The all-glass rear hatch on today’s Nice Price or No Dice Volvo harkens back to the classic 1800ES of the ’70s, but its five-cylinder, six-speed manual drivetrain makes it as modern as they come. Let’s figure out what such an intriguing car should rightfully cost.
The beachside community of Malibu, California, derives its name from the Chumash phrase, “Humaliwo” which the indigenous peoples used to describe the area’s noisy surf. For decades, people have come from all over to surf those noisy waves along the community’s 21 miles of beaches. The perfect surfer’s car? Well, that’s likely a station wagon like the 1981 Chevy Malibu we looked at on Wednesday. Of course, the stereotypical image of an itinerant surfer is that of a beach bum who would rather “hang ten” than hold down a job, so our Malibu’s $17,900 asking price might be out of reach for most wave-seekers. In fact, that price proved highly aspirational for most of you and well beyond what most would pay. Ultimately, that opinion resulted in a massive 93% ‘No Dice’ loss for the Chevy.
The Ford foundation
The Ford Motor Company was one of the first U.S.-based car builders to establish a manufacturing foothold in England and Europe, opening the Trafford Park factory in Manchester, England, in 1911 to build Model Ts. Ever since then, Ford has been a dominant force in both the British and European car markets, but that hasn’t stopped the company from once trying to grab a bigger slice of the pie. A major shopping spree from the late 1980s through the ’90s saw Ford snap up Britain’s Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, as well as Volvo in neighboring Sweden.
Today’s 2006 Volvo C30 T5 is one result of that Ford parentage, as it shares its chassis with the contemporary Ford C-Max and Focus. The platform also served as the base for Mazda’s CX-7, among other cars within the Ford-O-Sphere. None of that Fordiness is visible to the driver or passengers, as it’s been heavily cloaked in Volvo bits like the 1800ES-aping all-glass rear hatch and the interesting “floating’ center stack, which could also be found in the C30’s sibling cars, the S40 sedan and V50 wagon.
Odds and evens
It’s also all Volvo under the hood, where a five-cylinder variant of the company’s all-alloy modular inline engine resides. That displaces 2521 cc and, with its turbocharged and intercooled intake, delivers a healthy 227 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque.
On this car, that’s mated to a six-speed Getrag M66 manual gearbox, which spins the front wheels through a limited-slip differential.
According to the ad, that drivetrain has pushed the C30 to 119,000 miles, which the seller touts as being a “low” number. To be fair, that isn’t all that much, especially considering that this is an 18-year-old car. It’s apparently been suitably maintained over that time, too, although the seller directs prospective buyers to Carfax for the service history rather than just offering highlights in the ad.
A two-owner car, there’s nothing notably wrong with the C30, as the seller says everything on it—right down to the A/C—is in working order. It also comes with a clean title, so there are likely no major accidents lurking in its history.
Senior-owned
The seller also notes that the car is “senior-owned,” which makes the manual gearbox all the more laudable an option list choice. It’s described in the ad as being in excellent condition; however, the pictures do show a couple of boogers that call that assertion into question. One of those is a small crack in the front bumper, just below the washer for the driver’s side headlamp. That’s a shame since the rest of the bodywork and silver-over-black paint does indeed look to be in excellent shape.
The other issue is some apparent staining in the white portion of the leather on the driver’s seat squab. It’s minor and could likely be removed with a decent cleaner and some elbow grease, but it does stand out, as it’s the first thing anyone opening the driver’s door will see.
We don’t get to see much more of the interior in the ad, but from what we do, that seems to be the only real nit to pick. This is a fairly loaded car, with power windows and locks and memory seating positions for the driver’s throne. It’s also a Volvo despite the Ford marriage of convenience, so it enjoys a solid reputation for safety.
A coupe coup?
With the C30, Volvo entered the small coupe market for only the third time in its history, the earlier cars being the P1800/ES and the 480 series. Unfortunately, the C30 arrived at an inauspicious time when coupes just weren’t “all that and a bag of chips” for many in the market. As a result, you hardly ever see these on the road. This one, with its engaging six-speed stick and frothy five, should make for a fun commuter or suitable road-tripper for two. Naturally, that’s only if its $8,700 asking price proves palatable in the process.
What’s your take on this rare-because-hardly-anyone-cared coupe and that $8,700 asking? Does that seem fair given the description and the pictures? Or is that just too much to ask for the littlest Volvo?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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