I rest my case about an old 240 being a good first car

(see Aug. 11, 2009 entry and August 19, 2009 entry)

Hopefully you’ve listened at least one time to these two yahoo’s, Click and Clack, who usually waste a perfectly good hour of my Saturday morning when I tune in to National Public Radio. I think they have something like four million listeners, allegedly. People call in with car problems, Tom and Ray add their wit and intelligence (?) and my wife puts up with me trying to guess what’s wrong with the caller’s cars. I’m about fifty percent right, which is why I don’t work on cars for a living. Of our four combined family kids, two had Volvo wagons, and two had sedans. Oh well, too late now. In the end they all turned out just fine.

October 24, 2009 (http://news.bostonherald.com)

Dear Tom & Ray:

My dad bought a white 1992 Volvo station wagon off of Craigslist for $500 about 18 months ago.

I’m turning 16 next spring and he expects the Volvo will become my car.

Dad thinks this is fantastic because the car was so cheap – but it’s older than I am and it’s a piece of junk. (We went over a speed bump once and the fan for the air conditioner fell out of the bottom.)

And I hate to be picky, but it’s pretty embarrassing to ride in. I was hoping that you might have a good excuse as to why I shouldn’t have to drive this Volvo, as my dad loves your show. – Emily

RAY: Unfortunately, this is exactly the type of car that we recommend parents buy for teenagers. In fact, your father probably got the idea from hearing us talk about it! A 1992 Volvo is safe, it’s slow and it’s ugly – the perfect car for a teen!

TOM: Right. It’s ugly and embarrassing, so you won’t drive it unless you have to. Parts are falling off of it, so you won’t be tempted to stray far from home. And it’s built like a tank, so if you do make a mistake (which many teenagers do), you’ll have a better chance of surviving.

RAY: So I’m afraid we’re not going to be much help here, Emily.

TOM: Wait. I’ve got it. Emily, next time you’re in the car with your dad, look toward the back and say, “Those back seats fold down, right, Dad?” And when your dad says: “Sure they do. Why?” You say, “Well, with the seats folded down, I bet there’s plenty of room for two people to lie down back there!” He’ll have you in a 1992 Volvo sedan by Monday, Emily!

Enjoy Fall,

Dan

Tags: car talk, click and clack, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Volvo 240