My "Sven-Göran", a 240 GL sedan, was born at the Torslanda plant in spring 1987, the year my father bought it. He drove it for 123,000 km (76,000 miles) through the years until the spring of 2002, by the time it was replaced by a Peugeot 307. At which point Sven-Göran moved in with us.

There is nothing really special about Sven-Göran. Except.... The initiated few will appreciate the fact that this car looks almost like it did when brand new. Outside. Inside. Underside. Engine compartment. My father has put a lot of effort into upkeeping over the years, including a full anti-rust treatment every four years. Always garaged when not in use. No scratches, chipped paint, dents or faded interior.

There are mainly two reasons for this: First and most important - my father being the perfectionist that he is and always has been. Second - the price paid in '87 says a lot. As cars in my country is regarded by the government as a heavily punishable luxury, car taxation is taken to the utmost extreme. So having done the offense of getting a car, you'd better make it last as long as possible. In the seventies/eighties/early nineties there were few better starting points than a Volvo 240. Still isn't, come to think of it.

Why do I love the 240 series cars?

Well, if one can give reasons for love, here are a few:

• It is obviously a very safe car.

  You and your loved ones are surrounded by lots of Swedish steel.

  Fellow Brickboarder Marc kindly sent me this bit of interesting information:

  "The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (www.IIHS.org) did a 5 year study of death rates by model by series, of all model years from 1988 to 1992. According to the IIHS "Status Report" magazine cover article, Vol. 29, No. 11, October 8, 1994: "The 240 didn't record a single driver death during the five years of the study." Interestingly, it was the ONLY vehicle that had no driver deaths."
  

• It is solid and well built.

  Engine, transmission and drivetrain are next to indestructible.

  I would not call the 240 exceptionally reliable though, I find durable being a better word.

• It is a car the weekend mechanic can easily service and maintain.

  A very conventional design with few quirks. Someone has called it "the world's most modern veteran car".

• Parts are plentiful.

  Keep in mind that the 240 was built over a period of 18 years (1975-93), and second-hand and aftermarket parts are normally cheap and easy to find. Here in Scandinavia where the 240 was a top selling car you will find 240 parts "behind every bush". Go for a walk in the woods, and you shall find.

• Many of us find the classic and un-cluttered lines good looking. Take a look at most Japanese cars from the same era and you might get my point.

So, what are the cons?

• RUST!

  The body is prone to leaking, particularly in the windshield/firewall area. Water may hide under the carpets. And seep into the sills. And create all sorts of disasters as it passes the fuse box. If you find a rust-free one, do everything you possibly can to keep it that way.

• The electrical system could have been better. Relays may need resoldering on the oldest cars. And so on.

• The car appears to be built around the heater fan. A repair involves a total tear-down of everything between the front seats and the firewall; a ten hours job at the shop. If you D-I-Y, multiply by the usual factor.

• Anaemic motors. [For the turbo versions, this does not apply!!]

  For the n/a motors, focus was on longevity rather than on maximum power. If you long for the smell of burnt rubber, get a GTI or something. Or what would have been my choice - a 240 turbo intercooler.

• With its stock chassis, the 240 sways quite a bit in the turns. It also tends towards understeering. Volvo did in fact design the 240 this way for safety reasons: If you push it hard, the swaying will tell you to back off. If you don't, the car will hit with the crash zones first. If you want a sharper handling car though, the obvious upgrades are heavier swaybars, gas shock absorbers and harder(/shorter) springs. These rather easy fixes will make your car take the turns a lot flatter. The challenge is to choose components that will give you the intended balance between handling and comfort. Me, I'd go for handling. But this is also the wifemobile, need I say more? Politics, always politics.

• Did I mention rust?

If you don't mind reading my personal reasons for having/loving/coddling this particular 240 here is a long-winded rant, consider yourself warned.