On Thanksgiving, my Town Car, winding down its last week or two before being cocooned in the garage, found itself parked next to my brother’s car, a 2011 Volvo C30 T5. I don’t know that two cars could be more different, but one thing they aren’t is bland! No silver Camry or beige Accord here.
Andy shocked me in January 2013 when he declared his intention of purchasing a C30. He had never expressed any interest in owning a Volvo, as they were just a bit too stodgy for his tastes. But after a whirlwind of research on the computer, he found the one he wanted in Wisconsin, and drove the old Dakota up there to trade in.
Andy’s “Super Bee” Dakota
His 2001 Dakota Sport 4×4, in Amber Fire, had been with him since August of ’01, when he got it at Sam Leman’s in Peoria, a very lightly-used one-owner car. It was his only source of transportation for nearly a dozen years, being customized into a “Super Bee” as a college graduation gift. But the miles were taking their toll, and it was getting rusty to boot.
My brother’s ‘cuda, as seen on the Cohort
You should know he is a huge Mopar fan, as his first car was a 1973 ‘cuda 340, and the Dakota replaced it after the “Bondocuda” (as my mother called it) proved a poor car for daily–and winter!–driving. I fully expected him to get a late-model Challenger eventually. But no, he only had eyes for a C30, and it had to be orange, same as his Dakota. Notice a pattern here?
So, in the last year, Andy bought his first non-Mopar and I bought my first non-Volvo. Strange days, indeed.
That Cuda looks lovely…how badly Bondo’d was it?
Very. So bad that a friend of my father’s, who is a body man and fixes all our cars’ bumps and bruises, would not restore it when my brother wanted to do a nut-and-bolt restoration in 2001. John said the body was too far gone, so he sold it and got the Dakota.
I looked over the C30 so many times that when I see one on the road I get that feeling in my spine that reminds me how wonderful I think it was…
I love the design – completely impractical cargo space and all. I remember how heavy it felt when I test drove it. I remember how cheap the dashboard looked compared to other vehicles. Yet when I see one I am enamored by that glass hatch and how it drove.
I came so close to signing but a discrepancy with some pricing caused me to pause a few days to make sure it was the right deal. What sealed it for me was a subsequent quote from the Volvo salesman who said “You either sh*t on the pot or get off.”
I got off. Don’t talk to your customers that way.
I bet he wishes he still had the ‘cud a. Bondo’d or no, it’d be worth some bucks these days.
I love orange cars, though my Challenger is the first I’ve owned. But I did like the C30, both in orange as well as the two-tone white and frost color they did when it first came out.
Oh yes! To this day, he wishes he would have kept it, even though it was a money pit. The value has come up so much on even the 1972-74 ‘cudas that that restoration that was financially impractical in 2001 would probably have been worth it. And his car was a real ‘cuda 340, not a plain Barracuda.
Orange is the new black. Our first post-nuptual car was a metallic orange VW Dasher over brown vinyl. I think VW called it ‘bronzit’ or something like that, but to us it will always be the flying pumpkin.
I’ve always thought the C30 was cool looking. A Volvo Mini Cooper if you will (though considerably larger than a Mini). Favorite features are probably the glass hatch and gap between the rear seatbacks, making them like individual buckets.
Interesting comparison though. I considered photographing all the cars at my cousins’ on Christmas, but it was just too cold.
So orange cars are making a comeback Ive had bad luck or maybe it was bad choices with that colour none of the 3 orange cars Ive owned were any good, One Morris E a rustbucket Valiant Charger and a 73 Holden Torana in that shade all either fell to pieces or just died so Id not choose it again.
They are. I’m seeing a lot of BMW X1s in Valencia Orange around SoCal. It’s a great color as is the one on the Volvo.
I share your bro’s orange affliction. I wish I shared having owned a 340 Cuda! Always thought that motor suited those cars better than a big block.
He bought a VolvoGremlin!
I don’t see that Carmine, the C30 was a modern interpretation of the 1971-73 1800ES–especially the glass hatch. Mom had this ’73 when I was a kid.
Now the Murano, THAT looks like a four-door Gremlin. And the CrossCabriolet was a luxury Gremlin convertible. Or maybe an Eagle convertible with its AWD?
I do, the profile is very Gremlin, the front from the shared common car and chopped back, the Gremlin had a glass hatch too, I know that they may have been inspired by the ES, but really, don’t tell me you don’t see Gremlin in the profile of this thing.
I’m not saying its a bad car, I would rather have the Town Car, but the profile of these things makes me think “Gremlin” not 1800ES, I can’t speak for the Murano, the nose is too pointy and it has too many doors for me to equate it with the Gremlin.
Sorry I just don’t see it. It really needs that triangular quarter window to say “Gremlin” to me; maybe a ’79 Spirit Limited instead? I had a black C30 as a loaner one day (a plain one, with the black plastic trim), and when I stopped by my sister’s house, she thought it looked like a Geo Metro.
What I didn’t like about them was the doors were very long for what was supposed to be a small, sporty hatch. If I have to have big doors I want a big car to go with them, like an Eldorado or Mark V.
BTW did you notice the GM dealer in the background with the ‘cuda? That first-gen Escalade and Bravada were brand new when I took that photo. The car was parked in front of my dad’s office and Horst-Zimmerman had been across the street since at least the ’50s. I got many, many GM brochures there between 1998 and 2007 or so, when they jettisoned all their GM franchises to concentrate on Honda.
