Well, as the thread title indicates, I saw my first C70 on the road today. It was kind of a surreal experience. Since eVOLVOer had done a nice "first drive" write-up, I thought I would share my first sighting experience.
The wife and I were at our local Volvo dealer this past weekend for her to test drive an S60. In talking with the dealer, our salesman stated his first C70 demo had hit port and should be there this week. I have been waiting to see this car in real life for quite some time now. Pictures sometimes don't do a car justice (a great example is the gen 1 Viper ... looked bulbous and awkward in photos, but really low slung and aggressive on the road, and in person proved to be a beautiful machine). Auto shows always give a "best impression" under the hot lights in a staged setting. The only way to get a true impression of any car is out on the road, in action.
Well, I was coming home on I-75 this evening and as I looked to my right, I could see only a roof line and the tops of some tail lights over the cement embankment, as the car I was looking at was on the ramp, beginning the merge onto the expressway. It was slightly ahead of me and a light rain was falling. I didn't know why the car had caught my attention at the time.
As I neared the car and cleared the embankment, I could tell it was new ... distinctly European ... it had kind of a Bimmeresque look to it, and I mean that in the best possible way
. At this point I am thinking ... the new 3 ... that actually looks really nice. As my eyes began to focus on the tail lights, my brain went "that bimmer has Volvo tail lamps" ... The tails are all new and very updated looking, but still manage to retain the Volvo styling ques.
This is all happening in a split second ... I really still don't completely comprehend what I am looking at ... I see the plates are dealer issue with the small "D". While eyeing every line on the car, I am now trying to focus on the badging at the same time ... yup ... Volvo letter style badges ... C ... C ... it's the new C70!
Now that I realize what I am seeing, it is everything I can do to scramble for my phone to get a quick photo ... 3,2,1 ... CHEESE!.
I have to say the car has a real presence on the road. This was to be the replacement for my beloved SLK, but her tranny was just beginning to show signs of exiting stage left, so I couldn't wait, and replaced her with my current S60R. While the R is a fine car and I love it, the C70 appears to be the first in a new line of Volvo styling. The car is really well proportioned and has the simple "form follows function" simplicity, and still somehow manages to pull off a beautiful shape and line. As bad as some of the press photos have been, the real car does not exhibit those slabby hind quarters those photos would have you think are hideously dis-proportionate. I have to say from the mostly 3 quarter view I got of this car, it is simply beautiful and if this is the shape of Volvos to come, it is an improvement.
Lastly, since the vehicle had dealer plates and was going markedly slow on the expressway, I had to assume it was out on a test drive. I pulled up along side and gave the driver big thumbs up, while mouthing the words "very nice". He just looked over with a big toothy grin, and I was on my way (as going 50 some-odd on I-75 in rush hour traffic is deadly
).
Modified by Quick Brick at 9:33 PM 4-12-2006
