System i Addict

So my Volvo S60R is in the shop getting a computer looked at. No big deal, just one of those things. It’s the computer that takes care of the Active Suspension. In my S60R I have three settings for my ride type, COMFORT, STIFF, and RACING or Advanced. I can’t recall the actual names but they go from soft to tight with little to no body roll. Oh well the computer is broken so Volvo is fixing it under warranty.

They gave me a 2008 Volvo C30 to drive. I actually asked for it because I like to drive something different when I can. They always try to put you in a model either the same as the one you own or higher, but I wanted to see what the C30 was all about.

From the outside the C30 looks like a Volvo, and has the very distinctive Volvo lines. It’s nose is Volvo, and it has the Volvo hips on it that make it look very Volvo. I like the Volvo body style so the outside is a winner for me. It looks very exciting and very Volvo. The front bumper is very sporty looking and has an aggressive look to it. The rear is a bit odd but it works as a hatch back. I would have liked to have more room to slide in wider objects but over all it’s good.

The rims on this I think are 17″ and are really nice looking as well. The tires are decent with just the right amount of rubber so that you don’t ding you rims on every pot hole in town.

I lifted the hood, or bonnet for you brits, and the 5 cylinder engine with a the turbo looks very well placed. There is room around in there for some bit of performance kit and I know when Volvo was making this they were hoping to capture a bit of the tuner market.

The transmission is a auto with the auto-shift 5 speed and like all Volvo’s the shifting is slow. I will talk about that in a bit.

Once you get inside you start to wonder if Volvo built this or Ford. My S60R is well built and feels tight inside. The interior of my S60 is very well done, but the C30 is plastic, and way to much of it. Everything is plastic and I would expect this in a Ford Focus, but not a C30. Volvo is putting this up against VW’s and BMWs not the Focus, so why did they go cheap on the inside, the one place you will spend the majority of your time. I would rather the seat been in with the engine because that area looked nicer and better built. Oh well.

The seats are comfortable, but they are not Volvo seats. Volvo seats in other Volvo’s are really comfortable. Really huggy and make you want to drive more. The C30 seats are boring and kind of plain. They don’t hug you and they don’t make you want to stay in the car longer, they make you want to find a parking space as fast as you can or return home.

The instruments are also very Volvo and easy to read. I like the fact that Volvo made the gauges right and they work. I like that. They are very easy to read and have all of the bits you expect  from a Volvo in the gauges.

The radio is a nice unit. Volvo has done the thin center console thing they have been doing to all the new Volvo’s so it looks high tech and new age. I like that. The radio sounds great and is very easy to operate, there is even a place to plug in an MP3 player, CD player, or 8-track player, your choice . The only down side is you need someone to operate the player since the plug for it is under the drivers right arm in the center console.

The A/C is right below the radio right where any Volvo owner would expect to find it and it works just like every other Volvo on the market. The only issue is that because the entire interior is made by lego plastics it sounds like hell. No it really does, while It is very cold, I have to wonder what they could not have made it a little less noisy.  If you have it off and have the radio at a reasonable level listening to Ira Glass on NPR and you turn on the A/C you have to crank up the radio to hear it. I like being cold but I also like to be able to listen and think while it’s on. I could not wait for the car to cool so that I could turn it down.

The engine, the engine….where to start. I love the engine. It’s just the right size for the car. I love the power an I love it that it’s turbo. There is a bit of lag but it’s not in the way of going. I don’t like the auto-trans, and like all Volvos with auto-trans when you put it over and decide you want to be a little sporty and shift when you like you get a hammer to the head becasue the auto shifting on the Volvos is just poor and I think Volvo knows the shifting is bad but in the past 6 years has done nothing to make it faster. There is an unreasonable amount of time from when you request the shift to when it actually does. This is the one place and the one point where I would dump Volvo on it’s head. I have had auto-shift trans before and they are resonable with the shifting. Porsche seems to do them pretty fast, Audi is quick, other lesser car companies I expect it from, but Volvo needs to re-engineer this auto-gear shifting problem. It’s just pathetic, and I am sure there is an engineer in Sweden who would love to explain why and I don’t care, you all need to fix it and fix it now.

The ride quality is not bad. I like a car that is a little stiff and lets you feel the road, I just don’t want to hear the road. I am ashamed to say, but I owned a Kia Spectra at one time, and it was a noisy road car. The Volvo C30 is not that bad but it’s noticeable and that is bad. Volvos are comfortable and supposed to be quiet so that you and the family can talk and be happy, well in the C30 that is not going to happen and with the A/C on it gets worse.