I noticed it after you pointed it out, looks like it was an old-timey style main street dealer, a bunch of those have disappeared over the last 10 years.
Geo Metro? That’s way off, what gives me the Gremlin vibe is the way the rear tapers forward instead of a Kamm style rear. Spirit is more accurate though, because of the big rear window.
Hmmm, trying to see it, sort of do, but it’s a bit of a stretch.
You seem to forget the Volvo 480.
Oh, I didn’t forget, but the 1800ES came first and the U.S. never got the 480ES. I do have a Matchbox 480 though 🙂
Fair enough…the 480 was designed and built here, an early “yuppie-Volvo” so to say. It really stood out from the rest of the Volvos in those days. After all, it is a 1986 model, still Volvo’s brick era. (“Swedish tanks”)
The C30 has also caught Stephanie’s attention, but it’s a bit cozy in terms of size. It’s nice to see a distinctive car these days, one that is instantly recognizable.
The Dynaudio stereo system that was available in these cars was amazing. Likely the best system I’ve ever encountered in a car from the factory. Something like 900 watts output if I recall correctly.
My mother’s XC90 V8 has Dynaudio, it’s very nice. The Dolby ProLogic II system in my V50 is excellent too.
Volvo saw the C30 as a BMW 1-series and Audi A3 competitor, but it never really caught on. This new V40 model has more success. Meanwhile Mercedes has joined the party with its A-class (the current hatchback, not the old clown car) and CLA.
Well, I thought I was the only eccentric Lincoln Continental/Volvo C30 owner out there….though my Continentals are a ’66 and a ’78…….
I’ve had the C30 for two years and love it – you just don’t see many of them on the road – and with its discontinuation last year, that will likely continue. Have always been a V8 guy but the unique wail of that turbocharged 5 cylinder as it climbs past 4K is intoxicating – its tough to keep my foot out of it……
And as for the Gremlin-C30 resemblance, I really don’t see it either. But I know of one way they clearly differ – the doors – Gremlin doors (as most AMC products of the era) feel cheap and flimsy. The C30’s doors (as with all Volvos) can be classified as lethal weapons – thick, heavy and substantial. I’m very careful when I open them
in tight parking areas, as you can do some serious damage to the car next to you. On the other hand, it’s easy to see why Volvos get a 5 star side impact rating……
As I’ve said in other posts, your Town car is beautiful – hope you are an LCOC member – we’re a great group of Lincoln fans…….
In the “Ford-era” Volvo’s 5 cylinder 2.5 turbo engine was also in Ford’s hot hatch Focus models. This was the king of the Focus model range back in 2010, the 350 hp Ford Focus RS500. (Doing 0-62 mph in 5.6 sec.)
Yes, another one of Ford’s fine European offerings that we in the colonies never received…….
I haven’t done any research on it but you have to wonder where Ford got all their turbo knowledge for their EcoBoost engine range, if I was a betting man, I’d put my money that they plundered all they could from Volvo before it was sold to Geely…….
Lincolnman, all Euro automakers (Ford Europe and GM’s Opel/Vauxhall included) are hooked on turbocharging these days. A turbocharger on a diesel engine has been standard equipment for many decades, but pretty much all gasoline engines have them now too. Only the sporty and fast cars had them in the past (like all Renaults turbo for example) and, of course, Saab. Some older Volvo’s, like the 850 T-5R and R, with the 2.3 liter 5 cylinder turbo engine have made a name for themselves.
Like this vanilla yellow Volvo 850R wagon with black rims: cult status !
Thank you for the information – yes, I was aware of the popularity of turbos in Europe. What I was somewhat puzzled at was Ford’s fairly limited turbo experience here in the US – as you know, in the 80s they turbocharged their 2.3 “Lima” engine for use in T-Birds, Mustangs (SVO) and the US version of the Scorpio. But other than that, Ford US hasn’t dabbled much with Turbos, So their recent introduction of their Ecoboost line was somewhat surprising to me. You’re correct – they could have leveraged the turbo experience of their Europe division – but I just have this suspicion that they exploited Volvos vast turbo knowledge prior to selling it off. Maybe I’m being too cynical….
And yes, I’d love to have a 850R or a later S60R Wagon – yellow or blood red……..
Speaking of Ford, a colleague has a 2013 Ford Focus wagon (see picture) with a 1.0 liter
3 cylinder turbo gasoline engine. As you can see it isn’t exactly a full size car, but it sure isn’t a tiny and light tin box either. I hear no complaints about (lack of) power or its driving experience.
The biggest advantage of these turbo engines is plenty of torque at low revs. By the way, the mileage claims are ridiculous, just plain ridiculous. We’ll have to wait how these tiny turbo engines do in the long run.
During my brief car sales career at Dahl Ford in 2011, the new 2012 Focus appeared. I remember seeing pics of the Euro Focus wagon and thinking, “Why can’t we get that one?” A very nice looking wagon. IT could be pretty competitive with the Jetta wagon–similarly good-looking and versatile, but without VW’s tarnished dealer rep in the U.S.
It takes a certain type of car/truck to rock an orange paint job and your bro is right on it! Too bad the Cuda is such a basketcase…still id rather have a brief love affair with a too far gone Cuda than to never have one at all. Id say he chose wisely on that Volvo. That’s one of the coolest things they’ve put out in a LONG time. Looks like a blast to drive.