I used to be one of those snide individuals who took joy in deriding people who drove Volvos. In my admittedly limited experience, a swiftly moving Volvo was invariably piloted by an aggressive female hell-bent on a mission to get Junior to his soccer game or Missy to her Brownie troop meeting on time. In the minds of these monomaniacal matriarchs, the brakes included on the vehicle were exclusively for emergencies. Then, through a curious train of events, I became the owner of a used Volvo 740GL. Despite some of its nagging proclivities—like spending more time parked in the mechanic's garage than in mine—I became quite enamored of that car. Its boxy shape and heavily overbuilt feel made it a deeply comforting and enjoyable automobile in which to travel. I'm not talking the plush and cushy kind of comfort here. This was more the secure and stable kind of comfort.

The $450 Pro24.z also sports a 2.4-inch color touchscreen but comes with its own charging cradle and provides control plus two-way feedback when used with the $450 ProLink.z central processor. (Like the Pro24.r, the Pro24.z can be used as a standalone remote, as well.) Wizard-based programming software is said to make it simple and straightforward to program either system, which means that labor costs should be lower than the fees for charging other, more extensive remote control systems.

Coming later this year is the iPro.8 “companion controller” for use with systems based on either of the two central processors but which are normally controlled by smartphone or tablet apps. The iPro.8 allows users in the room who don’t have ready access to a smartphone/tablet to still be able to operate the system. The iPro.8 will have an MSRP of $149.