Overall I like the C30, I like the performance and I like the ride and feel of the car. I don’t like the noise levels from the A/C and the road. I could also use a little more comfort and a little more Volvo in my Volvo. I think they missed the mark and need to try harder and make it soon. Maybe the 2009 is going to be better and maybe they know all of this and are addressing it now. For the price I think you would be better moving up to a Volvo S40 or and Audi A3. The Volvo is pretty to look at but falls short when it comes to comfort.

This is what I think Volvo wanted when they created this car. For it to be a platform for the Tuners. EVOLVE has taken it seriously and made this. I love it and wished I was 18 all over again. I would get one in  a heart beat and tune it to no end.

I have been known to like cars. I like nice well done cars. I currently own a Volvo which I adore. Now before you chalk me up as some Euro car nut that is to good for an American car lets get this straight. While I like my very affordable Volvo, which is also very safe, Volvo is owned by Ford which I really have never seen how they stay in business. But I drive my lovely Volvo and it’s a trooper of a car.

GM is having a rough go at it, and while I know why they have missed the boat and over time will eventually fail. Why David, you ask, is GM failing? I will tell you. GM has made mistakes, big nasty ugly mistakes like keeping Buick around and Pontiac for that matter. I am going to catch hell for that but in the end there is nothing you can say to change my mind. GM should have shut down Olds, Pontiac and Buick all at the same time. They kill any profit that Gm would have made and I don’t care what the numbers look like, they make your car company look old, which is something the System i is fighting too so I know how that battles goes. They are old, tired looking cars that no one wants….except old people who have been buying them for years and can’t put themselves to looking at one of those “Jap” Honda’s….I hear it everyday and it kills me. So be it.

Next is Chevy. The only thing they have going for it is the truck line and the Corvette. Everything else is crap. I mean it and I am not joking, it’s all crap and looks like it was all built out of cardboard and old  beer cans. The engineering in them is old and tired and you would expect to see it on a kids power wheels but not in a car I just paid $20,000 for.

Deep down inside we all know Chevy has it in them, We all know Ford does too, they show it over and over again at times, but they never put it all in the same car. Ford poured theirs heart and soul into the Mustang and it looks great but still have a really cheap feeling interior and the solid rear axle is ridiculous. You saved the customer $3000 so that they could have the worst ride ever in the newest Mustang ever. How sad.

Let’s see, I am going to build a great sports car with heritage and a loving fanatical customer base, and short sheet the customers buy dropping 90 year old technology in the form of a solid sprung axle? What were you thinking Ford? You have Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, and others with independent rear end technology and you opt to go the stupid route. Not even Chevy is that stupid they actually did the rear end of the Corvette proper!

Now onto Toyota. While I think they produce some of the ugliest cars coming out of Japan you have to give them a gold star for the quality. Those Toyota’s will freaking run forever, and they are on the bleeding edge of where everyone wants to go with fuel economy. While the Prius is just plain hideous to look at, it’s smart and other car companies need to look at it and say, that is smart but we can do it better! Because you can. 50MPG is not a new thing. I had a 1993 Honda Civic VX that got over 50MPG and it hauled arse. There was nothing wimpy about it, but some 15 years later we are all giddy over 30MPG? What happened….we all went backwards a bit.

Take a look at what BMW is doing. They are building great cars and giving them hot engines that also sip gas, Audi and Volvo are doing it too. They have been and everyone is ignoring them? We expect it out of Japan, we expect the gas usage to be lite out of a Honda or a Toyota and with a German or Swedish car we want some performance too.  Japan should call Germany and see what  they can work out. I think at one time they did and made a company called Mazda which everyone seems content to ignore too, they are just one of the most loved racing car companies on the face of the earth yet they get no air time with GM and Toyota hogging all the free news clips and other media.

I am kind of happy in a way to see GM and Ford hurting. I thought a few years back it would teach them a leasson and make them rethink autos and how they did things and Ford seemed to wake up and take some action but GM kept on doing the same old thing.

GM has a company in Australia that makes hot cars, and yet we are subjected to “OK” Chevy’s here in the states. Why is that? Why can’t GM bring some of  the cars from the land down under to the US and sell them as Chevy’s?  Holden is the name of the company and you can find them here. Who out there would not want one of these? Holden Commodore SS?

I am done. I think GM needs to re-tool and make some damn good cars and stop playing like they just need to edge out Ford and Dodge. GM you need to edge out BMW, Audi and Volvo….the only way you are going to do that is stop the line and re-tool how you do things. You need to know your customers and they are not red-necked NASCAR fans, they are Americans who want a good car, that looks classy and does not have a bench seat in a sedan? Nice tight seats that hold you and an engine that moves you with a suspension that is not made of pound cake.

Just once start with the Corvette and work out from there…….

So I have pontificated as to who The STIG might be and my guess like many Top Gear nuts think it’s Ben Collins. We in an effort to throw off all us crazies the Top Gear staff thew us a curve ball….or did they?

