Chapter Three of our Volvo 240 saga covers the 1980-81 model years. (If you’re just catching up, chapters one and two can be found Here and Here, respectively). The 240’s sixth and seventh model years in the U.S. market proved to be no less eventful than those preceding. Additional engine offerings were meant to address customers’ desires for improved fuel efficiency, but performance was not forgotten, as you will see. As always, sales data has been sourced from Volvo records as well as from various issues of the Automotive News Data Book.
Model Year 1980
The 240 product line again expands with the addition of a “GL” trim level four-door sedan, which adds items such as wheel trim rings. GLs are powered by the same B21F four-cylinder engine used in 240 DL models. However, the engine is now rated at 113-HP in U.S. trim, up from 107-HP previously.
A Euro-spec 1980 244 GL. North American Volvos used simpler badges, without the identifying numbers. The trim rings shown here also differentiated the GL from the lower-spec DL models.
A new 2.4-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine is made available in GL sedans and station wagons, marking Volvo’s first use of a compression-ignition powerplant in passenger cars. The VW-sourced engine is not available in California due to that state’s stricter emissions standards.
The Volvo six-cylinder diesel was sourced from VW, who used it in their European trucks and vans. In the states, it was initially offered in “DL” trim only. (Source: www.d24t.com)
Road & Track tested the Volvo Diesel along with diesel models from Audi, Peugeot, and Oldsmobile, and concluded that “…most of us today consider the Volvo stodgy and old-fashioned, especially when compared to the sleek new Peugeot (505) and the four-year-old but still sleek Audi (5000). The Swede’s looks may be right for a Volvo cultist, but to the average car buyer they seem outdated.”
The Volvo finishes in third place in this comparison; subjective scoring places it in second place, ahead of the Audi 4000 slightly lower than the second-place Audi 5000. The Peugeot finishes first, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Diesel ranks last.
One of my early Volvo test cars was a diesel-powered, stick-shift 1980 245. Once forward momentum was achieved, it was actually a pleasant car to drive. Not only that, it fit in quite nicely with all the diesel big rigs traveling Interstates 287 and 80 during my daily commute, and it returned an honest 40+ MPG while doing so.
All 240s receive new model designations: The “242/244/245” emblems are deleted, and 240s are now referred to as DL, GL, or GT models.
In GLE models, a larger-displacement 2.8-liter V6, designated B28F, replaces the former B27F. Horsepower increases to 136 from 127.
The NHTSA presents Volvo and Friedrich Jaksch, Volvo of America Corporation’s Technical Analysis Manager, with its Award for Safety Engineering Excellence for “driving safety and methodology in connection with accident research in laboratories.”
Car and Driver tests a GL sedan (priced at $11,911; roughly $45,415 now) in its April, 1980 issue, and comments ‘…there’s a lot to light the enthusiast’s fire in these latest offerings from the solid burghers of Gothenburg.” They called the car “…a paragon of automotive virtue, a car that everybody in a decision-making capacity in Detroit should drive for a year.”
Car and Driver’s April 1980 Volvo GL road test grudgingly admitted that there was “a lot to light the enthusiast’s fire” in the newest models from Gothenburg.
They concluded that Volvos “…have begun to look a little long in the tooth, maybe a little too big now that everything else is getting smaller, but there can be no argument about the way they work. With an improvement in fuel economy our test GL would have been perfect.”
For the 1980 model year, Audi introduces the new “4000” sedan, which succeeds its earlier “Fox” series.
With the new 4000, Audi had moved noticeably upmarket from my ’74 Fox. (Source: www.caranddriver.com)
Midway through the 1980 model year, Peugeot announces its new 505 sedan; its 504 station wagon, introduced for model year 1972, remains in the French automaker’s U.S. product lineup.
Peugeot’s new 505 was more mainstream than the quirky 504. We began to take them more seriously as a Volvo competitor. (Source: www.caranddriver.com)
Volkswagen adds the Jetta, essentially a notchback sedan version of its popular Rabbit, available in two-door and four-door body-styles.
