1982 Volvo 240 US Brochure image. Sourced from the web.
Welcome to the fourth entry in this chronicle detailing the life and times of the long-lived Volvo 240 in the U.S. market, as seen in real time by a veteran Volvo product planner/carline manager fortunate enough to have been “on site” for virtually all of those years.
So far, we’ve virtually journeyed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s in Chapter One, Chapter Two, and Chapter Three. Now it’s time to set the way back machine for the fall of 1981 as Volvo introduced its ’82 lineup. Once again, the 240 model range was expanded, offering more performance-focused choices. For those looking to maximize fuel economy, the VW-sourced six-cylinder diesel returned, after an absence of one year.
As usual, Volvo’s key competitors weren’t standing still either, so of course we’ll take a look at some of those entries as well.
Model Year 1982
Volvo becomes the first manufacturer to offer a full range of turbocharged cars when four-door sedan and station wagon versions of the 127-HP B21F Turbo are added to the two-door. However, a naturally-aspirated version of the sportier two-door, badged “GLT,” is still available.
A new four-speed automatic transmission replaces the previous three-speed unit on all four-cylinder gasoline-powered 240s, for a further improvement in fuel economy and more comfortable highway driving.
240-Series diesels are re-introduced in both four-door sedan and station wagon body-styles. Buyers may choose the compression-ignition powerplant in either DL or GL trim levels.
This badge graced the right corner of the trunk or tailgate on compression-ignition-equipped 240s. The grille sported a smaller emblem. (Source: www.ebay.com)
The low-volume six-cylinder GLE station wagon is deleted, leaving only the four-door sedan.
In the fall of 1981, Volvo announces the availability of police-specification 240-Series sedans and wagons, offered with either the naturally aspirated B21F or B21F Turbo engine. Special police equipment includes all-vinyl rear seat upholstery, flashlight and nightstick holders in the front door panels, and reinforced springs, shock absorbers, and driver’s seat.
Volvo made a bid for the police-car business in the early ’80s. The “cops” posing alongside may have been Volvo employees. The cars are ’81 models. (Source: www.barnfinds.com)
In 1982, the NHTSA names Volvo designers to share the agency’s Safety Award for the third time, for “extraordinary skill in contributing towards better traffic safety.”
Road & Track tests the Volvo GLT Turbo in their April, 1982 issue and finds “…the turbocharger extremely important to the GLT sedan and wagon. They both already were civilized, durable, high-quality machines with comfortable rides, good driver control, and the safety that comes with thoughtful engineering and careful construction. But the additional power available from the new turbocharged engine has brought them the element that has been missing for too long from Volvo’s line- a little excitement.”
Honda introduces its second-generation Accord for model year 1982. The new car is larger than its predecessor, and the line now includes a four-door sedan. In November, Honda’s Marysville, Ohio assembly plant builds its first Accord.
Now on display at The Henry Ford in Greenfield Village, MI, the first U.S.-built Honda Accord rolls off the Marysville, Ohio, assembly line, November 1st, 1982. (Source: www.autoweek.com)
Volkswagen replaces its Dasher with the new, larger Quantum sedans and station wagons.
VW enlarged upon the Dasher’s attributes (both good and bad) when it introduced the mid-size Quantum sedan. At Volvo, we took it seriously, though. (Source: www.reddit.com)
John DeLorean is arrested on drug-trafficking charges, and his Northern Ireland sports-car company ceases operations after producing an estimated 9,080 units over three model years (according to its former purchasing director).
The NY Daily News, among others, had a field day when John DeLorean’s sports-car dreams collapsed. (Source:www.nydailynews.com)
1982 sales of new domestic cars, at 5,756,660 units, are the lowest since the recession year of 1961; imports are not immune to the economic slowdown, and their sales drop to 2,221,517 units, a decrease of about 100,000 units from the previous year’s total.
Volvo’s calendar year 1982 U.S. sales total 72,375 cars, a 12% increase from 1981. 240-Series sales account for 68,773 units, or 95% of Volvo’s total.
Model Year 1983
A larger-displacement, 2.3-liter B23F LH-Lambda engine replaces the former B21F in DL and GL models.
The 240 product line is trimmed with the deletion of the non-Turbo GLT two-door, DL trim-level diesel models, and sunroof-equipped DLs. A manual sunroof is now standard equipment in four-door GL models, which also receive new alloy wheels.
Halogen headlamps and slimmer, “European-style” bumpers are among the changes to the 240-Series for 1983.
The ’83 240s looked quite a bit different after losing their previous 5-MPH “commando” bumpers. These were good for 2.5-MPH. (Source: www.grautogallery.com)
The 264 is replaced as Volvo introduces the new 760 GLE sedan, available with either the B28F gasoline V6 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission or a turbocharged version of the D24 six-cylinder diesel, available only with the M46 four-speed-plus-overdrive manual gearbox.
