[s-cars] Off topic - New Volvo S60 ?

[Taka Mizutani]

John-
I'm with you, if they offered the 2.0T with a higher hp output, like the
TT-S, with 265hp or thereabouts, I don't see the need for the V6 at all. I
think the 3.2 filled a nice sweet spot in the lineup though, especially in
the B7 chassis- the 4 is a little too weak and the 255hp 6 was just about
right without getting the big thirsty V8.

Now in the B8 with the 3.0 supercharged, I think the S4 is definitely the
way to go, but I'd be plenty happy with a chipped 2.0T, as long as the
current turbo can handle the output- or do they need a larger turbo and have
a kit to the cost of $5k or so?

The V70R in a manual is a much better car than my slushbox example, but
unless you can find someone to program the Haldex controller, it won't be
very good. Now if you can get a Haldex reprogram to run the car at a nominal
50/50 or somewhere around there, then it would be nice. I wonder if the
system could withstand constant use, though. I'd also stay away from Volvo
AWD because of the angle gear issue- that's a $2k+ repair when it goes (and
it's not an "if" but rather a "when").

I'd like to drive the BMW and Benz systems in the snow but no one around
here will let you test drive cars in the snow.

My recommendation would be to NOT buy an S4 4.2 with the rear mounted timing
chain- the chain guides fail and it's a very, very expensive repair- I've
seen it several times, all on cars with significantly less than 100k- an
allroad 4.2 with around 80k and an S4 with around 70k. $8k repair bill
later, you're back on the road- you have to remove the drivetrain to remove
the V8 and then split the trans from the engine to fix the car.

I'm leaning toward replacing the Volvo with either a diesel ML/X5/Touraeg/Q7
or a Cayenne S. If you know anyone who is interested in buying a high mile
(94k) but clean, accident-free '01 M Coupe with the S54 engine, let me know-
I think I'll be selling the car in the spring (extremely high insurance
costs between the Volvo, BMW and the Corvette, with the Corvette being the
cheapest by far).

Taka