My neighbor around the corner loves his Volvo wagons, but I’ve never seen them both out front together before. He must have been sweeping his driveway or something, so they finally meet, to show off just how reluctant Volvo was in deviating from the 740-760’s rectangularity when its FWD successor finally arrived.
And the V70 wasn’t really the 740’s successor either; the 850 played that role. But you get the angle.
the resemblence is obvious. From what I gather, Jan Wilsgaard penned the 850 as a simple update of the 740 formula, it was originally supposed to have been a 740 facelift, but evolved in the process. Volvo is known for tremendous overlap. In 1993, they had the 240 wagon, the 940/960 wagon, and the 850 wagon. I don’t know if the 740 wagon had been discontinued, or if it was made at the same time also. In 1968, they had the 210 wagon, the Amazon wagon, and the 145.
The last year for the 740 was 1992, but the 940 wagon was basically identical. The sedan had the different roofline and rear quarters. I had both a 940SE sedan and an S70 and actually owned both at the same time for 7-8 months, as I didn’t trade the 940 in. I liked both, but the 940 was much more reliable. Both gone now…
Reminds me of the 740 GLE I gave to the ex.. Paid $650 for it, it was immaculate in and out with 240,000 miles showing. One day the alternator went out.. $350 for the part.. Glad I walked away when I did.;)
Only one of these is a proper Volvo-Guess which one it is.