A Volvo ad of the time bragged that the new 760 GLE had been in development for ten years, a proud claim no car company would dare make today.
Today’s corporate lawyers would have a collective coronary if their automaker client claimed to have “the closest thing yet to a perfect car.” (Source: www.ebay.com)
During 1982 and ’83, 240s competed in the Sweden-only Volvo Turbo Cup, which led to a pair of privateer teams contending in the European Touring Car Championship Group A ranks the following year. To satisfy FISA homologation requirements, specially-prepared 240 Special Edition Turbos, sporting a larger Garrett intercooled turbo, water injection, a rear spoiler, and other modifications, were presented to that governing body for scrutiny. (After a few of the cars were inspected and given FISA approval, 23 were sent back to Sweden for competition and the remaining units were returned to standard specification and allocated to Volvo dealers for customer sale).
As noted above, 23 units went back to Sweden for racing duty. The rest were returned to stock (but retained their low hood and narrow grille) and sold to new-car customers.
One of the ex-homologation 242 Turbos. A highly sought-after model in the rare event that one comes up for sale. (Source: www.bringatrailer.com)
By 1984, Volvo supported two factory teams, and by 1985 the racing 240s had captured both the ETCC and its German equivalent. Protests from unsuccessful competitors cause the cars to be severely penalized for the following racing season, during which they are campaigned by private entrants. Having proven its point, Volvo officially withdraws official factory support.
Robert Kvist was a 1984 co-driver in one of Volvo’s factory race cars (photo above). Later, I had the pleasure of meeting him during one of my many business trips to Gothenburg.
Midway through the 1983 model year, a new-generation BMW 318i appears as an early 1984 model. The E30 remains a cult classic more than forty years later.
Starting with the ’83 318i, the E30 grew over the next decade to include four-door sedans, convertibles, and the first M3. (Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com)
At about the same time, Toyota introduces a new compact sedan. The oddly-named Camry essentially replaces the older and smaller Corona series in Toyota’s U.S. lineup.
Looking back at this first-year Camry, one could be forgiven for underestimating the impact the model would eventually have on the mid-size sedan market in the U.S. (Source: www.caranddriver.com)
GM and Toyota announce the formation of their “NUMMI” joint venture, which will produce small cars at a former GM assembly plant in Fremont, California, which had previously been shuttered due to poor quality.
Pontiac introduces the Fiero, a mid-engine, four-cylinder two-seater. Its unconventional construction uses plastic body panels over a steel space frame.
A cutaway of the ’84 Pontiac Fiero. A similar construction technique would later be applied to GM’s Saturn brand. (Source: www.motor1.com)
MG withdraws from the U.S. market. Fiat ends calendar year 1983 with a total of 6,184 sales and announces its departure from the U.S. market as well. Its X1/9 and Spider sports cars will continue to be sold in the U.S. for a few years in very limited numbers, but not under the Fiat badge.
Calendar year 1983 results in a welcome sales recovery for the domestics, as 6,795,302 units are sold, up 18% from the 1982 low.
Fiat notwithstanding, imported car sales also improves to 2,385,734 cars, up 7% from the previous year.
A record 88,857 Volvos are sold in the U.S. during calendar year 1983; among the total are 78,728 240-Series cars (88%).
Model Year 1984
All 240s now use the old “260” body shell, which results in upgraded greenhouse trim and more substantial body-side moldings. Sedans now use wider, six-compartment tail lamps, and all 240s except Turbo models use a bright grille.
A close-up showing some of the 240 sedan’s detail changes for the ’84 model year. Body-side and bumper trim was all black on Turbos. The more elaborate greenhouse trim is barely visible in the upper right corner of this photo. (Source: www.bringatrailer.com)
A 120-MPH speedometer replaces the former 85-MPH unit, and all 240s get a timed rear window defroster feature. GL and Turbo sedans also add a power trunk release.
Benefiting from increased interest in diesel cars, Peugeot sells a record 20,004 units in the U.S. during calendar year 1984. Renault drops its 18i sedan; the five-door version is renamed “Sportwagon”. Their calendar year ’84 U.S. sales total 12,243 units.
Mercedes-Benz announces the first availability of a driver’s airbag in the U.S. since GM’s limited-production offering in the mid-1970s.
The 1981 Mercedes-Benz S-Class dash, with its airbag-equipped steering wheel. (Source: www.mercedes-benz.com)
The 1984 model year marks the end of the road for Ford’s Fairmont, introduced with great fanfare for the 1978 model year, along with its sibling, the Mercury Zephyr. However, the same basic architecture will still be used for Ford’s Granada and LTD models for two more model years, and a shortened version of this “Fox” platform will provide the basis for Ford’s Mustang pony car through model year 1993.
