Day out.

[jasper5]

Tomorrow, friday, i'm off down to Daventry in Northants to the Volvo Apprentice Training Centre, to enrol my son on the Apprentice Training course, he's an Apprentice Mechanic at our local dealers.

Hopefully it will be a nice day out at Volvo's expensive, they say there will be the opportunity for parents to "sample Volvo products", maybe we can drive some nice cars?

[Welly]

Nice one Jasper, hope it goes well for you and the lad.

[teamster1975]

Hope you have a great day Jasper, let us know what the cars are like!

[puggy]

have a good un jasper !! shall expect full report







do volvo make any nice cars he he he

[mjb]

do volvo make any nice cars he he he

The 850 wasn't too bad, and it could come with something like a 250bhp turbo'd 5-pot engine if memory serves?

[BruceT]

do volvo make any nice cars he he he

The 850 wasn't too bad, and it could come with something like a 250bhp turbo'd 5-pot engine if memory serves?

850 T-5 225hp
the T-5R was 240
R was 250hp.

All 2.3 5 pot turbos (I sold mine last week)

The S80 V8 is nice, XC90 V8's are good. XC90 D5 is cool too.

C30 with either the D5 or T5 engine is also brisk.

New S60 out soon

[Welly]

have a good un jasper !! shall expect full report







do volvo make any nice cars he he he

*slaps Puggy with a wet fish*

[jasper5]

This is my son's favourite....

http://www.volvocars.com/uk/All-Cars/Vo ... fault.aspx

[Bundy]

I managed to get a 3 hour test drive in an 850 R when they came out (had to put a suit on and borrow my parents Scorpio, lol) and returned it with melted black circles where the tires used to be. They go, stop and corner really well for the size of them but evidently eat tires if you drive them like that for sustained periods of time

Wanted one ever since, but in white, so everyone on the road would move out of your way thinking you're a cop and winding up the boy racers by pointing a box of tissues at them down at the beach is always amusing (i do this in my white pug, lol)

[STALLED]

There's a couple 240's with 350 Chevs here in Australia - Popular conversion!

[turbolag]

Daventry is currently aflame and covered by a pall of toxic smoke so noxious that 4 of my colleagues have gone off sick and they're restricting dibble tours of duty to 2 hours a time in the area. Wouldn't be anything to do with your boy would it jasper?

[jasper5]

That's still burning? Thankfully, it wasn't his fault it was the recycling centre ablaze just round the corner from the Training Centre, bloody horrible it was too It was worse when we went down the road to the hotel where he will be staying, where we had a look round.

They have a very professional setup down there at Volvo, he will be there every 2 months for 4 days at a time for 3 years, starting 19th October, arriving 17th.
After 3 years he can do another year for Master Tech status.

He gets a loan of a £1,600 tool kit, which becomes his property on completion of his apprenticeship

We got to ride in a new XC90 4x4, very posh car, over 30 grands worth of motor, quality!

We had a nightmare of a drive home, the M6 was screwed up all the way from Lancaster down to way past Stoke and beyond.

The M6 was very slow up to the M62 turnoff where I turned off to go home, it was easier up to the M61 junction where the M61 was screwed up due to the M6 being screwed, the M62 being still way up past junction 18 my turnoff to the M66.....nightmare

[Bundy]

What are these M's you speak of? Are they the big roads with 2 lanes (one each way) and without passing places and grass in the middle of the road like we have up here in some places?

[jasper5]

Those M things are a real pain sometimes, I live right next to the M65, which leads to the M6 or M61, which leads into the M62, M60, M602, etc, etc.

If it wasn't so cold, i'd buzz off up your way for some peace and quiet

Actually i'd go to Sweden where my son lives. only the E4 motorway where he lives, goes all the way up to Finland and down towards Denmark (2 lanes each way)

[highlander]

Was roasting up here yesterday. Shame about the wind though (but I gather it was like that everywhere).

We have to drive down to Edinburgh to get to our nearest Motorway!