My Black Brick

This column from Beater Review in 2007 contains my favorite description of the Volvo 240:

Ask any child to draw “a car,” and chances are you’ll get an uncanny representation of the Volvo 240.

The review is pretty good, as it covers the known issues of failing electrical parts (apparently made from eco-friendly bio-degradable materials) and the heater blower. Good comment below the article also.
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On doing a Google search for “beater brick” to find the above image, I saw I have the dubious distinction of being in slots #1 and #2 for that term. Here’s hoping I can nail a three-peat with this post.

Image via Andrew on Flickr

That is one long, flat hood. And what is up with those tires? Chains? Or just bad reflections?

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Via Volvo Rider

Volvo Wagon Specs, 1990-1993:

• 2.3 liter / 141 cui fuel-injected four cylinder
• 114 hp, 136 f/p torque
• EPA – 20 mpg city / 25 mpg highway
• 0-60mph – 10.1 seconds
• Wheelbase, in. – 104.3
• Overall Length, in. – 190.7
• Overall Width, in. – 67.7
• Overall Height, in. – 57.5
• Curb Weight, lbs. – 3051
• Cargo Volume, cu. ft. – 76.0
• Seating Capacity – 7
• Front Head Room, in. – 37.9
• Max. Front Leg Room, in. – 40.1

The video below offers a glimpse of the Volvo assembly line in Kalmar, Sweden in the early 1970s as it produces the 200 series model. It’s an educational video demonstrating new factory production techniques pioneered by Volvo and offers an amazing glimpse at how Volvo was trying to humanize the assembly line and improve worker’s satisfaction with their jobs.

IPD posted the video on their site, and I did a little research to find more info on this particular plant and the rational behind Volvo’s new assembly line.
READ MORE…

Cool little painting from yesteryear.

The Independent UK had a short overview of the 240 a few years ago:

The Volvo body design stood the test of time. The cars had thick door bars that linked into the overall structure rather than just “floating” in the door, waiting to hurt the occupants. The roof steel was so strong that car repairers used to use the roofs from wrecked Volvos to patch up the floors of other cars.

In the US, Volvo’s boast was that, for years, the fatality rate in its 240 models was the lowest of any car. Volvo’s safety reflected the work of engineer Nils Bohlin at the advanced Volvo Safety Centre. Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt and pioneered padded cabins.

Via Independent UK