Although I appreciate older Volvos well enough, their simplistic Scandinavian squareness is hardly head-turning styling. But driving through an empty parking lot on a drizzly Sunday morning, this appropriately taupe 1993 240 sedan did catch my eye, for this exact reason I might add. Catching glimpse of this final-year 240 made me realize something – I haven’t seen one of these in ages!
“Ages” might be overstating it a bit, as I’m sure I’ve seen another 240 in the past month or so. But it seems that very recently these cars used to be everywhere. The 240 was produced from 1974-1993, to the tune of over 2.8 millions examples sold worldwide. This long production span allowed the achievement of exceptionally high levels of quality, and thus durability, by the later years of the 240’s run. It wasn’t common for later 240s to go for hundreds of thousands of miles and over twenty years of loyal daily-driver service.
Along with other slightly newer Volvos, these were very popular in hometown. Many friends’ parents drove 240 sedans and wagons in the 1990s and some into the early-2000s. By the end of that decade, they’d passed them down to their kids or even bought a used 240 to serve as the designated “first car” for each child, who’d pass it off to the next when they left for college.
One of my best friend’s first car was a blue 1989 240 wagon (exact one pictured above) that had previously been the first car of his older sister and several older cousins. By the time it was sent to greener pastures in 2012, it had accumulated over 300,000 miles, not to mention over two decades of New England winters under its belt.
I’m sure there are still a great deal of Volvo 240s still out there serving as daily drivers. However, after almost a quarter-century since the last 240 was produced, time is beginning to get the better of these durable and iconic vehicles. The 240 is by no means alone in this losing battle. Which car or cars that were once everyday sights have you stopped seeing in the past couple of years?
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1984 Volvo 240 sedan
Volvo 240s are still a fairly common sight around Charlottesville, VA. Here’s a pair of 1991 wagons and one 1992 sedan owned by an older couple.
I had my 1980 Volvo for 21 years, bought used in 1982. And I’ve passed the 17-year mark with my 1998 Nissan Frontier.
Brendan,
How often do you see Volvo 850s puttering around the Greater Boston area, in particular the early ones (1993 and ’94)?
When I was home in Bennington, VT a month ago I was very surprised to see that the 850s are a dying breed up there. Just 7-8 years ago, I couldn’t walk more than a block without seeing an 850 on the corner. It’s the same thing where I live today, in Alexandria, VA. The 850s are becoming a rare sight on the roads around here – it’s like people are not preserving them, just using them up.
Funny you should mention that. Just this morning I saw an S70 sedan and it made me realize how few 850s I see now. To be honest, I feel like the 850 sedans were never as common in my area as the 850 wagons, but oddly enough I feel like it was the other way around with the S70 and V70. I still see a decent number of S70 sedans, even though they’re only a few years newer.
I don’t think the 850 sedans will be saved and preserved at all, unlike the wagons. All the 850 enthusiasts I know want wagons. I’m just trying to keep the two sedans (’94 and ’96) I have on the road for now.
From what I have heard and seen Volvo signed their death certificate when they switched to front wheel drive. They used to be a more affordable and less flashy Mercedes. After the fwd switch they became just another like everything from Japan or America, but with double the maintenance costs and half the reliability.
There is a reason they are disappearing. The 850 has a fairly complex cooling system that requires special attention in some areas, if it is going to last. Also, the PCV system clogs up, causing lots of issues. If the previous owner has always kept up with the maintenance according to the book, there should be no major issues. However, it is a ’90s Volvo, so annoying little faults will always pop up.
Some more
93-97 Mazda 626 with the exploding transmission
Basically any 90s Mitsubishi that isn’t an eclipse
First gen Mazda MPV, saw one not long ago, the first one I had seen in god knows how long
First gen Honda Odyssey and Isuzu oasis especially
Toyota Previa
First gen gm n body
Any daewoo
Pre-2002 Hyundai sonatas seem to have dissapeared as well
Ford Probe….. You would think vulcan powered probes would still persist, but perhaps Probes in general weren’t too common to begin with.
