This is my company car. It's a 2002 Volvo V70 T5 station wagon with 184,000 miles on it (30,000 of those from me) and it runs and drives like a top. The turbocharged five-cylinder mill still winds up and lets go with a snap and it accelerates to freeway speeds in seemingly nothing flat. Plus, it's versatile and I can haul stuff around in it, if I need to.

Like-new leather interior, moonroof, good stereo system -- "all the bells and whistles," as they say in the used car business. It was meticulously maintained prior to being handed off to me (Mobil 1 every 3,000 miles, scheduled maintenance performed religiously) and there's not a spot of rust on it or a dent in its body and no fading of that Classic Red exterior, which is still glossy. All the original glass, too. The heated seats are a comfort in the winter and the whisper-quiet automatic climate control provides well-regulated coolness in the summer.

I love the thing, for some perverse reason, although that exterior color makes it hard for me to sneak around the airport ramp and do my security "red cell" stuff. But I can live that.

This car is why I'm going to grab a used Volvo XC70 later this month. Not the same as the V70 (or the hotter V70R, with all the examples for sale around here being thrashed to hell), but if the XC70 performs like my company ride has, I'll be more than happy.

Now, is that XC90 worth $105,000? It will be to someone, I'm sure. Cars are a somewhat emotional thing to many people, and I'm never surprised by what folks will pay for one of them if they become emotionally invested. :-)

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"Politics is just show business for ugly people."