A Futuristic Volvo?

Not long ago, NASCAR mandated that every driver would race what it calls the Car of Tomorrow. Basically, the rule assures that everyone is driving cars with essentially the same capabilities.

For the race cars, everything is spelled out by rules and every car must fit the same profile template. With standards for engine size, carburetor restrictor plates, bumper shapes and heights and airflow pieces, the cars are so similar now that they can race 500 miles and still be inches apart at the finish.

I thought of the Car of Tomorrow as I traveled in a train formation on busy I-75. I was behind the wheel of a 2009 Volvo S80 T6 AWD, and if any car available from a dealership can be called the Car of Tomorrow, this is the one. It’s the template others will use in the future.

I was ripping along at 72 mph, but my foot wasn’t on the accelerator. Traffic ahead slowed, the Volvo slowed, but I never touched the brake pedal.

Cars approached me from behind, and a glance at a small light on an outside rearview mirror told me when one was in a blind spot. A bird’s-eye map mid-dash pinpointed my location on this planet to within about three feet. I drifted slightly to the right and an alarm like a cell phone ringing warned me I was leaving my lane. I listened contentedly to music beamed from a satellite.

This Volvo S80 is beautiful, safe, luxurious and comfortable, and it has tons of computer brainpower. The model I tested can be yours for $49,025, and the features I used on the interstate are all options added onto the base $42,045 price.