Stig vs. F1 on Top Gear

The always quiet chisel faced British F1 driver announced today that he is retiring.  Link to F1.com

“With his home race just days away, Red Bull’s David Coulthard has announced he is to retire from competitive Formula One racing at the end of the 2008 season. Coulthard, who started his F1 career back in 1994, will continue to work for the team in a new testing and development role.”

Good luck David, You were always great fun to watch race!

As a kid I wanted to be an F1 race car driver. I saw a few F1 races as a kid and was smitten with the idea of driving fast, my parents had other ideas and concluded “I would get killed doing that”. Ah to die doing the thing you love. What a great way to go! I know, i know, I don’t want to die but you only get one life here you might as well have fun the first time, cause there isn’t a second time….

With that said. I am a TOP GEAR fan and they just posted a link to the new VW Scirocco GT24 for racing this weekend at the Nurburgring.

“Called the Scirocco GT24, it’s a fully-working concept powered by - yes, you guessed it - VW’s two-litre TFSI engine.

Bumped up to 296bhp, it sounds remarkably close to the engine in the Audi TT Clubsport, but instead of feeding all four wheels, all that power goes to the front wheels through a six-speed DSG box.”

I would like one, yes please!

I just wanted to post some links for all the Audi Lookers. Looks like Audi is going to Join Porsche, Ferarri and BMW in the racing ring and with the R8 looking like a smash hit production car, the racing version is even hotter. I hope to see them this summer at Road Atlanta. LINK TO STORY ON TOPGEAR

Link to www.cr-8.com 

Here is the best part to the post:

“We have confirmed with inside sources that the B8 S4 will debut with a brand new 3.0-liter TFSI bi-turbo producing 330-hp. With this powerplant Audi can nearly match the B7’s 340-hp output while providing even better performance figures. Manufacturer published (conservative) 0-60mph drops from 5.4 seconds to very low 5’s, while the accompanying combined fuel economy rises from 17 mpg to over 20 mpg.”

I know what I like and David likes anything from Audi with over 300HP. This should end up being the most fun S4 ever produced. I like the V8 they put in them now, but the idea that a V6 can kick like that is amazing.

Link to AudiWorld.com Story and Pics

So I post from time to time a bit I like about Audi and such. Most of it comes from AudiWorld.com. I used to be an Audi owner and hoe that some day real soon I will be again. I had a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro that I loved. It was a super car. I would like to pick up a used Audi S4, 2002 or 2004. Not the 2003 and some of you know why. I like the idea of twin turbos and a V6. That just sounds awesome. I do like the V8 Audi makes as well. Not that I want to go fast all the time but the idea of being able to drop the clutch and make things happen is very exciting to me.

With all of that said I get anywhere from 50 - 100 hits a day on my Audi posts (HERE & HERE). I get more attention from my Audi post some days than my tech posts. Maybe you all are trying to tell me something. I just find the numbers interesting.

Thanks to all the Audi fans for coming. I love having you and hope you all go get an Audi because of sites like this. I was also looking at a 2004 Audi A8 the other day on eBay.com. It was just plain old cool!

Update: So this is what people are finding:

http://www.kvasir.no/nettsok/searchResult.html?offset=10&searchExpr=new%20audi%20a4%20%20b8%20avant&searchRegion=world&x=102&y=13

I think that is Russian? Anyone? I am also beating out Audiworld and another site as the top link. How cool is that?

No it’s not German Steak Sauce. It’s what we Audi fans have all been waiting for. A sporty afforadable little Audi that is accessable to everyone.

Link to AudiWorld.com Audi A1      More Photos Here

I would take a 1994 Audi Quattro Hatch in a heartbeat….here is a link to some folks who still run a nice Rally Audi (FRENCH)

Just for you Todd

AudiWorld News bring us a sneak peak at the new 2009 Audi A4 line up. I am not sure if I like the new body. It’s to BMW looking?

“Sources at Audi have confirmed to AudiWorld that the next generation Audi A4 will make its worldwide debut in the fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Completely redesigned both inside and out, the B8 A4 will in many ways be similar to the recently introduced B8 A5 and S5 coupés.

With the new A4 just a little over four months away we wanted to give readers a good idea of what to expect inside and out. Matt Daniels has also prepared three exclusive renders of the 2009 A4 (sedan, Avant and S4) which represent our best guess at what the final product will look like. “

You have to love Audi, if not for Quattro then for them creating a Diesel Race car and not only doing well, but undefeated in over 10 races with it. That is what is called amazing, and that same technology will soon end up in the Audi you drive on the street. We won’t know what to do with a 500HP Diesel Audi S4…..oh but I know what to do with it.

