There are those who think a car is just a machine ... pray for them!

I had 6 cars since I made my Swiss driver's license in 1990 at an age of 18 (legal age for Switzerland). I made the California Driver's License in 1999 because I had to. The US one was much easier, but I have to keep in mind that I had 9 years of driving experience by then. And no, it is NOT just a ride around the block. I actually know somebody who failed on the the first attempt :-)

Past

Ford Escort XR3 (NOT a XR3i)

A 1.8L engine (carburetor!) with about 105 HP. At the end it was close to a wreck. I had to bring it to the junkyard :-)
This was my first car I bought right after I made my drivers license. I'll never forget that one. Like you never forget your first girlfriend.. The picture is not from my car but it did look almost the same.

Opel Omega Station Wagon

I still love this one. It is a 6 Cylinder, 2.6L with 150 HP and had 280'000 km (163,000 miles) with NO major defect at all. When we went to the USA I gave it to my brother and at the end he had over 330'000 km (200'000 miles) on the odometer. He then sold it (yes, he sold it!).

Renault Clio 16V

A little lightweight car with 132 HP. Runs like a little race car! It had a few minor modifications when I bought it. Rims, soundboard, steering wheel and exhaust had been changed. That was the first car I bought as a "toy". Was fun to drive. Had to sell it as we went to the US. Another car I miss.

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme S

My US mobile. A 3.1L sixbanger (I know, real men drive V8). Had 150 HP and was a little wacky. This is the first car I don't much that much :-)

Peugeot 206 XT Premium

This nice looking car is made for the city. Fuel economy is quite good, it "drinks" only 6L/100km (about 40MPG). After I sold it, it was involved in an accident. It had a heavy hit from the left but got fixed.

Miscellaneous

I also can't remember all the rental cars I had during my stay in the USA. This goes from KIA, to Chevrolet over Dodge to whatever is around... Since then I know what Torque-Load or Power-Breaking means :-)

Present

Volvo V70 LPT (Low Pressure Turbo)

Weehoo! '99 Volvo V70 - Great looking station wagon. But I guess you either like that "box/brick" styling or hate it. I LOVE it! Mine is the one on the left but I now have different rims (MAK Energy 17") and tinted windows. I've added two pictures below. The car has got all options Volvo had available back then.
The car on the right is no longer existent. It had a total-loss accident on the German autobahn when it hit a truck that was standing still (because of another accident) from behind. The right A-pilar was all gone, the rest of the car didn't look that bad.

It has 193HP/290Nm, well, that was stock. It is now "pumped" and I changed the ECU/Chip (Chiptunning). I went with UPsolute and I'm happy with it. Good customer service and a good price. The other "mods" I did so far are new rims, tinted windows and I installed a Blow-Off Valve (BOV) from HKS. Most people here in Europe call it a Dump-Valve or even Pop-Off (which is wrong in my opinion). For more details on the installation and experience with the BOV please follow the "BOV" link in the menu.
More information on the Volvo itself can be found in the "Volvo V70 LPT" section.

Btw, I guess the following picture says more than words. Does that require an explanation? This is not my car (but it is a Volvo V70) nor am I the driver. Do NOT race on the street!

Future

"Realistic"

I currently have no plans for a new cars. I think I keep the Volvo for a while. There is no car out there I really have to have. It would have to be a mix of a "performance-" and "family"-car, but not a van.. and good looking.. well.

"Dream Cars"

Don't we all love to daydream? For me there is only one car worth dreaming of: Dodge (Chrysler) VIPER GTS. Not the new SRT coupe, the GEN2 GTS. The SRT coupe does not look "unique" anymore, more like mix of a Honda S2000 and a Corvette and some other car. DC missed the chance to be again ahead of all cars in terms of performance as well.


You can help to make this dream come true! Be part of this unique event!

Of course, there are other cars that would be nice to have but none of them is like the Viper:

• Lotus Esprit V8
• Toyota Supra
• BMW M3 / M5 / M6
• Audi RS4 / RS6
• Nissan Skyline
• Volvo S60R / V70R
• Chevrolet Corvette
• Ford Mustang Cobra
• Aston Martin DBn

And many, many more.. Have you seen? No Ferrari or Porsche on the list.
To bad I don't have the required money for such a collection ;-) I don't even have enough money for a single piece of this collection. Donations welcome. Speaking of donations, have you seen the "Free Viper" project page? It is worth a look - I accept Paypal :-)

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