One of the things I missed about living in New England when my wife and I were in AZ were all the earthy laden bumper-stickered Volvos and Saabs driving around. Now that we are back in Connecticut - for good incidentally - I see that most of the older Volvos and Saabs are driven by teens… Except of course my primary care physician - who still drives a 94’ saab 93…
Anyway - is it the geographic locale, the durability of the vehicles or a combination of the two that lends to all the kids driving the older Volvos and Saabs in the New England area. Mind you I live in Southern Connecticut, drive north for two hours and enter Vermont and you can quadruple the Volvos and Saabs you will see.
If you are not in New England shed some light for this New Englander and let me know if they are driving them in your area…
I don’t know about SAAB, but I can tell you that Volvo’s market penetration is highest in the Northeast.
Why this is I am not sure, but they sell like hotcakes there.
Maybe it’s the bunwarmers.
Teens in Texas seem to drive Hondas and Toyotas, and quite a few drive older mid-sized SUVs. The Ford Focus is a popular “new” car for teens. I can’t remember any Volvos or Saabs in the student parking lot where I teach.
We see heaps of these in the Whole Foods etc. parking lot on Rt 9. There’s more text on the bumpers between my parking space & Dave’s Soda/Pet City than some people read in their entire life. Usiually anti-war, “coexist” in symbols, anti-bush, free tibet, and a bit of ‘my beagle is smarter than your honor student’ because it’s the fancy pet foods store.
We did inherit a 97 Volvo from gramma a couple years ago when she stopped driving, but we are 32. (I have not gotten another Miskatonic University window sticker, so our vehicle remains unadorned.) Since we got the car I notice more of this sedan model. Before, it was only the volvo station wagons I could identify on sight (I do rather like them). I wouldn’t know a saab if it bit me, though.
In my experience Brattleboro and Northampton are even more volvo-rich.
If it weren’t for my first car, a 1979 Saab 900, I doubt I would ever have learned to re-string (or whatever) an entire electrical harness before my 18th birthday. It was in Colorado, not New England, but with so many ski areas we’re sort of an outpost. Peppy blond honor roll chicks have to learn how to solder sometime. Don’t they?
My guess would be that with New England weather, parents prefer teens to drive safe cars. Like Volvos. (I know nothing of Saabs.)
I have a Volvo 850 wagon, and while it’s not exactly sporty, it’s safe enough to haul three little kids without too much worry about the other crazy drivers on the roads. It has special settings for winter road conditions, including a little alarm light that comes on to tell you the outside temp is getting low enough for wet roads to be slick. Heck, it has little headlight warmers and wipers. I’d much prefer that my teen-aged kid drive the Volvo, rather than the truck or the mini-van. (And my oldest won’t be driving for at least 11 years, so…)
