European Car Delivery -- Big Savings and a Great Vacation

Bob with his Rebel Blue S60. Note Swedish plates.

Bob Brunton was a Volvo enthusiast years ago, and owned a treasured 240. Then, after a run of three Acuras, he came back to Volvo. But this time, Bob used Volvo's European Delivery program and enjoyed it immensely. We met the other day at Mil's Diner in Milpitas to talk about his experience.

This program has been offered by some European manufacturers for years, and it goes like this. Working with a dealer employee, often a European delivery specialist, you configure the car exactly the way you want it from the factory. Then, you fly over to retrieve it, drive it around Europe for a while, and then ship it home.

There are some real advantages to this arrangement. Because Bob worked directly with the manufacturer, he wasn't restricted to ordering a particular package. He could choose features a la carte, meaning, for example, that if he didn't want a sunroof ($1,800) he could delete it separately, along with the power passenger seat. He was able to select the sport suspension but with the smaller engine. That's not available here. He had a crack at some custom paint colors, too, and a light-colored interior not offered stateside. And, the car arrived in the U.S. with a fine set of French Michelin tires.

"The dealer said he'd never supply such nice tires," said Bob with a grin.

All cars slated for the U.S. are built to North American specifications, but still may contain features not found in the normal American fleet, such as rear-seat air conditioning vents.

As a financial representative, Bob likes to save money where he can. He estimates that by bypassing the dealer, he chopped about $8,000 off the price he'd pay in the U.S. He also got the standard 5 percent discount, and ended up with the exact car he wanted.

European delivery could be a great way to take a cheap vacation. When Volvo sells you a European Delivery vehicle, they give you two round-trip airline tickets to Sweden and put you up for two days in a fine hotel, in this case the Radisson Blue. After you arrive, you get a guided tour of the Volvo Museum and a three-hour visit to the factory to watch Volvos being built before your eyes.

"They take you from beginning to end," said Bob. "You see designers, then assembly workers, doing their jobs. The "marriage point" was a special favorite. "You could see the body and chassis meet there--a dramatic moment," Bob said.

At the factory, Bob and his contingent of about a dozen fellow car buyers got to meet with real Volvo workers and executives over lunch.

"They asked us what we thought, and we told them," he said. "For example, we'd like to get the Diesel model over here, there's a terrific small wagon I'd like to see, too."

Volvo provides a nice packet of materials on travel in Sweden, so you can visit castles, historic spots, great restaurants, and other attractions. There's also a ferry available to take your car with you overnight to Germany. When you land, you can drive right off the boat and test your new acquisition on the famous speed-limit-free Autobahn. Volvo provides car insurance during your stay. When you're done driving around, simply drop the car at one of the selected ports, making sure it's clean and ready to go, and six weeks or so later, it'll arrive in the U.S. You get a call and come down to pick it up.

If you travel on British Airways, you have the option of making a stop in the U.K. at no extra charge, for expanded vacation possibilities.

Bob lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and had the car shipped there. But there are other choices.

"I know a couple who had the car dropped off on the East Coast and then drove it across the country," he relates.

There are a few downsides to European Delivery. Bob says he had some trouble convincing his bank to provide financing.

"They didn't want to finance a car that was sitting in Sweden," he told me. "But I had the VIN number, so it shouldn't have been a problem." He ended up using his Navy credit union. They are used to helping sailors bring home cars from outside the country and it was a routine deal.

The other issue is, you have to hang onto your old car until the new one arrives, so if you were planning to sell it to come up with a down payment, that could be a problem. Bob has a few extra cars in his small fleet, so it was OK.

If you're contemplating trying this exciting and money-saving process, you can contact your dealer, or look for options at the companies' websites. European delivery is offered by Volvo and also by Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It's a great way to get the exact car you want at a discount price, connect with its birthplace, and have a subsidized foreign vacation in the process.

Baby Volvo C30 is Not for Everyone--but Definitely for Someone

The C30 is Volvo's smallest car sold in the U.S. The compact hatchback resembles a little the iconic 1800es of the early 1970's, but it is a modern vehicle.