Chrysler Corporation introduces their front-wheel drive “T-115” minivan under the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager nameplates. (At about the same time, Renault introduces the Matra-built “Espace” minivan in Europe. It is not offered in the U.S.)
Chrysler Corporation Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca proudly shows off the K-car-based “Magic Wagon” minivan. (Source:www.businessinsider.com)
At Volvo, our Product Planning & Development department periodically purchased significant competitive vehicles and shipped them to our colleagues in Gothenburg for their evaluation (after testing them ourselves, of course, and having their first dealer service completed). One of our buys was an early-production Dodge Caravan. As soon as the minivan was delivered to Rockleigh, I drove it home one evening and was completely blown away by the complete “rightness” of the concept. I was immediately aware of its potential impact on the Big Three’s station wagon sales (not to mention our own).
The combined profitability of Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers reaches a record $10 billion.
The April, 1984 issue of Road & Track tested “Three Sporting Wagons”, an Audi 5000, a Peugeot 505S, and a Volvo Turbo. The magazine noted, “in contrast to the other two, (the Volvo) reminds us of a Sixties sports car in a wagon suit.”
Road & Track commented that their test GLT had “acceleration that does credit to a good sporty car, let alone a wagon.”
Calendar year 1984 results in a continued strong rebound for domestic nameplates, which total 7,951,517 units, the highest sales volume since 1979. Imported nameplates account for 2,441,713 units, a slight increase over the previous year.
Volvo’s U.S. sales set another new record, almost reaching the 100,000-unit mark, at 99,541 cars. An all-time record of 84,065 (over 84%) are 240s.
For the 1985 model year, Volvo would introduce the 740, adding naturally-aspirated and turbocharged four-cylinders to its newer 700-series, in both four-door and station wagon body-styles. Would this herald the end of the 240? Tune in again next week.
One very disagreeable change for 1983 not mentioned: Volvo was one of a handful of automakers in the U.S. to immediately take advantage of the NHTSA rollback of the 5-mph bumper standard, although the 240’s weaker 2.5-mph bumpers were still heavier than some rivals’ 5-mph bumpers.
(The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety apparently no longer has its archive of The Highway Loss Reduction Status Report online, but they discussed the rollback at length in 1982–1983, unsurprisingly.)
Also, “Camry” is an anglicized spelling of the Japanese word “kanmuri” (冠), which is a type of crown made of hardened black silk, once common for formal use by nobles and still sometimes worn for certain ceremonial purposes. Toyota originally used the name for the 1979–1982 JDM Celica Camry sedan, which was an A-platform Carina twin for sale through Corolla stores.
Stephen did mention this obliquely when he said that the “commando” bumpers of the 1982 and earlier models were replaced with the European bumpers in 1983. These still had energy absorbers supporting the bumper bars, but they were far less robust. Other automakers began removing the absorbers and replacing them with fixed brackets.
The IIHS tested a group of 1982-83 models with the differing bumpers, including the Volvo 240, Honda Civic and Accord, and Plymouth Horizon and Reliant. With the exception of the Reliant, which had a mixed performance, the others showed much more crash damage in 5 mph tests for the 1983 models compared to their 1982 predecessors.
The 1982 Volvo 240, a GL Diesel if I recall correctly with its heavily padded aluminum bumpers on substantial energy absorbers, suffered only a minor dent in the rear bumper’s center after the demanding 5 mph rear-into-pole test. There was no other body damage.
My own 1980 Volvo 242DL was rear-ended several times at low speed by inattentive drivers, and it was never damaged at all.
He mentions the “slimmer, European-style bumpers,” but that suggests an aesthetic rather than a functional alteration.
The 1980–1982 cars had bumpers that met the Phase II 5-mph standard, which limited the how much the bumper itself could be damaged (the earlier 5-mph Phase I standard allowed damage to the bumper itself as long as the vehicle wasn’t damaged). When the NHTSA rescinded the Phase II requirement in 1982, Volvo and Honda both immediately moved to downgrade their bumpers, with the results you describe.
Obviously, Volvo was not alone in doing this — Volkswagen actually downgraded the bumpers of the Rabbit as a mid-year change, so some 1983 cars had stronger bumpers than others — but given how much of Volvo’s reputation was built on safety, it was dismaying to see that Volvo could be every bit as cynical about safety as any other automaker. Also, a 200-series Volvo was not a cute little British sports car jacked up to awkwardly fit a battering ram on each end. I don’t think 240 owners were really buying them for aesthetics, and continuing with the stronger 5-mph Phase II bumpers seems like if anything it should have been a selling point.
