We have a more modest plan in the Volvos, although we are told the trip is being called El Malarrimo Enduro, which roughly translated is Mexican slang for "trip near to danger."
"The idea is to get from A to B in a safe manner without destroying the cars too badly," he says.
For that, he and the crew have mapped out a three-day route taking us from San Francisquito west and then south into Baja California Sur to the oasis-like village of San Ignacio. This is race headquarters for the Baja 1,000.
Day 2 finds us in our Volvos climbing the mountains behind San Ignacio; looking back, we get a fabulous view of the mission. Then it is on to the salt flats, followed by a brief stop at the small coastal fishing village of El Datil. There Farnsworth stops and hands out candy to the local kids from the back of a pickup. Nine hours later, we arrive in Mulege.
Our final day is a short 80-kilometre run down Highway 1 south to Loreto, the former Baja capital and a budding resort destination. Highway 1, which opened in 1973, is a two-lane road stretching 1,704 km from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas at the very southernmost tip of Baja California. The highway is the main north-south connection and is in very good shape, especially given the many trucks charging up and down its length.
For Volvo, avoiding major breakdowns and other disasters on this trip represents a small but important triumph. Four years ago, when the original XC70 was launched, the one riding on the old 850 chassis, Volvo officials had conceived of this idea of Baja adventuring in the wagon -- to prove the point that this wagon is a pretty tough hombre.
Today, the XC70 rides on the new P2 chassis also shared with the S80, V60, V70 and XC90. Parent Ford has also adapted the P2 platform for its Freestyle utility and Five Hundred and Mercury Montego (the latter U.S. only) sedans. The XC70 and V70 wagons moved to the P2 in 2001. The wagons and the XC90 sport utility together account for nearly half of the 450,000 vehicles Volvo expects to sell in 2004.
"We are a company on the move," says Olsson, citing Volvo's target of selling 600,000 vehicles by about 2007. To get there, the company is going to add new models (a small utility that might be called the XC50 among them) but also expand the appeal of its core wagons.
"The Germans," says Futers, "do a great job with coupes, sedans and convertibles. But nobody does a better job for the XC (cross-country) range than us. Nobody."
Which is entirely the point of us bouncing through Baja in the XC70.
Adds Olsson: "This is to show what the XC70 is capable of. We want you, we want our customers, to perceive that we can do this."
What seems most odd is the choice of the XC70 for Baja. While this wagon does have a slightly elevated ride height versus the regular V70 wagon on which it is based, the taller-still XC90 SUV would seem the more logical choice tackling ruts, rocks, river crossings, sandy trails and the tricky salt flats.
"We find luxury SUV buyers, people who buy the XC90, come from luxury sedans," Futers says. "They are a more relaxed, less adventuresome group. The XC70 buyer is a more active customer."
It all, then, boils down to Volvo trying to establish its authenticity by way of a tough Baja tour. Well, none actually broke down, so in that sense, mission accomplished.
Still, if Volvo is to break through and challenge already established luxury manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz -- and that is the long-term plan laid out by company president Hans-Olav Olsson -- then improvements must be made away from Baja, in the real world of everyday ownership.
For instance, Volvo barely ranks above average in the latest J. D. Power Initial Quality Study of owner-reported problems during the first 90 days. Volvo did not have a single top-three vehicle in any of the individual classes, either.
More worrisome are the numbers found in this year's J. D. Power study of long-term study of reliability, the Vehicle Dependability Index. In it, Volvo joined DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes brand and Ford's Land Rover and Jaguar brands by scoring well below the industry average -- and all of them did worse in the 2004 survey than in 2003.
So while a run through the barren beauty of Baja shows off a tough side, there remains work for Volvo to do on the overall quality front.
On the other hand, on the heels of Baja, that mom-mobile stereotype looks to be in serious jeopardy.