In some ways, VW’s new Jetta was the real successor to the first-generation Audi Fox. Its black wheel-lip moldings were an unusual styling feature. This is an ’82. (Source: media.vw.com)
Nissan opens a U.S. assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Nissan North America CEO Marvin Runyon drives the first pickup of the automaker’s Smyrna, TN assembly line on June 16, 1983. (Source: YouTube)
1980 sales results for the domestics drop by another 1,750,000 units, with only 6,578,275 cars sold. Sales of imported nameplates set another all-time record, with 2,396,934 deliveries.
Calendar year 1980 ends with sales of 56,909 Volvos in the U.S., a slight increase over the 1979 result, despite the lingering effects of the nation’s second energy crisis. 240-series sales account for 46,727 units, or 82% of the total.
Model Year 1981
All Volvos now feature quad-rectangular headlamps, along with the raised hood and formal grille first used on 260-Series cars. “Greenhouse” trim is altered, becoming more substantial in appearance, along with wider body-side moldings.
A new color-coordinated instrument panel is now used on all models, and station wagons get new wraparound tail lamps.
So-called “MPG” versions of the B21F engine are introduced for two-door and four-door DLs equipped with M46 four-speed manual overdrive transmissions, offering improved fuel economy.
The 242 GT becomes the “GLT”, and is available in a wider range of exterior and interior colors, as well as in turbocharged versions, a first for Volvo. Due to emissions certification issues, diesel models are temporarily withdrawn from the market.
Late in the model year, a “GLT” station wagon appears. Known informally as the “Anniversary” model, 500 units are built to commemorate Volvo’s 25th anniversary in the U.S. market. They use the stiffer GLT suspension, wider tires, and alloy wheels. An upgraded velour interior and a limited-edition dash plaque are also added.
This badge was designed to fit onto one of the blanks to the right of the 240’s instrument cluster. The insert was a separate piece so that it could be changed easily if needed.
The GL station wagon is dropped, leaving only two-door and four-door sedans in that trim level.
Renault adds the 18i sedan and Sportswagon (station wagon) to its U.S. product lineup. The FWD cars use 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines. Renault’s calendar year 1981 U.S. sales reach 31,077 units.
The Renault 18i Sportswagon. (Source: Amazon.com)
Renault’s U.S. home base was then on Route 9W in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, just south of Volvo’s own HQ in Rockleigh. As station wagons were an important part of Volvo’s U.S. lineup, we were anxious to experience a new Renault 18i station wagon, so a test-car swap was arranged. We needn’t have worried.
SAAB drops its aging “99” series and adds its first four-door notchback sedan, in the 900 series. SAAB’s calendar year U.S. sales total 18,463.
The Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant “K-cars” replace Chrysler Corporation’s recall-plagued Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare for model year 1981. The cars play a key role in rescuing Chrysler Corporation from bankruptcy in the early 1980s, and their basic platform would underpin virtually all of the automaker’s domestic passenger cars and minivans for the next decade.
Chrysler Corporation CEO Lee Iacocca prepares to drive the first K-car off the assembly line on August 8, 1980. (Source: www.automotivehalloffame.org)
Cadillac introduces the Cimarron, a “BMW fighter” based on GM’s front wheel drive “J-body” compact sedan. Joining the Buick Skyhawk, Chevrolet Cavalier, Oldsmobile Firenza, and Pontiac J2000, the “J-body” thus becomes the first vehicle platform shared by all five General Motors car divisions.
Even the careful staging of this photo from Motor Trend couldn’t disguise the Cimarron’s all-too-apparent J-body genes. (Source: www.motortrend.com)
Ford ceases U.S. importation of its German-built Fiesta subcompact after only three model years.
The much-anticipated DeLorean DMC-12 sportscar, which uses Volvo’s “PRV” 2.8-liter V6 engine, is introduced.
I’m surprised that John DeLorean didn’t pose behind his namesake for this brochure photo.
Isuzu enters the U.S. market, while Rover and Triumph abandon it.
Datsun changes its corporate name to “Nissan” with the introduction of the new compact Nissan Stanza.
Nissan had shed much of its previously-quirky styling themes by the time the Stanza was introduced. A three-door hatchback was also offered. (Source: www.auto-data.net)
In 1981, a Volvo 245 chauffeured by Canadians Gary Sowerby and Ken Langley sets a Guinness Record for driving around the world. Sowerby and Langley used a Halifax, Nova Scotia-built Volvo to accomplish the feat, accumulating over 26,000 miles (a distance equivalent to the Earth’s circumference) in 75 days, handily breaking the previous record of 102 days.