So it’s one thing to show up one season and not lose a race. Audi did that last year in 2006 and in most cases placed 1st and 2nd.

The 2007 Season is into race two and so far the Audi Diesel R10 is just dominating the field. I Tivo’ed the race and watched it. Even with a penalty that would have thrown off any NASCAR driver the Audi team came back and placed 1st & 2nd, 23 seconds in front of the 3rd place Porsche.

Acura was supposed to be the big winners this season but the Audi’s again are pointing out they have what it takes to win and win big. If you are driving an Acura you can pack it up. It’s going to be a long season of 4th& 5th for you guys. Porsche is not doing so bad, but they still are playing catch up.

To watch the R10 just pull away in a corner and almost makes it look unfair, but I read somewhere that IMSA did something to the Audi’s to give the others cars a fair chance. All-in-all it was a good race and the Audi’s won with a pretty good lead I don’t think they won like they did last year where they were laps in front of the other cars. I still love the Porsche’s in GT2. They just look awesome. I still have my eyes on a Porsche 930C….someday I will have my precious!

Go Audi!

Audi is starting to talk about the new Audi A5 & S5. It’s pretty nice looking and I want to get it on here and get you opinion.

I think they had a pretty nice line up before. The S5 is nice, but in the end I don’t think it’s going to be as wonderfull as they think.

I still love Audi but I don’t get the 2 door moves. They have never been a 2 door car company. They have the TT and it’s perfect.

I am thinking out loud here. Which is a better platform. Keep in mind I am around 35 and have to come into the office everyday.

Audi S4 or Subaru Impreza WRX STi?

I think for the older side of me the S4 is a better option. Just a more refined car. But the little H 4 engine and tightness of the Impreza is doing something for me. I do not like that Blue the Impreza comes in, but Black is always a good color.

Your Comments?

Link to Story on AudiWrold.com

Some people get a giddy when their sports team wins or when thier favorite NASCAR team or diver wins, the when a company like Audi puts up a race car like the R10 and then wins every race that season and in most cases 1-2 podium finishes then you have the right to go crazy and realize that they (Audi) are making some of the finest cars in the world and everything that is on the track today will end up in your Audi some time soon.

Audi not only won every race, they started the season with an entirely new car. It was not some upgrade from last year they built one from the ground up with a TDI engine in it. Which I think helped them in the fuel department. They changed racing some 30 years ago with Quattro and again this year by making diesel their fuel of choice.

Keep in mind that the field included Porsche, Mazda, and Lola. By no means light weights when it comes to racing. Dyson Racing (here too)has been around as long as the sport has and they used to be hard to beat. Porsche and Lola pretty much owned the sport for a long while. Audi showed up and has just dominated for a good many seasons with cars that typically finish in the top 3 in every race. There are no bad tracks and they have had some bad luck but the pull through and win!

Congrates to the Audi Racing Team. Good luck next season

Now I have to keep watching the Speed World Challenge to see if the S4s sweep and pull off the upset.

Links to StaSis Racing:

Chip Herr

Freddy Baker - Nothing to see there.

Jeff Courtney - Jeff’s Company

Well Audi pulled all the stops out on this one. They have another sports car to deploy to the world. The new Audi R8 is a bit sharp at times to me, and contrast the TT but I like it. I think they have hit a home run but does anyone want a sprts car from Audi…I think we look to them for great racing and 4 doors, but I would take one if you gave it to me.

I have watched the entire series and they take a stock Audi A4, if there is such a thing, and upgrade it with help from APR and Stasis. It turns out to be one killer A4. It’s fun to watch and it makes me want to tune one myself and do a little BMW and MB killing!

Oh it’s going to get Audi Heavy here.

The Petit Le Mans is held @ Road Atlanta just north of the city up Highway 85. Once of the finest road courses in the US today. Audi has always dominated that track and with a Deisel they beat everyone this year again. I don’t know what that means for the production cars, but I think some TDI bases Audis are on the way.
Way to go guys! I have to get out there again for a few more races. It was much easier to go when I live a few miles from the track…now in Colorado that is going to be a nice road trip to see a race, but I think it would be worth it.

If you know me then you know I am a nut for Racing and Love anything AUDI! You can’t beat and Audi and you can’t beat Quattro either. I have owned one Audi A4 and I still dream in color about that car. Kelly can give you sob story but I am about 14-18 months from a new/used S4. New to Me, used to someone else.

I plan to tune it a bit using APRs stuff so that I can go as fast as I want when I want and not have to turn off the AC (like I do now in the KIA) in order to get the car going from a dead stop. You don’t know the pain of that process. So a nice Audi S4 with 400HP would be just what the doctor ordered and that I what I am going to get, you can always use a little more COW BELL too but that’s a whole’nother post. MORE COWBELL DAMIT!