h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yup... part of me has to agree... Volvo's are stodgy.

I'm a lifelong fan of Volvo. Born and raised with the car. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of Volvo, but all in all... a great piece of Swedish machinery.

Volvo is a notoriously plodding car. For years we have been stuck behind their 2.3 litre overhead cam engines. There have been a few notable exceptions... the turbo-charged 16 valve comes to mind... But for the most part, we've seen sturdy, heavy vehicles coupled with adequate powerplants. Nothing silly, or overpowered (think any US manufacturer from the 70's) but always respectable and safe.

Volvo chose the safety route when all of the other manufacturers chose performance. Before Volvo's intense focus on safety, their 544 and 122 series cars raced quite well, and were champions in many races.

Volvo turned into such perveyors of safety, that in the mid-60's, the US government bought several Volvos to crash into walls, and each other. Their crash tests were used to determine the safety standards that US car manufacturers had to meet.

Fast forward a bunch of years... the 240 series is no longer made, Volvo only makes front-wheel drive, is now owned by Ford, and prices on the 240/740 series have come into the "very affordable" range.

The Volvo 2.3 litre over head cam engine, when fitted with the proper equipment, can produce over 300 horsepower. And do it with a similar level of reliability that Volvo is famous for. The 240 series "brick" proved itself as a capable race platform during the mid-80s in Group-A competition.

Personally, I'm very excited to see the limits of power and performance that people are exploring with older Volvos. I own a 1972 1800ES and a 1965 122S, and I'm constantly amazed by the solid reliable performance of both of these cars.

Volvo always made good choices in components. Their cars are so overbuilt it's no surprise they're called "bricks" and "tanks". Their 4-cylinder engine was a modified V-8 truck engine. The 2.0 liter B20 engine can be bored out to 2.2 liters, and rev to well over 9,000 RPM. Their 1800 and 122 series cars used Dana/Spicer real axles, known for their strength and reliability.

Volvo will never have the graceful lines of Porche or BMW, or the rediculous power of Ferrari, but I do belive that Volvo will always be a safe, reliable and capable automobile. Whether it be passing traffic on the Autobahn, picking up the kids from school, or moving a washing machine, Volvo will be there, doing it with it's own quirky Swedish style.

I would love to own an Amazon - I have trouble persuading my father-in-law that it is a reliable form of transport (but it's a *Volvo!*).

I had a 2.5-litre 20-valve V70, which was quite brisk, but right now I'm running the same 2.3-litre overhead cam engine (albeit the twin-cam 16-valve 155bhp flavour). It works just fine. It's a great motorway car - never blwon about by passing trucks like some vehicles are.