WTF? was I stuttering? This guy obviously didn't think I could afford the car, much less a Volvo. Of course they didn't have exactly what I wanted. What they did have was a 2001 Silver Volvo S40 LOADED, I said I didn't want it but did agree to test drive it. I fell in love instantly. After the test drive the salesman offerred me this vehicle for the same price as what I wanted (which was much less than the sticker price on the LOADED version). I declined. That night (and I don't remember the exact date, but I do have my paperwork back home in Texas) I placed my order. Drove home quick before the dealership closed, grabbed my checkbook, and put a deposit on a stock silver 2001 Volvo S40 that would be delivered in a few weeks from Dallas.

The Volvo was picked up on November 7, 2000 from DeMontrond Volvo. As it turns out they did not have my car shipped from Dallas to Houston, IT WAS DRIVEN WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION OR MY CONSENT. I was upset, but they did pro-rate the warranty to include the 100+ miles they put on the car during the drive. Even unknown to me would be the large amounts of terrain the S40 would cover over the next six years. The S40 became the focus of my life and I strived to build the best British Touring Car Championship replica car I could...

In October of 2001 I was offered a job position at Texas Automotive Performance, a Volvo and SAAB repair shop, to create the performance department for them, create a website, and develop and test new Volvo performance parts. I left my job at Invocon, took a pay cut, and set off on a new path in my life. We had one of the best mechanics (Alvin "Butch" Symanek), a great boss (Tomas Larson), and a great facility. I was involved with some of the most impressive and interesting projects to involve SAAB and Volvo automobiles (full list to come).

Carlos' S40 a couple of days after delivery.