Old Gold Volvo

I am already looking forward to going home tonight. I don't know why, there is nothing that I am planning to do. I would just rather be there than in the lab right now. I feel kind of useless, like the wheels are spinning on ice and I am just kind of sliding sideways. Which is better than sliding backwards, and not quite as good as moving forward. Too much sideways can be bad. You will eventually reach the curb or the gutter, or rub through the ice and lurch forward.
I ruined the clutch on an '87 Volvo station wagon doing that. The speedometer was reading 80 mph in second gear, and we were just drifiting to the left. Then we went through the ice and hit pavement. It stalled out pretty quick, and then on the ride home, fifth gear kept slipping out. Then fourth, and finally, it wouldn't even hold third. We were doing 40 mph in second gear, in the right lane, with the hazards on.
Man, I loved that car. My dad sold it in 2000 to one of his old employees, who then shipped it to Mexico where his family drove it for years. I wonder if it is still kicking around somewhere down there (I kept an eye out for it in Acapulco on the honeymoon). It had 269,000 miles on it when he sold it, but the thing was great.
Some people dream of owning a Corvette, a '57 Chevy, or a Porsche. I dream of restoring a gold 1987 Volvo 240 wagon with black leather and a five-speed. That car was unbelievable, especially in the snow. I could e-brake it around any curve, it was easy to feather the power (all 120 horses), and it had seat warmers. Plus, there was the Volvo safety cage design, so I felt comfortable doing 80 in a driving snowstorm. Those Swedes thought of everything!
It would top out at 98 mph on a flat straight, but you could hit 104 down a hill. The cruise control was limited to 85, but cruise control is for whimps anyway. The only non-restoration thing I would do is get rid of the governor somehow. It still had another 1500 rpms in it at 98 mph. We made it from the Bourne Bridge to Attleboro in 20 minutes one night after a hockey game. Blew the doors off our golf coach's car, and never looked back.
The only drawback to the car was that it was twitchy in the wind, especially at high speeds. This was an issue that resulted from its breeze-catching, box-like design. But, you could occasionally use it to your advantage, like changing lanes without having to use the steering wheel. It is one of the classsic car designs of all time. Up there with the Beetles, 911s, and the Stingray 'Vettes. Let's face it, no one will ever build a car like that again.

I would cherish that car.