Thanks to all for the help. Here's a summary:

1. car would not start in the garagae after being left a week

2. continued cranking would not get the engine to start over a two day period (christmas eve and christmas day)

3. had the car towed to dealership; their first attempts to start yielded the same results; no start

4. service technician came out later that afternoon, and the car started right up

5. i was there yesterday (12/27) and the car started repeatedly without any trouble

6. there are no codes in the computer, so nothing to track down

7. technicians have checked the rest of the car over, and find no problems

I will be picking up the car today (12/28) but do not at all trust it; I have this nagging feeling that I'll be stuck again over the New Year period.

Notes written to me on this subject suggest "lawnmower syndrome". One from 11/19/2000 "Rough Start" describes the problem, and the reasons for it. I can't find any notes re: how to avoid the problem, but assume that you just can't run a Volvo engine for short periods of time; that each time you start up, you need to run the car for awhile. It's not clear, though what this time period is, and whether or not you need to drive the car or just let it idle and run.

Further, there seems to be no information about how to remedy the problem once you get into the situation. If it is related to a loss of compression, how do you fix the problem? Or does it require a tow each and every time.

Needless to say, I have never owned a car that would/could be prone to this problem. I hate thinking about the possibility that I'll have to pay close attention to the way I start, run and drive the car, versus turning the key and forgetting about everything except driving safely.