Your daily moment of zen

Fire aft torpedos!

Sir! Red October has just turned into the torpedo's path!

The beat goes on

My irrational love continues: 1967 Volvo 123 V-8

Might be crazy, but I'm not alone (on this one)

Sleeper

Once again, my Volvo lust strikes - check out this 740 on stock wheels, with a 5.7l V8 nestled in between the frame rails.

Volvorama

Lief Tufvesson's cool Ford/Volvo Hot Rod

Bring-a-trailer: Restored Black-Plate 1962 Volvo 544

Stranger in a strange land

In case this blog hasn't helped you out, Stuff White People Like.

2008 DC Auto Show

I went to the DC Auto Show today, which was fun. They did not have the new ZR-1, or the new Camaro or Challenger, but still, it's fun to go sit in cars (that's the wheel of the gonzo RS4 convertable above).

The Mustang Shelby KR-500, coming to a Barret-Jackson near you.

The new M3 hotness, for the spiky-haired Maxim reader.

Vintage Racing Volvo!

Ford GT hotness.

The Obsession Continues

As obsessions are want to do, of course. Via Autoblog, here's the story of someone down under who decided to stuff a twin turbo Supra motor into a Volvo 244.

I think like a billionaire

Via Jalopnik via Forbes, I find my someday-to-be-consummated love of old-school Volvos is also shared by billionaire IKEA founder Ingvar Krampad:

1.) Warren Buffett
Rank on Forbes Billionaires List: 2
Net Worth: $52 billion
Vehicle: 2006 Cadillac DTS

2.) Ingvar Kamprad
Rank on Forbes Billionaires List: 4
Net Worth: $33 billion
Vehicle: 1993 Volvo 240 GL

I'm sure that the billion plus net worth will soon occur as a natural consequence of this shared affection. And by affection, I mean affectation.

TurboBricks

Sorry for the obsession, but someday my hotrod Volvo fever-dream will come true: TurboBricks.

NIB Volvo

My brother in law the mechanic thinks my penchant for hotrod volvos is beyond the pale. Sheer lunacy and the mark of a terminal goof. So be it: eBay Find of the Day: "New" '73 Volvo. Check out those tailpipes.

More Hot Volvo Action

Reader Ride of the Day: Supercharged Volvo 1800E

More: The Volvette: TT LS1-powered 740 Wagon

Previously: 600-hp RetroVolvo

I am in love

Unleash the inner Swedish-bikini-team model and my Volvo crush goes to 11:

VÖX-Amazon 600 hp Retro Volvo Hot Rod

For those so inclined, check out these C30's: One, Two, Three.


I said that I wanted to own a Volvo someday and that this didn't make sense, but now if feels like the nerdy girl just took off her glasses and let down her hair, and Voila! she's totally hot.

Guilty pleasures

1. The Economist: How can they always be wrong? How is that even possible?*

2. Road House vs Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man: Sure, nobody puts baby in a corner, but honestly, Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson had some good chemistry. The Billy Baldwin Leather Terminator Trenchcoat mafia is beyond belief, and the Niponphobic Japanese serving evil yuppie boss with Tia Carrere as secretary of the month is just icing on the cake. Incidentally, these are terrible awful movies.

3. I mention the above two movies because they were on TV last week, in part, because I added HBO back to watch the new season of The Wire. Which isn't a guilty pleasure at all. So far, season four has been not bad, but the last episode was the first to feel like anything is going on and we are already 5 episodes into the show. That hardly makes me feel like I got my money's worth each time I pay my much-higher-than-I-wish-it-was tv bill**. Given that this season is supposed to be about the crumbling inner city school system they are getting way too preachy. They are pretty much playing the straight teacher's union line. McNulty has appeared for a grand total of 15 seconds. Dear The Wire - you are on notice, sir.

4. Volvo's. I'd like to own one someday. It makes no sense.



*Yes, that is subjective, but I'm still right.
**Yes, if I am going to whine about the cost, I could just cancel my DirectTV, but basically it's at the threshold price. I've gone without on and off again the last couple of years. I am hoping that one day omnipresent broadband internet access allows for much cheaper access to shows, although I'm not sure how much room there is to move due to the current market inefficiencies. For what it's worth, I haven't been to the movies in months.

The human-rights-mobile

Yesterday, I walked out the door to find a late 80's Honda Wagovan parked there. Besides featuring a fugly name to go with its fugly looks, this is the car model I and Laura drove around Walla Walla for awhile. As aluminum head/iron block combos are want to do, it blew a head gasket at +200k [miles] and so we set it on fire and drove it into a river. Actually, have you ever seen The Blues Brothers and how their car self destructs at the end? It was like that. Reflecting back on it, I really, really, really wish I had bought an Accord wagon instead of a coupe afterwards.

The odd wrap-around rear quarter panel windows lead to our calling it "aquarium car," which joined the Beversluis Honda Civic menagerie which included "flamemobile","blue honda", and "blue honda" (one name for two cars, but contextually specific). My folks enjoy naming their cars, as they are currently driving around Darth Burban, however, Laura's friends trumped aquarium car with Human Rights-mobile. This name found its genesis, so to speak, in Laura's pro-life stickers and the fact that, after Volvo 240's or Mercedes 300D's, Wagovans are exactly the kind of car you find at Ammenesty International meetings. I like to think of the Toyota Prius as the wagovan's spiritual heir, ie, No effin way I'm buying one.

Update: My parents, the whitest people ever (except that logic would dictate that I, their progeny would somehow be whiter, but I would argue that regression towards the mean must necessarily occur via random genetic mutation), no longer call their all black suburban with black interior "Darth Burban." They call it "Shaft." I have $20 that says they have never seen Shaft, in either of its iterations.