The year was. . . actually I don’t remember what year it was. But if memory serves the car was a Mercedes SLK and it was my first exposure to the whole hardtop convertible concept, and while I didn’t wet myself in amazement (which I usually do for totally wild-ass technical innovations), I was really impressed. Shortly after this I landed a Lexus SC, and it was yet another expression of a really sound four-seasons idea. You see, convertibles and the Northern Climes have issues, mainly because it sucks to have to park your excellent drop-top machine when there’s a lot of cold, snow, sleet, and winterage in your life. Now even VW with their clever EOS has entered the fray, and I have to say it’s all good. Seriously. I’ve yet to roll in any of theses things that, while far from perfect, still doesn’t get the top-down-inna-heat, steel-or’-head-when-it’s-all-’bout-sleet thing down really well.
So, here we have a 2011 (no, really. The OEM’s have a really weird-ass calendar) Volvo C70. The top splits into pieces and flies into the trunk, fortunately only when you tell it to via a switch. It’s a pretty great machine overall, with a punchy, turbocharged Inline Five that scoots along nicely and has a very solid chassis (except for the windshield pillar which shakes way too much over rough substrate). It’s a wild bit of engineering to watch the top rebuild itself (including the headliner) when it slides back into place in way less than a minute. It’s a true all-season two-doh, a bitchin’ Swede that seats foh, and moves your booty in the great out-doh. That’s a poem, bitches. Deal wif it.