The word "Volvo" means "I roll" in Latin--How appropriate for a company started a subsidiary of ball-bearing manufacturer. The Swedish company SKF founded Volvo in 1927 and, due to the country's neutral status during WWII, was able to continue producing cars uninterrupted, though material shortages were nonetheless a constraint. During the war, the company focused its attention on developing smaller cars like the two-door fastback PV444, the first Volvo in the U.S., imported in 1944. The PV544 that followed was visually not much different from its predecessor, but under the hood was a 1.6-liter 85-hp "Sport" engine, offered standard; the three-speed transmission was bumped to four speeds in 1958.
The 122 "Amazon" series sedans and wagons arrived in the early '60s. Volvo's commitment to safety was already apparent in features like padded dashboards, laminated windshields, and three-point seatbelts, and the four-cylinder B18 engine powering many... View more PV544s and Amazon 120s would cement the brand's reputation for durability.
Volvo owner Irv Gordon's B18-powered 1966 P1800 would accumulate nearly three million miles over the next four decades. The P1800 coupes and 1800ES two-door wagons stand out from the rest of the Volvo timeline for their sporty, sculpted, lines. The bold glass tailgate of the 1800ES is referenced on the modern C30 hatchback.
Volvo's signature "Swedish Brick" profile would first be noticeable in the 1966-1974 140-series cars; the proportions would grow boxier yet with the 200 series in 1975 and the 700 series in 1982. By 1982, the 240 was long-in-the-tooth, but Volvo underestimated the car's popularity, and production would continue for an unbelievable ten more years, outliving the 700-series intended to be its replacement. Any of the RWD cars should last 300k miles, if properly maintained.
Through the '90s, Volvo designers gradually rounded off edges and softened the vehicle shapes. Ford purchased Volvo in 1999 and began positioned the brand as an upmarket competitor to such luxury automakers as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The XC90 is a luxury crossover SUV released in 2002 and is one of Volvo's top-selling vehicles; the V70 is Volvo's current mid-size station wagon; and the V60, released in 2010, is a compact wagon. The C30 (2006) is a small hatchback sports coupe, and the C70 (1997) is a luxury convertible.
Volvo plans to have a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid on the market by 2012, in support of an emissions goal of less than 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven. View less
The Volvo C30 is a two-door coupe with unusual styling and unexpected powerful performance. The front-wheel-drive, front-engined car is something of a departure for Volvo, at least in North American markets....
The Volvo C70 is a luxury car sold only as a two-door convertible coupe. The C70 has a front engine design and front-wheel drive. Volvo has set a reasonable price for the C70, making it an affordable...
The Volvo S40 was produced by NedCar beginning in 1995, which is a smaller subsidiary company of Mitsubishi Motors; this lasted until 2004 before Volvo Cars took over manufacturing. Since 2005, the S40 has...
The Volvo S60, a sporty four-door sedan, was introduced in 2001 as the Volvo S70's replacement. With understated elegance, this car is at once fun, classy, and exceptionally safe. During its debut year, it was...
The stylish Volvo S70 is a luxury car produced for the 1998-2001 model years. Volvo Cars, a Swedish company, introduced the sedan in 1998 as an updated version of the Volvo 850. Compared to its predecessor,...
The Volvo S80 is a luxury executive sedan first produced for the 1998 model year by Volvo Cars, a Swedish manufacturer. The car has undergone a number of modifications, but is still being produced. It served...
The Volvo V50 is the name given to the second generation of Volvo's V40 station wagons. It is a front engine car with front wheel or all wheel drive, although the 2011 version of the vehicle is not available...
The Volvo V70 is a mid-size luxury station wagon. For more than a decade, this reliable family car has been a perennial best-seller in its home country of Sweden. In the United States the Volvo V70 is...
The Volvo XC70 wagon, along with the XC60 and XC90, falls into Volvo's contemporary Cross Country collection. The car features SUV-inspired design elements and all-wheel drive, but it's meant more for everyday...
The mid-sized Volvo XC90 SUV, along with the XC60 sedan and the XC70 wagon, falls into Volvo's modern Cross Country collection. It leads SUV sales thanks to its attractive interior, specially-tuned sports...
