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Volvo - Let the Wheels Roll
Mark this date. April 14th. Whose birthday is it? Yes, Jakob was born on April 14, 1927. He walked out of his home in Gothenburg on this day. Jakob, also known as the OV4, was the first Volvo car. Volvo in Latin means “I Roll”.
Cars made real progress in the 1920s. It was in 1923 when the jubilee exhibition was held in Gothenburg that people's interest in cars was seriously aroused. 97 car exhibitors took part in the exhibition. People's interest in cars grew. We see how Volvo cars have evolved over the years. However, the basic concept of quality of these cars still remains the same as that in 1927.
Somewhere around 1935, for the very first time, the hood was modified and a grille had been fitted in front of the radiator. This car was called the PV655. The next car PV36 was named Carioca after the popular South-American dance form which was a trend back then. It was considered to be a luxury model and was slightly expensive too. Around 500 PV36 cars were made. A little later, a slightly larger car, PV60 in American style was built. This was successor to the PV53-56. Next, in 1944, Volvo built the small PV444 car in American design and European size. This Euro-American blend proved to be highly successful. PV444 stayed in modified form for over 20 years.
Though quality was great, the Volvo cars were a little boring. So, in the 1950s, the Swedish luxury car major, Volvo came up with a two-seater sports car. The Volvo Sport, also called P1900 was subjected to tests to the point of exhaustion. It survived all tests. All components except the 70 bhp engine were taken from the PV444. But, due to lesser demand, only 67 cars were produced over a period of one year.
Volvo's idea of having two cars in one; one for work and one for leisure gave rise to Volvo Duett 445 or 210. Volvo also built many military vehicles for the Swedish army. They then decided to go international, still keeping quality and safety as the priority. The top half of the dashboard of the new car was padded, and Volvo was world's first in equipping its cars with three point safety belts as a standard fitting.
The P1800 was built and won awards at the 1961 California State Fair and at the 24-hour race at the Sebring track in the US for its attractive design. Even in “The Saint”, we see the dashing Roger Moore driving a dashing white P1800.
Cars made real progress in the 1920s. It was in 1923 when the jubilee exhibition was held in Gothenburg that people's interest in cars was seriously aroused. 97 car exhibitors took part in the exhibition. People's interest in cars grew. We see how Volvo cars have evolved over the years. However, the basic concept of quality of these cars still remains the same as that in 1927.
Somewhere around 1935, for the very first time, the hood was modified and a grille had been fitted in front of the radiator. This car was called the PV655. The next car PV36 was named Carioca after the popular South-American dance form which was a trend back then. It was considered to be a luxury model and was slightly expensive too. Around 500 PV36 cars were made. A little later, a slightly larger car, PV60 in American style was built. This was successor to the PV53-56. Next, in 1944, Volvo built the small PV444 car in American design and European size. This Euro-American blend proved to be highly successful. PV444 stayed in modified form for over 20 years.
Though quality was great, the Volvo cars were a little boring. So, in the 1950s, the Swedish luxury car major, Volvo came up with a two-seater sports car. The Volvo Sport, also called P1900 was subjected to tests to the point of exhaustion. It survived all tests. All components except the 70 bhp engine were taken from the PV444. But, due to lesser demand, only 67 cars were produced over a period of one year.
Volvo's idea of having two cars in one; one for work and one for leisure gave rise to Volvo Duett 445 or 210. Volvo also built many military vehicles for the Swedish army. They then decided to go international, still keeping quality and safety as the priority. The top half of the dashboard of the new car was padded, and Volvo was world's first in equipping its cars with three point safety belts as a standard fitting.
The P1800 was built and won awards at the 1961 California State Fair and at the 24-hour race at the Sebring track in the US for its attractive design. Even in “The Saint”, we see the dashing Roger Moore driving a dashing white P1800.
On 24th April, 1964 the new Torslanda Plant with an 110,000 car capacity was opened. Medically recommended front seats, disc brakes at the front on Amazon models and power-assisted brakes on station wagons were some of the features introduced in the new Volvo cars. In 1966, an extremely advanced car in terms of safety, the Volvo 144, was presented. The car had two brake circuits and, if one of them failed, 80% of braking effect was still available. A year later, the Volvo 145 with a one-piece tailgate that opened outwards with the hinges located in the roof was introduced.
The 175 hp Volvo 164 E, the most powerful standard car Volvo had ever produced was introduced in the 1970s. The sporty-natured P1800 ES too was produced in 1971 followed by the VESC - Volvo Experimental Safety Car. Newer generation of Volvo cars were introduced during the latter half of the decade. The 240 series cars were used to set the safety standards for all new cars in the US. In 1977, Volvo celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new car called the Jubilee.
On February 25th, 1981, the one-millionth Volvo bound for North America left the plant in Gothenburg. This Jubilee car was the silver 240 Estate. Volvo was now the largest European car exporter to the US. Several models of Volvo cars were introduced year after year. Sporty, elegant, exciting cars were manufactured. On 28th January, 1999 Volvo Group sold its business area, Volvo Car Corporation to Ford Motor Company with the resulting group now largely set on commercial vehicles. The new millennium, however, started very well for Volvo Cars. In 2000, the company sold over 422,100 vehicles. Volvo has also produced concept test platforms through the years.
Today, the company uses a system of letters denoting body style followed by the series number. S stands for saloon or sedan, C stands for coupé or convertible and V stands for versatile as in estate car. XC stands for cross country originally added to a more rugged V70 model as the V70XC and indicates all wheel drive paired with a raised suspension to give it a mock SUV look.
The 175 hp Volvo 164 E, the most powerful standard car Volvo had ever produced was introduced in the 1970s. The sporty-natured P1800 ES too was produced in 1971 followed by the VESC - Volvo Experimental Safety Car. Newer generation of Volvo cars were introduced during the latter half of the decade. The 240 series cars were used to set the safety standards for all new cars in the US. In 1977, Volvo celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new car called the Jubilee.
On February 25th, 1981, the one-millionth Volvo bound for North America left the plant in Gothenburg. This Jubilee car was the silver 240 Estate. Volvo was now the largest European car exporter to the US. Several models of Volvo cars were introduced year after year. Sporty, elegant, exciting cars were manufactured. On 28th January, 1999 Volvo Group sold its business area, Volvo Car Corporation to Ford Motor Company with the resulting group now largely set on commercial vehicles. The new millennium, however, started very well for Volvo Cars. In 2000, the company sold over 422,100 vehicles. Volvo has also produced concept test platforms through the years.
Today, the company uses a system of letters denoting body style followed by the series number. S stands for saloon or sedan, C stands for coupé or convertible and V stands for versatile as in estate car. XC stands for cross country originally added to a more rugged V70 model as the V70XC and indicates all wheel drive paired with a raised suspension to give it a mock SUV look.
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