Volvo 245 L. Celebrating its golden model anniversary

Truck full of clichés

Anyone can draw the archetypal Volvo. It's not that difficult, because a pencil and a set square are enough. In this way, you can effortlessly come up with a whole lot of other clichés about the 200 series, which will be 2024 in August 50^e year of life. We are going to talk about that, about perhaps the most iconic model series that the Gothenburg brand ever produced. 

Text & photography: Aart van der Haagen

The Volvo 200 series sees Abraham. Cynical people will say undiplomatically: "Only now?" The linchpin of the program at the time already looked a bit sedate when he took office in the summer of 1974, even though designer Jan Wilsgaard had pulled out all the stops to prevent the model change from being perceived as a facelift in the public opinion. That qualification would also not do full justice to all the efforts to make the large middle class car that provided the volumes within the brand ranks future-proof. Besides, the fact that the life cycle eventually amounted to nineteen years says enough about its durability. The formula simply did not run out, not even when the 740 and 760 appeared in the first half of the eighties as intended successors. Where society changed at an occasionally barely manageable pace, the Volvo 242, 244, 245, 262, 264, 265 and the later 240 mainly remained very much themselves. You could count on that!

freebooter

Pacifist Sweden had its own tank… and it came from Gothenburg. The association with the armoured military vehicle is just one of the many clichés that surround Volvo's 200 series, referring to its indestructible construction on the one hand and the safety with which it surrounds its travelling companions on the other. Others affectionately refer to it as 'brick', referring to the square body that now stands out more than ever against the sadly uniform streetscape. With such a sedan or estate you make a statement and not in a forced or ostentatious way. Call it the style of the freebooter, who wants to withdraw from the grey masses, but at the same time takes responsibility. With regard to himself, partner, children and dog. The Labrador of course, to use yet another cliché. That's how it used to be and that's how it always seems to remain. In this hectic world in which developments follow each other (too) quickly, people need stability. For beacons to cling to, like these Volvos. 

Sensitive point

The durability of 200-types is proverbial and they still populate our planet in large numbers 31 years after the series' demise, with the proviso that the later years of construction clearly dominate the population. This goes, at least in the Netherlands, against the trend of tax avoidance. Die-hard Volvo fans apparently do not care about mandatory tax payments and prefer a 240 (as it has been called since September 1982) of the most mature type, with the best rust prevention. This immediately brings up a sensitive point, namely the susceptibility of the versions from the seventies in particular to the chemical process that can so horribly affect car plating. This is a direct explanation for the fact that early 242s, 244s, 245s and their derivatives with six cylinders are among the underrepresented breeds within Volvo ranks. We should therefore cherish them, just like the later 240s. 

The full article with numerous photos can be found in the December issue, which is now available in stores.