Really miss the Flat Rock assembled ’93-97 2nd gen Probe / Mazda MX-6 duo. I’ve pretty much abandoned hope of unearthing an MX-6
As several others noted, Omnirizons. Saw several at a Mopar show over the summer, and realized I had not seen one in decades.
81-85 generation Mazda GLC. The first front drive model from Mazda. Best built and most bullet proof car I have ever owned. Besides mine, there were three others in the small apartment complex I lived in in the early 90s. Still saw a couple survivors in the late 90s, but apparently extinct now.
Going way back: 72 Ford Gran Torino. Flocks of them used to be around. According to Wiki, Ford sold nearly half a million Torinos that year, topping the Chevelle for the first time ever. I believe it. Last time I saw a Torino, outside of a car show, was a TV ad for an auto parts store where a kid finds a Torino dead by the side of the road.
Here is a good Volvo 200-series article.
http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/san-francisco-bay-area-volvo-240s-getting-crushed-depressing-quantities
I moved to Portland, OR in 2013 so I have not been here long enough to notice certain trends. 2nd generation Chevy S-10s and GMC Sonomas are not terribly common in Portland, OR, but where they ever? GM Dustbuster Minivans are not very common either. 1997-2004 Malibues are dropping like flies and it is the most common vehicle I find broken down somewhere or close to being dead. I need to check around, but where did 1st gen Ford Escapes get to? I look forward to visiting parts of Oregon without DEQ and seeing what rarities are still driving around. I know in Missoula, MT for example there were a number of rarer vehicles still plodding along.
I moved to the Portland area more recently (about two months ago!) and what I’ve noticed right off the bat is the greatly decreased number of late-model, probably leased, BMW 3-series as compared to LA–every 20-something doesn’t see owning a BMW as obligatory. Thus there aren’t as many older 3-series, either. I see WAY more Subarus, of course, mostly from the past 15 years, but some stretching back into the ’90s. Very few Loyale-series cars, tons of Legacys (Legacies?). I don’t see as many 240 wagons as I think I’d have seen 15-20 years ago, I think the Legacy/Outback wagon is the successor vehicle for the demographic that would have driven those, and Saabs.
I do notice a lot of BMW Z3s, but that’s probably due to my owning one–that and it hasn’t really started to rain that much yet…they’ll all be put up for the winter soon. 🙂
Subarus are also owned by Ski and/or Snowboard Bums with Marijuana use being optional. Also Granolas are another Subaru driver stereotype I see around. Ricer Subarus that may or may not be slammed are somewhat common.
Never really thought about the “Gotta own a BMW” mentality since I only lived in South Central Los Angeles for 6 weeks and thankfully did not spend much more time than that in the LA Metro Area.
Cars I don’t see in Tucson any more: Vegas and their relatives. Very, very, very few Chevettes. Ford Pintos are extremely rare now. Not many of the big 1970s GM cars, although there’s a 1971 Impala four-door sedan I see often. I think it lives in the near neighborhood.
I still see lots of 1977 and later GM full-sized cars, particularly Chevys and Cadillacs. However, an X-body is an extremely rare sighting, although I saw a Buick Skylark sedan (if I have the series right) recently. I was startled to see what was labeled as a 442 (an Olds colonnade hardtop from 1975 or so) just yesterday.
Early Honda Accords have just about disappeared, along with the first couple of generations of the Civic.
I can’t say I see many first-generation Cavaliers and their siblings these days (including, of course, the Cimarron).
Ford Fairmonts and their siblings are extremely scarce now, although there are still lots of Fox-body Mustangs around. Granadas and Monarchs have just about disappeared. Tempos and Contours, however, look so very bland to me that I couldn’t tell you if I’ve seen any of late. First-generation Escorts are pretty thin on the ground, too.
I remember that we enjoyed our 1984 Mazda 626 sedan, and that it was reasonably reliable. But they’ve just about all disappeared.
