What Not

“Sometimes a car is so spot-on, you don’t care if it’s the right size or has the best features or comes from your favorite brand. Meet Volvo’s C30 T5, a royal, rollicking romp of a small, two-door car. … The C30 T5 is a marvelous car. The look is evocative of the 1800 ES sport wagon Volvo fielded in the 1970s. To paraphrase a common comment from those who spied the C30 in parking lots: Volvo is making cool cars again. … The drivetrain is a delight. You’d expect some quirkiness because the C30 has the oddball approach to powerplants typical of Volvos. … The C30 turns out to be appealing enough to make you forget you went out to buy a conservative sedan, small SUV, large dog, or whatever, in the first place.”

Volvo C30: Pull up a seat and get comfy

Last year, at the Cleveland Auto Show, we showcased the new Volvo XC60 and the popular C70 hard-top convertible. Both were a big hit. And we were pleasantly surprised when a photo of Jim Vanek (one of the Volvo Boys) made it into the Plain Dealer. All in all, we had a great time at the show and met a lot of nice people.

Will you be there this year?

Leikin Motor Companies has been given a limited quantity of discount coupons and we want to give you the opportunity to take advantage of them. Just present each coupon when you purchase a ticket at the I-X Center and they will reduce the regular price by $2. Several of our customers have already taken advantage of the coupons and are going to meet us at the show on Saturday. You should as well!

After many months of speculation, SAAB is officially owned by Spyker. Victor Muller and Jan Ake Jonsson (along with a large group of lawyers, etc.) signed the papers for the transfer of ownership from General Motors to Spyker on February 23, 2010. This marks a new direction for the Swedish car company as they have been with General Motors for 20 years. Hopefully, the new owner will allow SAAB to be what is has always wanted to be: a safe, comfortable, sporty car unlike any other.

Now we await the completion of the sale of Volvo to Geely Automotive in China. The jury is still out as to what will happen after the sale. Will Geely allow Volvo to continue down the same path? What changes will come about in the future? If the new C30, C70, and S60 are any indication of what Geely wants, I think we’ll have a winner.

But, as always, we will see.

The Volvo Boys will be making an appearance at the 2010 Cleveland Auto Show. Unlike the Cavs or Ohio State players, one of us will be there every day from opening to close. So, be sure to stop by the Volvo booth to meet Steve, Greg, Jim, Ken, or myself. We’ll be happy to sign your program … at no cost … without the long wait in line!

Seriously, we will be at the show for the entire week. I’ll personally be there on the first Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday from 12 to 5 pm. So, stop by and say hello if you’re in the area. Our booth is next to the Porsche exhibit in the NE corner. See you there!

2010 Cleveland Auto Show Map

Ken Counselman

During my time as a salesman at Leikin Volvo, I had the privilege of working with Steve Ours, Jim Vanek, and Greg Schneider.  From the beginning, we were known as the Volvo boys.  Besides the daily beatings I received from the sales manager, and we developed a camaraderie which made for a good work environment.  However, when I took the position of internet manager, it was important to bring in someone who would fit in with the existing team.  I’m pleased to announce that we have found just the person we needed.

Ken Counselman brings over 14 years of sales experience to the dealership, his most recent experience being with Acura and Infiniti.  The first thing you notice about Ken is that he is calm and unassuming.  Customers don’t feel intimidated by his approach to sales.  This has already been evident by the ease with which he has already sold several Volvos.  Ken is 57 years old and resides in Maple Heights, Ohio with his three dogs, Pedro and Chico (chihuahuas), and Sasha (black lab/German shepherd).

If you would be interested in talking with Ken about a new or pre-owned vehicle, feel free to contact him at (440) 946-6900.

Volvo continues to impress with its excellent Safe & Sound coverage plan. With 5 years or 60,000 miles of coverage on every purchase, it’s nothing to snicker at. Leased vehicle are also covered for the length of the lease and up to 60 months. On average, the Safe & Sound warranty can save you $6,300 over five years. So, take advantage of it while you can.

In his recent ABC News article, The Five Safest Automobiles, Richard Blake notes that Volvo is still one of the safest vehicles available today. The author mentions several other vehicles, but keys in on the 2010 Volvo S80. It’s one of only four large sedans to make the list for this year’s IIHS Top Safety Pick award. And that’s more than just a reputation based on past performance. The new S80 continues to earn good marks for safety today. The IIHS took the S80 through a variety of tests that proved the car worthy of that award. Blake concludes that “the Volvo S80 has to be considered a standard bearer in the drive toward [the] safest car ever built.”

But is safety really that important in today’s world? Most car companies have improved their safety scores. It’s just that some are a little better than others, right? There may be some truth in that, but when it comes to your family’s safety, is “getting better” something you want to rely on? The experts don’t seem to think so. “Kelley Blue Book’s executive editorial director Jack Nerad, [who] has been writing about auto safety for more than a decade, conceded that as his younger children now approach driving age he has been giving this issue a lot of extra thought lately. He is leaning toward Volvo.”

Perhaps you should as well.

In the almost two years since I started working at Leikin Motor Companies, I have slowly become accustomed to the bland color scheme associated with Volvo cars. Don’t get me wrong. I like Volvo cars. They are some of the best cars on the planet. But their color schemes leave a lot to be desired. It’s almost as if the designers had been forbidden to use bright colors. For the most part, our inventory was white, black, and several varieties of grey. As you can imagine, that left a lot to be desired.

But when I walked into the showroom this morning, I was astounded to find a 2011 Volvo C70 not in black, white, or grey, but in Flamenco Red Metallic! And you can forget about off-black or bland beige interior. This beautiful creation comes with Cranberry leather seats! Yowzers! Somebody wanted to get my attention (let me tell you) it worked!

2011 Volvo C70 at Leikin Volvo

Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I would like the new look of the C70 from the pictures I had seen. I liked the modified front end. The slanted “eyes” do something nice to the car. But I wasn’t sure that the rest of the body was as good. Pictures seemed to indicate a cartoonish backend. But they must have been taken from bad angles because this is the type of car that you will walk around and admire for quite some time. It really is a nice design.