Volvo hands XC90 keys over to His Holiness
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was forced to give up his rather secular ride, a 1999 Volkswagen Golf, when he became Pope Benedict XVI. Feeling bad for the old guy, Volvo handed over a set of Volvo XC90 keys to His Holiness yesterday. The SUV is dark blue with a light-colored interior, which doesn't really matter much since the Pope only goes mobile in the patented Popemobile that can deflect bullets and survive bomb blasts. As far as we know, Volvo's don't deflect bullets or survive bomb blasts very well, so perhaps the Bishops can use the XC90 for late night pizza runs.
[Source: SwedeSpeed]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
emulous1974 8:42AM (6/29/2006)
So just how many SUV's does the Pope need? Surprised the Pope didn't reject considering how Volvo markets to Gays.
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ProSolution 8:58AM (6/29/2006)
Since the Vatican has billions in its coffers, how bout Volvo forgo such (visible advertising) giving and donate the cars to charities that really need a vehicle.
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MJD 9:07AM (6/29/2006)
Since you opened this can of worms... Unlike some other "Christians", the Pope doesn't hate gays. He just believes they are committing a sin. This isn't Pat Robertson.
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Christian 9:12AM (6/29/2006)
We all know the pope is a pirate smoker.
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Solutions4Some 9:13AM (6/29/2006)
FYI, as far as I know real 'Christians' including Pat Robertson, do not 'hate' gays. Just because a Christian believes the Bible, which says homosexuality is a sin and no homosexual will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Pauls letter to the Romans in the New Testament), it doesn't mean they 'hate' them...rather they do not agree with the behavior of homosexuality which undermines the core of civilized society. Homosexuality is a sin no different than lying of adultery or any other human behaviors which fall short of the glory of God and His desire and will for human behavior.
My sister owns a Volvo and it has been unreliable and expensive to repair.
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nick 9:47AM (6/29/2006)
Hey, let's keep the politics out of here unless they have to deal with the auto industry. There are lots of blogs out there you can use to rant on and on about how homosexuals are destroying marriage, kids, western civilization, and the ozone layer. This was about Vovlo giving the Pope a XC90, not about gays. Take that elsewhere please, this is a car blog. We're here to talk about cars.
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James Sonne 9:52AM (6/29/2006)
The pope has been given many other cars by companies in the past years. I believe the first one he received was a Porsche Carrera GT by VAG. He sold it soon after and donated the money to charity. I doubt he'll keep the Volvo.
And if you all would educate yourself about Pope Benedict's policies you would see that he is quite the social liberal, along with many Christians. Other Christians who happen to be conservative happen to have the ability known as 'toleration' which is a critical part of a successful society. I would say few Christians actually hate anything. The Christian faith is about indescriminate temperance and kindness.
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Richard Warren 10:32AM (6/29/2006)
Holy airbag, Popeman, it's a Volvo!
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HeyYou 10:46AM (6/29/2006)
'rant on and on about how homosexuals are destroying marriage, kids, western civilization, and the ozone layer'
Who's ranting, Nick? I see no mention of kids, marriage or the ozone layer. And my sister still has a Volvo that requires a great deal of repair.
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RJ 10:51AM (6/29/2006)
Amen to #6 ..oops.
I really like Volvos.
(But, don't those self-righteous bible thumpers just make you CRAZY!)
Volvos are nice cars.
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MikeInNC 11:26AM (6/29/2006)
We have two Volvo's and they have been great cars thus far (total of 40k miles).
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Captain Dick 12:33PM (6/29/2006)
Agree with #6.
Pirate smoker . . . more like Cardinal smoker.
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Tenley M. Jones 8:20PM (7/05/2006)
The Pope knows what Jesus would drive.
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C. McGraw 4:36AM (7/06/2006)
The Pope would be smart to give away that Volvo. It's a gas guzzler. I'd like to see him whiz around in an electric car with a solar roof but that'd probably be a safety issue - maybe not enough power or range for a getaway.
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T Reilly 2:09PM (7/07/2006)
How many people could have been fed with the money that car costs? Shame on the Catholic religion for flaunting their masses of money and gold! Hypocrites!!
As for who is entering "heaven" LOL and who is not...mind your own business!
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Lou 2:16PM (7/07/2006)
Contrary to popular belief, the Vatican does not have billions of dollars in it's coffers. In fact, every season that country runs into serious financial trouble. What they do have is millions of dollars worth of art and artifacts, but since when have you seen they Metropolitan Museum of Art donating to solve the world's problems?
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Eric 2:19PM (7/07/2006)
Volvos make baby Jesus cry. Especially when the Popeman isn't even going to drive it. I agree that the donation would have served better if given to a charity and Mr Pope should have suggested that to Volvo.
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Father McFeely 2:33PM (7/07/2006)
He needs an SUV so he can wear his big pointy hat when he drives.
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Charles Sadler 2:33PM (7/07/2006)
Shame on Volvo and the Vatican for making such a marketing ploy newsworthy. Seems not only should church and state be separate as in the USA (sometimes)but we need to include the ethics of separating church and corporations. Is nothing sacred?
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thesby 2:35PM (7/07/2006)
so what the pope had an suv.do not let religion control on what the pope can drive!let the man live a little.
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