Naimut,

As with any car, you are going to have people who love their car, and people who hate their car and lots of people in the middle.

Consumer Reports comments are the average, so if CR says "worse than average" or "much worse than average," then you have to accept that the car is "worse than average" or "much worse than average." Period.

I personally think that Hondas are the most reliable car out there. But I am sure there are thousands of people out there who have had bad experiences with their Honda. I don't doubt that they had bad experiences, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.

Hondas, by rule, are reliable cars--just look at the CR reliability charts. Hondas consistently score the highest with mostly solid red. Volvos, by rule, are average. Certain models, like the 850, may be tending, in some areas, to below-average, if not poor.

Ya know, there are people who smoke three packs a day and live to 105. There are people who go 25,000 miles between oil changes and their car lasts and lasts and lasts. But those exceptions are not the rule. So if you are looking for a "rule," CR is the best we have.

I've got a '96 850 wagon that has suffered dozens upon dozens upon dozens of failures in its 70,000+ miles, even though it has been baby'd. Just yesterday I replaced the heater control lamps, for the second time in 70,000+ miles. And I discovered that the lamps which light the radio in my Volvo (which are burned out) are not a serviceable part. So, for want of a $1 lamp, I have to replace the several hundred dollar radio--stupid. My Volvo parts guy said there was no alternative.

Although I believe them, I am amazed by the people who don't have any problems with their 850. Maybe my year and model (N/A, manual) were particularly suseptable. Maybe I actually have a lemon, but have been nursing it along where most people would have long ago returned the damn thing. I don't know.

And another thing, these failures all seem to be consistent. In other words, the upper stabilizer bushing appears to fail on most ALL 850s. The sway bar link appears to fail on most ALL 850s. The ignition switch seems to fail on most ALL 850s. The air pump and its associated valve appear to fail on most ALL 850s. I'm just perplexed that there are people out there that say they have never have a failure. Do they drive their cars?

Ken