiasm and commitment!

This video review is fun. It is for the new 2015 crossover, a new idea for Volvo.

Driven | 2015 Volvo V60 T5 Drive-E

If we were looking for a dog car again, this might just be it.

I have finally surrendered to "tear drop" shapes and sloping back windows. I will squint. But the video shows that the Volvo has taken over a whole category and is a proud companion for the other models which we are now committed to.

In any market, a brand committed buyer is a valuable commodity and we have become brand buyers.

My first job was with a brand, Ocean Spray Cranberries, and the new management at the time, of which I was a part, had brand loyalty as gospel.

When I left there and started working for a chain store which had its own private labels (I was an engineer working on our own food operations) I converted. An apostate. A denier of a truth which still holds today. Brands do matter. There is more care, and yes, your money, spent on maintaining the integrity of that brand and the money is often, if not always, spent in the right place.

Volvo is pricey of course. We are lucky enough to be able to afford the difference but when it stacks up with the Audis, the BMers and the rest, it is still a good deal. And it no longer looks like a box on wheels. They have spent their branding money where it all counts and it seems this new one is no exception.

It occurs to me, after the fact of writing this, that to be honest, we not only became heretics we went to Chrysler, a Jeep and then a Sebring convertible, in the interim between Scandinavian cars. It was fun. It was useful. We loved both cars. But the yearning for the imports was still there and could not be stamped out. We were back with the Volvo in a wink as soon as we moved to the condo and could only have one vehicle. Besides, Chrysler went into the shitter too what with its being bought and thrown about hither and yon finally fully owned by Fiat! Not bad, Italians, but not enough.

Labels: Volvo