TEMPLAR BACK IN THE VOLVO DRIVER'S SEAT.

Byline: G. Chambers Williams III Fort Worth Star-Telegram 

In the new movie ``The Saint,'' Simon Templar tools around in a garnet-red Volvo C70 coupe.

But this is no Volvo station wagon loaded with kids and soccer gear; it's the new car that Volvo hopes will change its image with American consumers.

The sporty new coupe, which will debut at U.S. dealerships in September, has a turbocharged engine to aid the Saint, and Volvo is showing off the car in network TV ads featuring the movie connection.

This isn't the first time that Simon Templar has driven a Volvo. Roger Moore drove a Volvo P1800 coupe in the 1963-66 TV series.

So, when Bob Austin, Volvo's corporate communications director, read two years ago that Paramount was planning a movie version of ``The Saint,'' he called the studio and asked whether the updated Saint might also drive a Volvo.

``They had to be convinced, considering our current image,'' Volvo spokesman Jim Borsh said.

``We didn't even have the completed design for the C70 yet, but Bob Austin got a meeting with Paramount and showed them some drawings from our design studio.''

So, will the Saint do for Volvo what James Bond did for that sporty BMW roadster a couple of years back? Stay tuned.