In its January 1981 issue, Road & Track was impressed after its road test of a two-door GLT Turbo, and advised “If you’re one of those nasty types who has looked upon Volvos as easy pickings, I’d suggest that in the future you look before you leap. Because if you hear that distinctive whine of a turbo, chances are your opponent is a Swen Atlas and not some wimpy 107-HP weakling.”
Road & Track was favorably impressed with the GLT Turbo in its January 1981 road test, despite the incorrect heading.
The GLT Turbo included a smaller steering wheel and full instrumentation. Its four-speed stick with overdrive fifth gear was also standard equipment.
Car and Driver, in February 1981, called that year’s GLT Turbo “by far the best Volvo ever,” although it also admitted that “none of this is to suggest that Volvos hover near the leading edge of technology. The Ford Fairmont, which itself represents last-generation technology, matches the Volvo in almost every critical dimension.”
But the magazine also noted that “the GLT Turbo is one of those cars that just flat feels good to drive,” concluding, “after all these years, Volvo has pretty much scienced-out every nook and cranny, and the result is a big sedan that does a whole lot of things awfully well. Which leads to one inescapable conclusion about the advancing age of Volvos: they’re not just getting older, they’re getting better.”
One month after Road & Track’s test, Car and Driver called the GLT “by far the best Volvo ever.” Unlike R&T, they also got its model designation correct.
Car and Driver’s two-door GLT Turbo, with its optional $250 stereo cassette audio system, carried a sticker price of $13,880 (about $47,975 today).
During calendar year 1981, a total of 6,206,296 domestic cars were sold in the U.S., a further decline of over 250,000 units from 1980. Imported-car sales also softened slightly, to 2,326,176 units.
Volvo’s broader product line resulted in U.S. sales of 64,477 units, up 13% from the previous year. The 240-Series, with 58,945 retailed, accounted for over 91% of this total.
By most accounts, the late ‘70s and early ‘80s were profitable years for Volvo. But to put the brand’s 1981 U.S. sales into perspective, it had taken six long years for Volvo to surpass the same 60,000-plus stateside sales volume it had enjoyed in 1975. A broader product program, skillful marketing, and improved quality each played a role in the resurgence. Would the trend continue?
Thanks for these articles, very interesting! My childless, “cool” aunt and uncle joined us each summer for a beach vacation. Every few summers, they had a new 240 series Volvo wagon and as a young kid I obsessed over the differences I could notice and count. IIRC they had a beige round headlight one, then a green dual round headlight one…..and then one summer, they showed up with a silver turbo wagon with the dual square headlights/reflector strip, the updated wraparound taillights and the alloys. Black leather, too. Wow, that blew my mind. Made our 1979 240D seem even stodgier than it already was. Like some (a lot?) of Volvo owners, then they migrated into Subarus. I consider my 2020 Outback turbo wagon to be a modern day 240 turbo wagon, of sorts. I would love a new 240 wagon if they existed.
My law school roommate had a serious crush on Volvos in the mid 1980’s. I went with him for a test drive in probably 1984 or 85, and remember being confused by the DL/GL names without any numbers. I was in yuppie mode at the time and was underwhelmed by these, which I considered stodgy and underpowered for their size/price class. I eventually came around on these, but have never owned one.
” … erinnere mich, dass ich von den DL/GL-Namen ohne Nummern verwirrt war.”
In a certain way, it made sense. As the 200 series was the only Volvo over there in the US in those days.
You may object “but the six-cylinder …” . Well, spell GLE instead of 260, and you’ve got it..
Having been a long-term owner of a 1980 DL 2-door sedan, I became quite familiar with the minutia of the 240’s annual model changes from the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
Echoing some of what Stephen mentioned above, the1980 model was the last year for these features:
Dashboard design introduced in 1975;
Flat hood with single headlights; and
Bright trim around the side windows (1981s and later had blackout trim).
And 1980 was the first year for these:
Larger slots in the standard steel wheels;
New larger chrome hubcaps with separate black center caps;
Black plastic outside rearview mirrors with interior remote control levers; and
First year of the new model nomenclature (eliminating the numerical designations, a mistake IMO).