This may be a little bit out there theory-wise, but is it possible that Volvo decided that a bumper being rigid enough to not show any damage at a 5mph impact might in fact not be the safest thing for the occupant? What I mean is if a bumper deforms then it is absorbing some of the energy that otherwise would/might be passed through its mounting to the occupant, unless of course there is a shock absorber built into the apparatus which I am not aware of one way or another. Volvo was never about the car not sustaining damage, but the occupant sustaining as little as possible, back in the early 1980s seat belt usage wasn’t nearly as almost universal as it is today.
As an aside, I recall MotorWeek (“television’s premier car reviewing program” sometime around this era used to back its cars into a pole and report on the damage that occurred. Now that I know more about how the whole manufacturer test car thing works I’m a little surprised that they were able/allowed to do that.
The 1980-82 Volvo bumpers did have shock absorbers behind them; in fact, this was the most common method used by all manufacturers to meet the tough 5 mph Phase II requirements.
Once the bumper standard was rolled back, the shock absorbers largely disappeared, although Volvo kept them in weaker form at least through the 1985 model year.
it was dismaying to see that Volvo could be every bit as cynical about safety as any other automaker.
The bumper standards were not about safety; they were about reducing damage and high repair costs.
Having owned ’81, ’82, ’83 and ’87 240s in the family, have been following this with interest. These and the SAAB 900 and 9000s we’ve had have been the only two “small” (compared to US full-sizers) car makes we’ve felt completely safe in as daily drivers. All 3 of our kids got one of these as their first car, and a 240 saved the life of one of them.
The supposedly reduced size bumpers certainly didn’t look any smaller.
They did not, and Ralph Nader’s Center for Auto Safety charged (I think justifiably) that it misleadingly suggested that the bumpers had not in fact been significantly weakened compared to the previous year. European and British-market 240s had already adopted the weaker bumpers for 1981.
I briefly owned a lightly used 240GL, a 1983 or so. Pleasant, if not exactly very lively with its automatic. Its narrowness suited me and was becoming a bit anachronistic by this time.
The diesels seemed quite rare; a bit odd given how many Peugeot and MBZ were selling. I’d forgotten that the 760 was available with a turbo version of the VW diesel six. I don’t ever remember seeing one. A friend in Eugene did have a 240 diesel for quite a while.
If you refer to my post from long ago about Brown Diesel RWD stickshift wagons, you can see just how tiny Diesel sales were. Part of the issue with the early 764/5 Diesels is they weren’t available with automatic, and that kept a lot of potential buyers in the price class away.
And to be fair, the 2.4 I-6 Diesel wasn’t a good or appropriate engine for the application. VW designed and sold it for a midsize commercial van, not for passenger car use. Volvo lacked the finances to engineer their own Diesel engine, so they took what they could get.
That 6 cylinder diesel was essentially identical to the 5 cylinder version used by Audi and the four cylinder used by VW and Audi. It just had one more cylinder. It was a perfectly appropriate application. And being a six, it was inherently smoother than the fours and fives. There’s nothing inherently different about engines used in passenger cars and light trucks. American light trucks and vans have been doing that since forever.
1984 is the official final year for US sales of both the 242 and the 244/5 Diesel models. But despite disappearing from the 1985 brochures, I’ve owned a 245 Diesel with a 1985 VIN, and I’ve verified the existence of at least two 242 cars with 1985 VIN. I’m not really sure what VCNA was up to, but oddities like this are well-known throughout the Volvo community.
We had I think a 1985 Volvo Diesel wagon with a manual, I thought it was a 4-speed with overdrive. It was fine around town and for freeway cruising, even got it up to 90 mph in the desert once (don’t tell Mom!). But it had slow acceleration, (though the 145 Wagon we had previously wasn’t great shakes in that department either) and Mom didn’t like getting diesel fuel, so that was Dad’s job. Otherwise it was a great car. After the kids were grown Dad traded it in on for a Cimarron with a V6. “It’s a Cadillac!”
Interesting photo of the Volvo 240 as a police car in Falls Church, Virginia. I live in the area and I would have to say that Falls Church is probably among the most Volvo demographics possible (except maybe certain towns in Long Island or in the Northeast), if not today then certainly in the 1980s. I read somewhere once that the municipality has the highest proportion of PhDs in the country. There’s also a long time Volvo dealer in the city which I believe is among the oldest Volvo dealerships in the United States. The son and namesake of the dealer is currently a US senator for the state of Virginia.
The choco-colored MY ’83 sedan above might be a DIESEL as she’s got no spoiler lip underneath the front bumper.. At least in Europe, you could tell the Diesels from the petrols this way.
By the way: Finland even got the 5 cylinder iteration of the VW LT Transporter Diesel engine – if you ordered. Those cars got a somehow ponderous “240 GL5D” moniker.