Ford Tempo/Mercury Topaz
Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon
Dodge/Plymouth Neon
Pontiac Grand Am – Any Model Year, but have not seen a 1985-1987 Model in 20 years
Chevy Cavalier Z24 – 1988 – 1994
Chevy Beretta
Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant
Chevy Sprint/Metro Geo Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Suzuki Swift – 1985 – 2000
Ford Escort
Ford Festiva
Mazda 323
I found myself behind a Sprint Turbo in traffic last week and just about fell out of my chair. (Figuratively of course.) I couldn’t remember the last Sprint of any kind I saw, let alone a turbo. It’s been ages since a Spectrum/I-Mark sighting either.
Cars disappear when they rust (most anything pre 1985 or so) or when the benefits of owning them are outweighed by the costs of repair. At this point the owner of a Volvo 240, 740, or 940 has to ask himself, “why does my air conditioning compressor need yet another replacement?” Or, “Really, $700 to replace that cat-back exhaust AGAIN?” And then there is the ever popular 240 refrain, “You want how much to replace my heater blower motor (or heater core in a 740/940)?”
Once you can’t justify these costs anymore on any car, there’s no impetus to keep them, especially when the intervening years have created a whole cadre of newer, more comfortable, quieter, faster, more fuel efficient, and SAFER cars.. Can I have Bluetooth with that?
Here in Austria I am struck by how quickly the Audi A6 C5 is disappearing, they do not seem to have their forefathers’ reliability (those are now almost extinct other than in the hands of enthusiasts), but they are surely too new (last ones were made only 10 years ago). 1st and 2nd Chrysler Voyagers which were like roaches here have been through mass extinctions. Oh, and 3rd and 4th VW Golfs, 3rd gen Passats and 1st gen Skoda Octavias, also very popular car here at the time. I won’t even even mention all French cars – all are massively disappearing after 10 years with the exception being the modern equivalent of the 2CV, the Renault Twingo.
I figure that I’m ahead of the game as long as I spend less than $2000-2500 a year on repairs on my old Volvos. I could lease a new Accord for $249, or buy a $10,000 used car, and spend $700 just in salex tax, and THAT used car will need repairs anyway. My V90 will turn over 200,000 miles in about a month, barring an unforseen catastrophe.
77-79 Cadillac Devilles are almost extinct around here too…just saw a beautiful bronze colored one this morning which made me think of it.
… Oh, it seemed not too long ago that every run-down neighborhood had a US-made Chrysler sedan (FWD 300, Fusion, etc.) parked somewhere, usually with bad paint but still serving somebody. No more…
It’s not just the cars that we don’t se any more, but also the brands. Seeing any car with a BMC or Rootes brand name on it is quite something now.
The ones I miss most from the CC era? Rover SD1, Chryslers Alpine, Leyland Princess and Vauxhall Cavalier Sportshatch
Where have all the Dodge/Plymouth Neons gone? They haven’t even been out of production that long. A sign of its cheapness and less-than-stellar quality for sure, but still, they sold many many Neons and I haven’t seen one in a long time.
The same can be said for first gen Focuses top a lesser extent. It’s hard to find a beater Focus on CL that doesn’t need a new engine.
Just saw a later one in the parking lot at work the other night, which is a good place to find old stuff.
My boss drives a late 90s Neon with manual transmission when he comes into work (he likes to give the image of not making any more than his employees). He must not be good at repairs – he has us fix it when it goes down, including the shift linkage.
Maybe they’re common in the liberal northwest or northeast, but in non-Pittsburgh western Pennsylvania they were true exotics. The local drove good American cars, none of that commie-lib-symp foreign stuff (of course, Japanese cars weren’t foreign).
I don’t think we had five Volvo’s in Johnstown all thru my youth – and the nearest dealer was in Greensburg at the closest. Mercedes were slightly more common due to the nearest dealer in Indiana, PA only twenty or so miles distant.
Flareside pickups are almost never seen anymore and more and more the regular cab with an eight foot bed is getting scarcer. The regular cab is what made pickups cool. The extended cab always seemed to me like adding a back seat to a Corvette, it’s just not the same anymore.
For decades I’ve made frequent trips between Des Moines and Omaha on I-80. Until about five or so years ago, the road seemed almost dominated by full-size RWD V-8 American sedans – the GM B – C range, the Ford Panthers, and the occasional M Body Chrysler Fifth Avenue. Even an R body wasn’t out of the question. Among the Panthers, this included the Box versions that went out of production after 1990. These cars remained very popular and sold well in the American Midwest, in particular in rural areas. Add that small towns and more off the path rural areas don’t get the winter road salt we have in the larger cities, and these remained popular highway cruisers in an era when they were mostly extinct elsewhere.
