[s-cars] High performance Volvos?

[Brett Dikeman]

The S80 is used by Boston Coach, one of the larger limo services in 
the Northeast(I've seen them here in NY now.)  They pioneered the 
industry in a way by going to a fleet made up almost entirely of 
850GLT wagons(yes, the turbo models.)  Each was black, had a small 
gold "Boston Coach" logo behind the front wheels, sports a PDA with a 
wireless network, and even the nifty looking factory spoiler.  I 
mean, hey, how many limo services do -you- know that use turbocharged 
wagons with spoilers? :-)    It really was ingenious.  Very safe, 
very fuel efficient, and they set world records for loading/unloading 
luggage..not to mention...cell phone goes off in your briefcase in 
the back?  No prob, reach back and grab it.  Can't do that in a town 
car.  The wagon also perfectly filled the "upscale family wants to 
get carted to Logan for vacation" market.  Hell, the family probably 
has a 850GLT sitting in the garage...and what better to throw all 
their luggage into?  Either that or a big van.  The Volvo is worlds 
nicer.

They seemed immensely popular; I used to work in an area of boston 
that was on the direct route to logan airport.  Towncars still 
outnumbered the Volvos, but they were present in impressive 
quantities.

I took a ride in the  S80's they started buying less than a year ago. 
I'd say it was a nice ride, back seat seemed very spacious, leather 
was quite good.  Felt nicer than our 960 wagon, which makes sense; 
the wagon's suspension is designed more for hauling, not passenger 
duties, and the 960 is also RWD, not FWD.

The driver was very nice, but a little weird; I politely suggested 
that the reason why the windows were all fogged up might be that he 
had the recirc button turned on; he said no, it was because he just 
had the car washed and it was cold outside(about 4am in the morning; 
very early flight out of logan.)  I said that didn't make any sense, 
and asked him again a little more firmly.  Lo and behold, the 
customer actually -was- right. "Hey, wow, you were right!"(the 
windows "magically" cleared up about a minute later :-)

I asked a few questions about the PDA-based system.  Pretty nifty. 
Basically the capabilities of a 2-way text paging/messaging system, a 
POS terminal(credit card processing on the spot) and more.  He said 
that except for occasional hiccups, mostly when coming back into 
range of the system, the system was fantastic, and that his customers 
really appreciated the immediate CC processing, among other things.

In terms of technology, I must say things like the radiator are 
ingenious.  Mark up a few points on the marketing front too.  Not 
only can the yuppies feel safe, they can feel good about themselves 
because after all, everywhere they drive, they are -cleaning- the 
air!(although, I must admit, I could care less; if it really does 
help the environment, hey, who can argue with that, eh?)

In general, I'd recommend both Boston Coach and the S80.  BC was the 
nicest of the bunch to make a reservation with("Yes sir, no sir, no 
problem sir, thank you sir", etc, vs. "Ya wanna get ta Logan when?"), 
although they were expensive compared to the cabs(of course.  Hmm, 
smelly Crown Vic, or nice S80?  Tough choice :-)


Brett

At 2:40 PM -0600 9/21/00, Brad Wilson wrote:
>Ti Kan wrote:
>
>>  Well, a few issues ago Car & Driver did a $40K sedans comparo, where
>>  the Audi A6 2.7T finished first and BMW 528i second.
>
>I saw that, long enough to see the Audi beating the BMW in C&D (the would
>must've stood still that day <grin>). I didn't notice the placement of the
>Volvo. I haven't driven one, so I can't attest to the handling, but I do
>know the A6 2.7t is damn good. Just a little stiffer, and wheels a little
>bigger... :)
>
>Best regards,
>Brad
>
>2000 A6 2.7 biturbo quattro
>http://www.quality.nu/bradw/audi/
>
>
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Brett Dikeman				Systems Engineer
CFN(formerly iClick, Inc)			914-872-8043
120 Bloomingdale Rd.			914-872-8100(fax)
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