Safety, Speed and Style: Ten Reasons to Love Volvos

Posted 4/22/15

Do love your Volvo as much as your Cincinnati Volvo mechanic? Let’s count the ways. The folks at Top Gear listed their top 10 reasons why Volvos are great. Let’s break a few down. If you own a Volvo, you probably even have your own reasons to add.

Safety First: Volvo and their Historic 3-Point Seat Belts

The Volvo name has long been associated with safety. In 1959 Volvos became the first cars to offer the 3-point safety belt—an innovation that has now become a standard safety feature on U.S. vehicles.  And not only did they introduce this safety feature, they then released the patent to the public after they had purchased it because they realized how many lives the 3-point safety belt would save. They felt the safety issue was more important than profiting from it commercially. That practically deserves its own award. And Volvos continue to up their safety rating. As Car Throttle jokes, if you hit a tank with your Volvo, while you might need an auto garage that specializes in Volvos, the tank will need a tank doctor, because the tank will be dead.

Looks Can Be Deceiving: Volvos are Built for Speed

Volvos may have a reputation of being boxy and boring—even though they look better than ever these days—but they’re also fast. Not convinced? Take a look at the 501bhp S60 Polestar concept car. It “manages to be a masterpiece of restraint, while detonating Volvo’s risk-averse reputation at the same time,” as Top Gear  explains in its review. The sleek design adds up to “a rippling ribbon of fast corners and a decent back straight, with a bustling harbour on one side and a skyline stuffed with Scandinavian modernism on the other.” The hybrid Polestar 1 that actually went into production has a whopping maximum bhp of 600 and the new all-electric Polestar 2 is a slightly more sedate but still sprightly 469 bhp. Though you may not expect it of a Volvo, you can get to where you’re going at practically the speed of light.

Hardly Boring: Volvos Know How to Win Races (Kinda)

We don’t tend to think of Volvos as racing machines, but the company proved us wrong in 1994 when they built an 850 Estate Super Touring Car to be raced the British Touring Car Championship. Volvo teamed up with Tom Walkinshaw Racing to make over one of their notoriously boxy 90s Estate vehicles into something resembling a racing machine. Though it only qualified third, and finished fifth, these results are truly outstanding for a car that looks a bit like a breadbox on wheels.  And let’s face it, if you are in the market for a Volvo Estate, you are going to be more interested in hauling something in the spacious boot than winning a grand prix. 

It doesn’t matter whether you are interested in the superb safety features or their amount of horsepower, Volvos are beautiful machines. Keep yours purring by taking it to European Auto Specialists for all of your Volvo repair needs. Our local Cincinnai Volvo mechanics who specialize in  European and import car maintenance will keep your boxy beauty on the road for years to come. We’ll treat your vehicle like it’s our baby.

Signs of a Reliable Cincinnati Car Mechanic

Want to know if the auto shop you take your car to in Cincinnati is worth your business? Are they certified in the work they do, especially when it comes to specialties like European cars? Are their customers satisfied and recurring? Don’t forget to trust the original Yelp- word of mouth. Talk to family, friends and coworkers who live in the area and get their experiences, both good and bad. When there is a problem, does the mechanic explain it to you clearly? Some mechanics rely on complex jargon to intimidate their customers from asking questions. It’s definitely a warning sign. If they don’t take the time to explain what’s going on, they don’t deserve your business.

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