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Volvo History

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VOLVO HISTORY

The Volvo Owners Club has put many of these historic documents together here to make them easier to find. These documents contain lots of useful information, both of a general and technical nature.

1920-2005
Technical facts about the various models with photographs, and a comprehensive Volvo Car Production Statistics from 1927.

1920-2000
These documents have fuller details about the year and the models.

History Articles
A series of documents from Volvo and other sources. Some have company statistics and other detail the background of Volvo and car production. Most are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

VOLVO COMMUNITY FORUM


Visit the Volvo Community Forums, a series of forums covering all models of Volvo cars.

Information
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Forum Introduction.


VOLVO SALES AND WANTS


Visit the Volvo Sales and Wants, a place to buy or sell any Volvo car or car parts.

VOLVO GALLERY

Visit the Volvo Gallery, a place to view and upload your own photographs of Volvo cars.
Click to enlarge.

by amiami
· · ·
Humour
49 photos
11 comments
by Bob Isaac
· · ·
NEC 2007
50 photos
4 comments

THE HISTORY OF VOLVO CARS



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Volvo 242

[ P1800ES | 242 | 244 | 245 | 262 | 262C | 264 | 265 | 66 | 343 | 345 ]

Volvo 242

In August 1974, Volvo presented a new generation of cars called the 240 and 260 Series.

These new models had been developed from the 140 series and were very similar to their predecessors. The changes included a new front, large bumpers and a developed chassis, featuring a front-wheel suspension system of the McPherson type. At the same time, a new 4-cylinder engine series with an overhead camshaft began to be used. The previous 4-cylinder was still used for a time.

Two-door cars were still very much in demand, particularly on the Nordic markets, and it was therefore only natural to include a 2-door in the programme. However, as the trend was moving towards 4-door cars, the 242 was taken out of production long before the 244 and 245.

Over the years, the Volvo 242 was produced with many different engines and gearboxes.

 
Technical facts:
 
Prod. years: 1974-84
Prod. volume: 242,621
Body style: 2-door saloon
Engine: 4-cylinder, in-line OHV, 4-cylinder, in-line OHC, 4-cylinder, in-line OHC with turbocharging.
Transmission: 4-speed manual or 4-speed with el. overdrive, with floor-mounted gear lever. 3-speed automatic.
Brakes: Hydraulic, disc brakes on all four wheels.
Dimensions: Overall length 490 cm/198", wheelbase 264 cm/104".
Miscellaneous: In 1985, the Volvo 242 won the European Touring Car Championship.

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