Whilst on my way back home, this time driving my father-in-law’s ‘orrible 2012 Corolla (an ex-company car abomination), I stumbled upon a Volvo rarely seen when new, let alone some fifteen years later.
It was a murky day, hence the diluted view on the video:
I even set you up with a typical minor accident scene, Israeli police and EMS on the spot already.
This C70 was driven by a somewhat elderly lady, dare I say quite fitting its car? Maybe. As I’m heading towards the age of fifty myself, I need to start minding these comments.
I will not elaborate on the car itself, as JP wrote an excellent post on that. Just let me add that as expected, in Israel these were extremely expensive and therefore rare at the time, and I’m referring to this Coupé model- I haven’t seen a single Convertible, not back in the late 1990s / early 2000s when they were new, let alone now. This example than, seems to be one of very few survivors- and looks preserved as well.
I have a cousin who lives in Florida and is retired. She bought a C70 convertible new (at the time she was still working and had a company car for daily use so the Volvo was just for weekends etc.). She still has the C70 and really likes it. The size, ride, and general feel of the car appeals to her. Over her time as a driver she has had access to every thing from the original Mustang (her first car) to a VW Beetle convertible to a Corvette and a DeTomaso Mangusta (belonged to a boyfriend of questionable repute who fortunately is no longer in the picture).
On a side note, a good friend of mine married a woman who had a Volvo C30 which she really enjoyed. To their good fortune, after two years of marriage, they had a baby daughter. Good bye C30, hello XC60.
For a while during the late 80s early 90s some “non-BMW” manufacturers had such models on offer: the Honda Legend and Rover 800 coupes as well as the Lancia Kappa typify the breed. All offered long-distance touring capabilities for those who did not think every corner had to be attacked as if one was racing on the Nürburgring, and each was a sales failure. Shame really.
I had forgotten about these – I remember one had a cameo in the 1997 movie adaptation of “The Saint” starring Val Kilmer, obviously paying homage to the P1800 featured in Roger Moore’s TV show.
Yep, I remember that. His was a metallic orange? I was researching Craigslist to see how rare they are. Yep, pretty rare.
Strangely, maybe surprisingly, I have the occasional twitch to get one of these or may be a convertible, as daily car or even an emerging classic. Convertible is reportedly a bit wobbly, I am told.
Also, I quite shocked a work colleague some years ago who drove an 850 saloon, and didn’t believe it was front wheel drive. We had to get down on all fours in the car park to close the case.
Driving one won’t leave much to doubt though.