customfab

fairly unimpressed, i don't think that it will compete well with the A3 on practicality at all. the boot in the thing is on par with a mini cooper no way am i fitting a bicycle in the back of that thing with only the front wheel off (i have some big bikes)

as for driving impressions it didn't feel as strong as my 3 but it was close. im not sure what the difference in HP measured at the wheel was but it couldn't have been off by much. the demo was completely base but felt similar to the A3 with sport suspension. an upside to some but i would rather have a softer car with the option of going firmer.

good room for a 3 door, interior looked nice and modern, unlike a current S40 i sat in that screamed old lady car. i am not a fan of the key placement at all. the key tags were swinging around like crazy during the test drive and i can only imagine what it would be like with the 2 other keys i keep on my keychain currently.

oh and the volvo brand manager didn't know what the difference between a crankshaft and a camshaft was. one would think that after the second peace of tech info that i corrected him on he would have stayed away from that topic but nooo he kept showing his stupidity. definitely not the level of car education that i am used to with my local audi dealer.

formerly dennisA4

So what bikes do you build and where?

I really want a Vanilla Bicycle but the waiting list is now up to 5 years!!! That's insane. But I do have a custom Rivendell Atlantis that I love. But the frame was bought "off the rack" so it's not really a full custom. Pics are here...

oh, and back to the topic... I'm surprised to hear the boot is that small. I had a MINI and I could only fit my road bike in with the wheel off if I pushed the front passenger seat all the way up and tilted the seatback forward. And that barely fit it.<ul><li><a href="http://d2creative.smugmug.com/gallery/1109730">My Rivendell Atlantis</a></li></ul>

customfab

he can only hang on to the hype for so long and his stuff isn't leaps and bounds better than the other well known custom builders. there are only so many things you can do to a steel bike and they have all been done before.

i build bikes here in bend of whatever variety suits me at the moment. there are about 6 people on the list that i would build a bike for if they wanted one. i have worked in the industry long enough to know that making a living as a frame builder is a horrible way to spend your money.

formerly dennisA4

They're just so gd beautiful. Like works of art. My brother was just as his shop this weekend on his portland vacation and talked to one of the guys. Must be nice to know you have enough work for at least the next 5 years!
I just love looking at all custom bikes.

absoluTT A3

<center><img src="http://www.autoviaggiando.com/archivio/2006/01/11-volvo-c30-concept/large%20di%20volvo%20c30%20concept%20-%2001.jpg"></center><p>
Really sad, isn't it? Looked to me like the C30 would be the 3-door answer for those who like the A3 but don't want 5 doors (in the USA). I've only seen them but not driven... now I'm really curious to get my own taste of it.

The rear of the C30 has echoes of the old P1800ES fast back, a look I loved as a kid. It was such a disappointment to later drive one and find it VERY heavy... I'm sure the C30 is a night-day comparison.

What the??? The Volvo website is strange. The main corporate website features trucks and construction equipment prominently. And you're like, OK--where's the car division? Then there's this tiny icon down on the far right (linking to volvocars.us). The message is "Volvo is many things and, btw, we're also a car company". Sheesh.

Then you dive into the C30 subsection of the Volvo auto website and you get the feeling they watched the Mini Cooper website just a bit too much. Huge flash presentation appears and you get overloaded by "hip music" along with images of groovy dudes and chicks. Talk about trying to do a huge makeover on a brand that is already well established as the conservative family car. LOL

1heartaudiworld

car was nice, A3 interior is much nicer.. but still nice. Kind of seemed like the saab 9-2x with all the materials on the seat etc.

We didn't think it really felt like 230hp but we are both also very spoiled in the hp department.

overall it was nice, if they have some good lease deals it has potential to sell, other then that its kind of a niche market.

customfab

better paint jobs imo and last time i heard his waiting list was a matter of months.

your rivendale looks nice, not the way i would have built it but whatever.

Gettysburg

You'll probably find a more direct link to Volvo cars off the Ford web-site

ABarthol

Volvo (trucks) and Volvo(cars) are now two different companies.