These cars were so common I was almost convinced that someone had a stash of New Old Stock 1980’s cars hidden somewhere around Atlantic, IA, and they were selling them for decades after they were out of production.
When I was in Florida recently I saw a lot of the old downsized 1980s RWD “box” models still in use.
Up in NYC area I’ve noticed the following change in those cars. Until about 5 or 6 years ago, you would see old Caprices, Cadillacs, Electra Park Avenues, etc. either driven by very old people and in decent shape, or rusted out beaters.
Recently, I’ve stopped seeing the rusted out beaters and most of the old people. What I have seen is nice box B/C bodies, Panthers, and M Bodies out on the road on nice days. In the past 48 hours which have been 2 beautiful days, I’ve seen a Cadillac Brougham, a box Town Car, a Delta 88, and 2 box Caprices. All of them looked to be in really good shape and not donked. This suggests to me that the remaining nice ones were kept and are beginning to move into “classic” territory even if they don’t command those prices yet.
Conversely, the 90s whale/aero boats I see mostly as beaters or, increasingly, not at all. I very infrequently see ’92-97 Crown Vics and GrandMas, ’90-’97 Town Cars, ’93-’96 Fleetwoods, Roadmasters, Caprices of any kind. I haven’t seen a ’93-’96 Fleetwood since I sold my ’93 in April. Perhaps the ones that survived will begin appearing on “nice days” in 2025.
Central Virginia must be a Buick Century dumping ground since they are all over, in various body styles.
It’s been a very long while since I’ve seen an older Rabbit, Caprice or a Grand Am/Grand Prix.
The 4th gen Accords (’90-’93) are all but gone here in RI. I will occasionally see one that looks like it has seen better days, but very rarely. The 5th gen Accords (’94-’97) are beginning to get scarce too. Having owned three of them, I can attest to the fact that they were durable as could be but rust usually got the best of them. The 6th gen (’98-’02) are still everywhere. I own one and it still looks and drives like new.
The 94-95s seem to rust behind the rear wheels, the later ones don’t seem to rust as much.
Rusting behind the rear wheels was a long, time-honored tradition on Accords. We had an ’84 (2nd-gen) and a ’91 (4th-gen) in the family, and both developed rust there. I’ve also seen rust there on the 3rd-gen cars, and probably the 1st-gen too, however I’ve seen precisely one 1st-gen in the past 3 years and was too surprised to see where it might have been rusty…
I will say that was the *only* spot either of ours rusted. The rest of the car was quite solid on both, there was just something weird about the galvanizing or lack thereof in that one spot behind the rear wheels.
Volvo 240’s, and quite a few other old Volvos, can still be seen regularly in Richmond. Cars I’ve noticed start to go missing recently, though, (that haven’t already been mentioned) include:
-Hyundai XG300/350 (and the related Kia Amanti)
-Mazda 323 (Proteges are still common, but the contemporary 323 hatches and prior 323’s, not so much)
-Chevy S-10 Blazer/GMC S-15 Jimmy (Definitely the square ones, also the later versions)
-Isuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport
-Pre-1994 Dodge Ram Vans
Going back a little farther, there used to be hordes of Hyundai Excels on the road, but all those got used up and worn out. And then there’s the strange case of the E30 Toyota Corolla, the mid-late 70’s version. Those were one of the cockroaches of the road of my childhood–they were everywhere, always in the background, looking like the 70’s relics they were. They were there in the 80’s, and into the 90’s, being brown. Then, seemingly overnight, they all disappeared. Every one, as if someone passed an edict forbidding pre-1980 Corollas from ever putting wheel to pavement again.
the E30 Toyota Corolla, the mid-late 70’s version. Those were one of the cockroaches of the road of my childhood–they were everywhere,
Want to talk cockroaches? How about the Datsun B210, especially the “Honey Bee” super cheap version?