With more interest in compact hatchbacks like this today, the C30 is kind of a relic, but a charming one. It carries the Volvo look to younger buyers, and offers, along with its turbocharged 2.5 liter five-cylinder (!) engine, a manual six-speed. Perhaps only older folks of a certain bent want to shift their own gears, but this car definitely has a sporty feeling.

That odd-numbered inline engine puts out 227 horsepower in standard garb, but my test car was one of 250 numbered limited edition Polestar models (the tiny plaque on the dash said No. 249/250). Polestar is the official tuner that Volvo uses to give its cars higher performance and more youth appeal. Thanks to Polestar, my tester put out 250 horsepower, because they boosted the turbocharger pressure. They also re-optimized ignition- and fuel-mapping, and recalibrated the throttle response. It's all done with software and chips these days, but there is no doubt that I flew up those on-ramps on the way to work.

The EPA gives the car a combined fuel economy number of 24 mpg (21 City, 29 Highway). I averaged 27.0 mpg--perhaps thanks to some freeway miles. The Green scores are5 for Smog and 6 for Greenhouse Gas.

How can you tell it's a Polestar car? Well, it came in a bright Rebel Blue paint. It also wore the small, square Polestar logos and flaunted a set of black wheels--the latest trend with young folks, apparently. It helped that my tester was not the base car, which is known as the T5. Mine was an R-Design model, which includes 18-inch wheels, a body kit with front and rear spoilers, matte finish grille surround on the outside and a shiny exhaust finisher. Inside, there's a special leather upholstery design, beautiful blue "watch dial" instruments, a custom steering wheel, and aluminum pedals.That's how a car that base-prices at $26,395 comes to $35,545 (including shipping). But this is the ultimate C30.

The driving experience is mostly fun. I was surprised that the company that designed and promoted seatbelts had one that rubbed against the side of my neck--and had no height adjustment. But the feeling inside the cabin is certainly fine, if a bit sober. The Scandinavian design aspect of this car is something to treasure today, when cars like, for example, the Ford Focus or Hyundai Elantra, offer a bewildering symphony of curves and swoops in the cockpit. The contour of the door panels in the C30, uninterrupted by bling, along with neutral materials, promote calm.

The slim center console, a silver ribbon running from dash to floor, is unique in the industry, made possible by compact electronics. The textures in this car are a little more energetic, it being a special edition. The console metallic trim, for example, has op-art flows of lines around the knobs.

There are some definite quirks to this car that you will have to not mind dealing with. The audio system was easy enough to work, mostly, but when I wanted to see the artist and the song title for selections on the satellite radio, I had to pick one or the other--not both, thanks to the small display. And it took seven different button clicks to change the selection from one to the other.

Different but not troublesome is the way you hide your valuables in the open hatch area. The C30 offers a soft folding cover that uses two spring rods and four tie-downs to the hold it in place. Don't need it? It unhooks in seconds and takes up almost no room.

The car has a navigation system, but it is set using a remote control unit, which I found in the center console bin. The screen flips up on the top of the dash. There is also a button on the back of the steering column that gives you some control options. The software to operate the system is a little confusing, but I figured it out as I was driving around, so you probably can, too.

I've always liked the little kangaroo-style lower seat cushion pockets in Volvos, and this car has 'em too. Slipping into the C30 for a trip somewhere is a pleasure--except for those annoying seatbelts.

Volvos traditionally were boxy sedans and wagons that lasted forever, thanks to being designed for tough Scandinavian winters. During the period when Volvo was owned by Ford Motor Company, they began to be nice looking cars, too. The C30 is based on a compact Ford Focus platform, so since Ford has sold Volvo to a Chinese company, the C30 may not be long for the line. That means you should get one now, if you want one.

But who is the buyer for a car of this size and price? It's too expensive for most young people, and it is not the brand that MINI or Mitsubishi EVO enthusiasts go for. It's meant for that rare individual who can appreciate its many pluses and wants to drive something distinctive. And that blue and black combination really stands out!

Red Hot Volvo S60 T6

I just stepped out of a very potent Volvo sedan. Yes, you read that right. Volvo, long known as the purveyor of boxy, solid transportation--especially wagons--has gone much more performance-oriented over the last decade or so, and the S60 is the one to have.

