Jh Pnrtianb (Obscrun Black History Month
Page B6
p o r t l a n c I o M e r v e r i /Vufo R e v ie w
2007 Volvo XC90 AWD
Rated -2007 TOP SAFETY PICK’
tn K a m i 11 \ C arr
V olvo does things a little differ­
ent ly from othe r pre nt i ti in brands i n
the automotive world. Forthis Swed­
ish m anufacturer, safety and kid
friendliness are just as im portant as
luxury am enities and driving per­
form ance, and in no vehicle is this
more apparent than the Volvo XC90,
a m idsize 7-passenger SUV.
Easily one o f the safest S U V ’s
on the market, the Volvo X C 90pio­
neered Roll Stability Control when
it debuted for the 2003 model year.
I his hit o f technology uses a gyro
sen so r to id en tify ev e ry SU V
o w n er's greatest fear, a potential
rollover situation, and activates the
stabi lity control system Io avert the
danger. The Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety rated the 2007
XCOOas ‘TopSafety Pick,' an award
recognizing vehicles that do the
best jo b o f protecting people in
front, side and rear crashes, based
on ratings in 11 US extensive tests.
V olvo's dedication to safety has
placed them solidly as leaders in
autom otive safety.
Safety features debuting in the
2007 model year is the Blind Spot
Inform ation System (BLIS), which
monitors images from a p airo fcam ­
eras m ounted on the inside mirrors
and warns the driver via an indica­
tor light w hen an o th er vehicle
m oves into the X C 90’s blind spot.
O f course, the X C 90 also provides
staples like side curtain airbag pro­
tections for all three rows, anti­
w hiplash seats and an em ergency
co m m u n ic a tio n sy stem . V olvo
crash safety is legendary, scoring
very well in both N H TSA and 11 US
testing.
In ad d itio n to peace o f m ind.
3.2-L iter, Inline 6-C ylinder en g in e; G eartronic 6-
s p e e d electro n ica lly co n tro lled a u to m a tic /m a n u a l tr a n s m is s io n
w /L o c k u p Torque C onverter; CITY ¡S16-MPG a n d HIGHWAY is
22-M PG; $ 4 5 , 2 0 0 .0 0 M SRP.
D E S R IP T IO N
the V olvo X C 9 0 also p ro v id es
plenty in the w ay o f p racticality .
Ilead ro o m and legroom are am ple
for ch ild ren and teen ag ers in the
second and th ird row s, and both
the 4 0 /2 0 /4 0 -sp lit se co n d -ro w
seat and the 5 0 /5 0 -sp lit th ird row
can fold flat into the floor w hen
e x tra c a rg o s p a c e is n e e d e d .
T h e re 's even an in teg rated ch ild -
b o o ster cu sh io n for th e second
row th at allo w s the c e n te r se c ­
tion to slid e forw ard fo r ea sie r
ac cess to a fussy to d d ler.
For all these reasons, the 7-pas­
senger V olvo X C 90 is one o f our
top recom m endations to families
shopping for an SUV. Although
it’so ff-ro ad perform ance is merely
average as luxury SU V s go. The
S ports ___________
February 21, 2007
News and reviews on new motor vehicles
______________________________________________ ;_____________ I
V olvo X C90 is still in its first gen­
eration. and changes have been
minimal overthe years. The 3.2-liter
six-cylinder engine, rated at 235-
horsepow er, also debuted in 2(X)7.
V o lv o ’s new n a tu ra lly -asp ire d
inline six is a good replacem ent for
the old 2.5-liter turbo Five. The new
engine uses variable cam phasing
and variable valve lift on the intake
cam , for im provem ents in torque
and horsepow er as well as d e­
creased fuel consum ption and em is­
sions levels. It's m atched to the 6-
speed autom atic transm ission. O ur
test vehicle w as equipped with the
optional G eartronic 6-speed Elec­
tronically Controlled A utom atic/
M anual transm ission, A W D with
V o lv o 's new Instant Traction sys­
tem. This is great for nasty weather.
T he X C 90 handles well on streets
and highw ays, and offers a solid,
quiet, comfortable ride. Keepin mind
the laws o f physics, the XC90 at
nearly 4,500-lbs.is no lightweight,
and inertia does m ake its presence
felt when changing directions; the
acceleration was adequate but not
Happy B irthday
Marco Washington &
Quay uana Wash i ngton
Bryant Leads West to Victory
In high-scoring
all-star game
(A P) - Kobe Bryant headlined the biggest
act in Las Vegas on Sunday night.
Bryant, Carm elo Anthony and the W est
high rollers lit up the Strip with their own
version o f Showtim e, rom ping past LeBron
Jam es and the East 153-132 in the NBA All-Star
game.
“ I think we had a little flair, a little V egas in
there," W est forw ard Shawn M arion said.
"H opefully the fans enjoyed it a lot."
W hen the show girls, acrobats, m agicians
and Elvis im personators were Finally done, it
was Bryant who heard the loudest cheers, as
fans chanted "M V P!" "M V P!" in the closing
minutes.
“T o have this type o f reaction here in this
All-Star gam e is very hum bling," Bryant said. “1
ju st feel very blessed and very fortunate to be
able to com e out tonight and put on a really
good show ."
Bryant scored 3 1 points, had six o f the W est’s
record 52 assists and was selected the MVP.
A m are Stoudem ire added 29 points for the
W est, which quickly built a big lead and held it
this tim e, a year after blowing a 2 1 -point cush­
ion in a loss in Houston.
An event that som e locals called the biggest
thing fell a little short in the basketball depart­
ment — the W est had a large lead for m ost of
the final three quarters — but that d id n 't seem
to m atter to the fans or the players.
