Volvo Dreams

True to legends, Vampires are forever about style and grand entrances.

In the old days of the Count (of Transylvania, who else?), his ride would be a wagon with six menacing horses and a dark, brooding, silent horseman.

(There’s also his lusty incubus, but since that would veer this post into adult territory, let’s not go there..)

The latest incarnation of the blood sucking ghoul courtesy of the popular Twilight series, however, drives a Volvo; silver colored to boot.

My, oh my.

Not just any Volvo, mind you.

It’s the S60R (R standing for rapid, Volvo-speak) in the book, the chic C30 and the XC60 in the movies on the same.

I did mention style, didn’t I?

Volvo was (is still) synonymous with safety and used to be shaped like bricks.

When we were looking for a car to replace our good old Proton Iswara, I fell in love with a second hand 940.

In silver. (A color that seems to match the marquee very well.)

The seats were excellent, the dashboard seems built to last, the brick shape silhouette aesthetically pleasing.

I’ve never driven or traveled in a Volvo before, despite having worked for someone who uses it as her official car.

What I do know is that “Cikgu Besar” (retired or otherwise) and “Orang Gomen” (kudos) seemed to have a preference for Volvo as opposed to the other continental makes.

I have a soft spot for another Swedish brand, the Saab, but finding one in Malaysia that caters for the less than moneyed is like looking for a fuel-efficient Range Rover.

The Saab of yesteryear was all about style and they look almost like nothing else on the road.

Likewise the Volvo.

So it seems a fair alternative.

I was dead-set to give the 940 a go, when I recalled the maintenance bill I once handled for the aforementioned employer.

They were mostly four digit figures, and this was a run-off-the mill repair work.

A friend’s remark (complete with a smirk) on the owner of a Honda Prelude which had a dent came back to my mind: “He had just enough to buy the car.”

Of course, it was just jealous talk as there we were riding the old BMW (Bas Mini Wilayah), but on hindsight, it does make sense.

Thus, I slink away from the silver dream that could well end up a nightmare.

Or not: something I would never know.

What I (well, my wife actually) did end up with was the Proton Gen2.

Now that was truly a nightmare I don’t wish to ever recur.

Volvo dreams.

Sweet.