The car came in Passion Red paint! I swam through the sea of silver Camrys and Accords on my commute and knew I had they something they couldn't even imagine. Under the tapered hood lived a turbocharged 3.0-liter six that put out an amazing 325 horsepower and 354 lb.-ft of torque. No wonder the car jumped ahead like a hungry racehorse when I touched the accelerator.

Inside, the look and feel is upscale, but cool and collected--that famous and desirable Danish modern. The matte black, padded surfaces, pressed and shaped into forms that pumped up the energy, only encouraged the feeling of speed and aggression. The silvery "hook" of trim that eventually culminates in the door handles is remarkably elaborate for a Volvo--but this isn't the same old company.

Last year, I spent time with this car's ancestor. a beautiful 1966 red Volvo 122S appropriately named Old Red. That car was dated-looking in its time but was a beautiful rendition of the solid, sturdy, reliable Volvo of yore--before the era of the box. What a treat driving it was. But motoring about in this new car was actually exciting.

Despite the power, fuel economy is rated at 18 City, 26 Highway (average 21). I got 18.6 mpg--not much above the City rating, despite driving mostly on the highway. Still--a lot for a vigorous car.

My car came to $46,875 with numerous options, but S60s start at $32,175, including shipping.

With new Chinese ownership, it looks OK for Volvo in the short term. There is a lot of upheaval in the car business now, and Volvo's Swedish competitor--Saab--has now gone bankrupt. Watch for updates and drive safely. (Hey, wasn't Volvo all about safety too? They pioneered the seatbelt, for example.)

Saab - RIP

Saab has filed for bankruptcy, so it looks like it won't survive much longer.

A lot has been going on with the company since GM sold it off in its own bankruptcy proceedings in 2009. There had been been hope of a Chinese white knight to somehow take on the daunting challenge of restoring profitability to the Swedish automaker, but it looks like time and interest has run out. That solution has worked, for the time being, for the other Swedish brand, Volvo.

It's sad, and it's not the first brand I've known all my life that has gone. I've seen all of America's "Big 3" shed brands -- Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Mercury are now defunct, and Saturn, the newest GM brand, lasted only 20 years.

This kind of change happened in the 1950's, which saw many independents, such as Nash, Hudson, Packard and Kaiser, fade into history. Studebaker, which predated all the car companies in being a wagon manufacturer in the 19th century, held on until 1966.

What's happening today shows broad changes in the highly competitive auto industry and although it's too bad, it's also a necessity for the overall car business to thrive. Growth is definitely happening in the Korean companies, Hyundai and Kia, so although there are now fewer brands from the major US companies, there are still lots of choices.

Saab made a lot of interesting cars -- many are still out there in traffic -- and, when, as it looks nearly inevitable, it passes into history, it will not be soon forgotten. That's the latest 9-5 in the photo.

I've never owned a Saab, but I've driven some, including a bright green convertible. I do have a Plymouth and a Nash. Maybe it's time to add a Saab to my collection.

Saab Bankruptcy - Is this the End?

My friend Fred at work loved his Saab. He says he liked the "Quirkiness" factor. You have to admit that Saab has not been mainstream, although after two decades of ownership by General Motors most of its "Saabness" was filtered out. And, sadly, GM never managed to make the brand profitable.

Saab was shed by GM in its own bankruptcy proceedings two years ago and it looked like the end then. But Spyker, a small Danish specialty sportcar manufacturer, bought the brand. Almost immediately, they saw what they were facing and started looking for help. After selling their original sportcar business and renaming themselves Saab, they went looking for money from Chinese manufacturers, much in the way that the other Swedish brand, Volvo, was saved through a sale to Geely by Ford.

In any case, sales volumes have been slim, consumer confidence is surely low, and what's going to happen to Saab is anyone's guess.

I've driven a few Saabs over the years and they were fun, especially the turbo convertibles. My experience is not with the older, "original" cars however, so we'll have to trust Fred on that one.

Read more about Saab's history here. The latest information on the new models is better found at the manufacturer's website. I've linked to the U.S. models, but Saabs are available worldwide--at least for now.