“ We got here at 2 o 'c lo c k ," the E ast's
S h aquilleO 'N eal said. " T h e re 'sa lot o f stretch­
ing and standing around. W e w ere all kind o f
stiff, so the game was a little lopsided. But th at's
OK. they cam e here to see a show and they got
K o b e B rya n t o f th e W e ste rn C o n fe re n c e
d u n k s a s th e E a s t's G ilbert A re n a s lo o k s
o n during S u n d a y 's NBA All-Star G am e.
a show ."
And the players agree with Las V egas o ffi­
cials that the gam e should com e back here —
w hether Las Vegas ever gets an NBA team or
not.
“ If they d o n 't do it here every year, they
should at least have it here every other year,"
East guard Richard H am ilton said.
Hate Talk Taken Back
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Hardaway said
reaction was like
he ‘killed somebody’
(A P ) - FormerNBA AII-StarTim
H ardaway apologized again S un­
day for his anti-gay rem arks, say­
ing he “d id n 't m ean" to say what he
said on a Miami radio program last
week.
H ardaw ay ackno w led g ed he
made a m ajor mistake by saying "I
hate gay people" when asked how
he w ould react to having a gay
teammate.
“ I d o n 't h ate gay p e o p le ,"
Hardaway said. “I' m agtxxlhearted
person. I interact with people all the
tim e .... I respect people. For me to
say 'h ate ' was a bad word, and I
d id n 't mean to use it."
H ardaw ay made the anti-gay
c o m m e n ts a w eek a fte r Jo h n
A m aechi becam e the First form er
NBA player to reveal his hom o­
sexuality. H ardaway said he did n 't
believe gay players should share a
locker room with heterosexual play­
ers, then added. "I d o n 't like gay
people, and I d o n 't like to be around
gay people.”
On Sunday, he acknow ledged
“that w as very bad."
His rem arks quickly drew criti­
cism from both the NBA and sev-
Jam es scored 28 points for the East, and
Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The East barely shot 40 percent through three
quarters in a gam e that isn 't know n for its
defensive intensity before a late flurry during
garbage time.
The gam e was secondary to the show in this
most unusual o f A ll-Star gam es — and it was
quite a show.
W ith tickets unavailable to the public, bro­
kers were asking more than $20,(MX) for a top
seat. Jay-Z , B eyonce, D iddy. Prince, Eva
Longoria and Adam Sandler were am ong those
w ho scored spots in the front row, and C hris­
tina A guilera and Toni Braxton perform ed at
halftime.
The event started with a celebrity red carpet,
w here Las Vegas M ayor O scar G oodm an,
flanked as usual by his show girls and backed
by entertainer W ayne N ew ton, vow ed again to
get the NBA here full-tim e with a new arena to
play in.
M agicians Siegfried and Roy then w elcom ed
the fans to Las Vegas, before introducing the
show girls who escorted Newton out to the
stage for a perform ance o f “V iva Las V egas."
A fter the East A ll-Stars were introduced, N ew ­
ton took the stage again for another perfor­
m ance before the W est players w ere a n ­
nounced.
A fter another Las V egas entertainer, Danny
G ans, sang the national anthem , it was Finally
tim e for some basketball — after about a 45-
minute pregame.
Perhaps that took its toll on the players.
There w ere missed dunks and passes throw n
out o f bounds by both team s, but the East was
by far the worst. They m issed seven o f their first
nine shots, including a blow n dunk attem pt by
ShaquilleO 'N eal.
exceptional.
As this is a prem ium SUV, all
major safety and convenience fea­
tures are included even on the base
m odel, with exception o f rear park­
ing sensors, w hich are optional.
M ajor options include rear enter­
tainm ent system with dual screens,
a D V D -based navigation system , a
Dolby Pro Logic II surround-sound
audio system and an interior air
quality system that m onitors in­
com ing air for toxic substances.
Even the m irrors have a safety
aw areness about them with a w a­
ter-repellent coating, leaving them
alw ays clear.
V olvo’s reputation for safety is
not ju st m arketing talk. V olvo puts
an incredible amount of time, money
and effort into research and engi­
neering designed to protect the
driv er and passengers. O verall,
V olvo has put together a sharp -
handling, stylish looking and ex­
trem ely hooked-up fat-ride with a
myriad o f famous V olvo safety fea­
tures, with only one m ission - to
protect you and your loved ones.
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Vancouver. WA 98684
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Tim H ardaw ay
eral gay and lesbian groups, and
H ardaway said the firestorm sur­
prised him.
“ It was like, you know, I had
killed so m e b o d y .... I never knew
that this was going to escalate that
high," Hardaw ay said.
H ardaway was banished from
som e N B A -san ctio n ed a p p e a r­
ances he was scheduled to make in
Las Vegas as part o f the A ll-Star
w eekend. He also lost at least one
o f his endorsem ent deals, and he
ordered his n; ^
from
advertising at a car wash he ow ns
in M iami, saying he made that deci­
sion to ensure the safety o f his
em ployees.
Hardaw ay played parts o f 13
NBA seasons with G olden State,
Miami, Dallas. D enver and Indiana,
and played in five A ll-Star gam es.
Michael E Harper Agent
We moved to our new location at:
9713 S.W. Capitol
Portland,OR
503-221-3050
Fax 503-227-8757
michael.harper.cuik@ statefarm .com
F ree C onsultation
Tim Wilson
Independent Broker
Website: www.wilsonsdeal.com
Email: Tim@wilsonsdeal.com
(503) 550-3841
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