“New larger chrome hubcaps with separate black center caps;”
You are right if you look at the 240 only. But they weren’t really new at all. Those hub caps had been used for the Volvo 264 from day one on.
That car is almost identical to my mom’s car growing up, except her’s had the crank sunroof. I believe the color was called Scotia Blue.
Yes, Scotia Blue was the color’s name.
My understanding is that the mid-80’s were the “golden years” for Volvo in the U.S. I think this had a lot to do with the reputation that the 240 developed in the late 1970’s. The Volvo Turbo really helped too, given Volvo a little bit more of a performance reputation.
We had a Volvo Diesel wagon. We lived in California, though it was not purchased new. Still I wonder how that was possible, if from what I read they were never legal in California. It was a 1985. It was great, though it was by no means fast.
California goes back and forth, legislatively, on how much of a hassle it is to import non-California cars. At times, they’ve tried to demand that cars be retrofitted with California emissions equipment (which is obviously troublesome and impractical). By the early 1990s, they had opted for allowing California registration of non-California vehicles if they were past a certain age from purchase, if you paid a hefty smog abatement importation fee — in 1992, it was about $1,000, which wasn’t impossible, but still a lot of money. Irritatingly, this was still owed even if the non-California car met California emissions standards without modification (which by the ’90s many 49-state cars did, although they didn’t pay the CARB certification fee if it wasn’t intended for initial sale in California), and I got the feeling it was essentially a tariff aimed at discouraging people from shopping for cheaper late-model used cars in neighboring states.
The Peugeot 505 is an interesting case as a 240 rival. It was, and is, a vastly nicer car than the Volvo in all aspects, but alas, it just wasn’t as well built. And, while the main mechanicals rival Volvo for great longevity, everything else on them could be expected to be about as long-lived as a depressed Parisian writer living on 80 Gitanes a day.
And if it won’t start, or the air’s not conditioned, or the window’s stuck down in the snow, you ain’t gonna buy another, or spread the good word, which is precisely why the 240 soldiered on as such a relentless seller.
In fact, rather than the “boxy but good”, they could as well have used the tagline “240, by Volvo. The European car that always actually works”.
Great series. Never owned a 240 but have had a C30 for the past 12 years and still enjoy driving it.
A buddy had an older 240 wagon as his beater “golf car” and it trekked him back and forth to the course for years until the wiring harness started to degrade and it developed untraceable electrical problems. Probably the only thing that could kill the car.
Many electrical gremlins in 240 series cars can be cured by simply renewing the fuse box. Not all, of course …
And I’ve heard that even more can supposedly be eliminated by replacing the fuse panel altogether with a redesigned one (available after…very after…market). I intend to test out that rumor someday.
Also, to Jim Brophy’s point, I’m surprised that he is the only commenter here mentioning the (IMO) worst problem with this generation of Volvo 240…the biodegradable wiring harness. 1980 and 1981 I believe were the worst for this issue, but ugh, what a mess.
“And I’ve heard that even more can supposedly be eliminated by replacing the fuse panel … ”
You are right. That’s exactly what I meant (renewing = replacing).
Here some trivialty concerning the rear lights: From MY ’79 on, there were two different rear light clusters for 240 Sedans. One version for cars without rear fog lights (see the burgundy red Euro spec car above), the other one for cars with rear fog lights (see the GB registered car below – image from Wikimedia commons). Both with five segments. And there were the larger rear light clusters with six units for the 260 Sedans, of course.
Owned ’81, ’83 and ’87 240 sedans and loved them all. Never felt so secure in a passenger car, including an MB S-class. We did suffer minor wiring harness issues and the infamous heater blower motor snafu, but otherwise rock solid, dependable, and safe. 2 of our 3 kids got a well used 240 upon graduating HS (the other got a SAAB 900). If we eschewed awd suvs as our drivers nowadays I’d feel totally comfortable with a 240: easy to get in & out of, great visibility, safe. One of the best sedans ever.
My mom drove a ’80 “242” (purchased brand new) for eight years. She was driving home from work when a Mercedes turned onto her street in busy traffic and hit her head-on. The paramedics and firefighters who arrived at the scene told her that had she been in a different car, my mom would have likely ended up as a paraplegic. This is the era when airbags were first starting to appear on the market on a widespread basis.
When I hear the word VOLVO these are the versions that auto populate in my brain