I was thinking about excels the other day, they used to be everywhere and now you almost never see them. I’m not sure I’ve seen any this year.
What I did notice a lot of on the road in the late 70s was VW Dashers. Not only have I not seen any being driven in 30 years, in a year of looking on classiccars.com and autotraderclassic, I have not seen a single Dasher offered anywhere in the country.
Saw this survivor at the Gilmore at the same show as the red Fox wagon above. Turns out it sat on display in a VW dealer’s showroom for 30 years, before being put back on the road. 8,000 miles on the clock.
The Porsche 914 in the background of the pic is a pretty rare bird too. Haven’t seen one of them in decades.
There was one for sale on the nh craigslist a while back, the lady referred to it as a “him”
I know of two roadworthy Dasher wagons here in Richmond (that I have actually seen on public streets) and another two wagons in the North Carolina triangle region, at least one of which is registered and in use. Or was as of the last time I saw it (4 years ago, I moved away from there 3 years ago). All 4 have the later quad-lamp nose, and at least 2 of them are diesels.
the last Dasher hatchback I’ve seen, however, was one for sale at a used car lot when my Dad was looking for a “new” used car in 1993. I had never even heard of a Dasher, plus it too was a diesel, and a 1981 model. Nope on several counts.
Eagle premier, been quite a few years since I’ve seen one
Some other cars I never see anymore:
Mazda 626s (all years)
Mazda MPVs
Mazda Proteges
Most Mitsubishis (especially the popular Eclipse and BMWesque styled Galants that were everywhere in the early to mid 2000’s)
Early to mid 2000 Tauruses
Any of the cloud Chryslers. (I did see a Breeze today that looked like it was on its last mile)
3rd Gen Camrys are really getting scarce, and when I do see them they look very tired, same for the 5th Gen Accords
Lastly, anyone else notice how rusted out the mid-2000 Dodge Caravans have gotten? They will all be crushed soon, too!
Today I cruised by an early 90s Hyundai Excel 2-door hatchback in a pinky-reddish sort of color… in surprisingly good shape too.
I haven’t seen a Hyundai Excel of any model year or body style in ages. These were everywhere at one time, but they vanished from the streets a long time ago.
Lots of great examples mentioned. For sure the watercooled VWs, Corisca/Beretta and LH cars. The car that has disappeared the most for me is the IROC-Z generation Camaro. They used to be everywhere.
Mrs. Tom used to drive a Dodge Intrepid…they were all over Phoenix 20 years ago. The ones I see now all look like beaters.
That was replaced by a Volvo S80. Once seen often, the first generation ones I see now look thrashed.
Someone upthread mentioned mid to late ’90’s Chevy pickups. Come to Phoenix and see dozens every day.
I used to see these everywhere, especially the 84-85 4 square headlight versions, the most handsome in my opinion. In the last 5 years they are gone, now all that is common are the Mercedes 190s from that era.
I’ve been thinking about this question for the past two days now, and I finally came up with an answer. Several people have already said fox-body Mustangs, but I’ll go way farther back: first-generation ponycars.
When I moved to the greater Seattle area back in 1995, it was not at all uncommon during my daily commute to see 2-3 1965-66 Mustangs, either being driven by enthusiasts or teenage boys. Now I don’t see any of these being used as daily drivers any longer.
And we have a well-known Mustang parts store in nearby Bellevue (Bel-Kirk Mustang), which also happens to be in the same strip mall as the local Delorean dealer (no joke, dmcnorthwest dot com). So this is a three-fer if you happen to be in town oogling the exotics at Park Place LTD Auto which is a few blocks away.
Come to think of it, I don’t see Deloreans much any longer either. They were obviously never as common as the Mustangs, but there were a few in daily circulation around these parts.
80s Fox body coupes other than the Mustang… aero T-Birds (especially the Turbo Coupe and the Sport trim), 83-88 Cougars (especially the XR7), the Lincoln Mark VII… and while we’re on the subject of the Fox body, the ’83-87 Fox Continentals.
I still drive my 2001 Nissan XE Frontier regular cab 4×2 truck. I still see 1998-04 gen trucks on the road occasionally, but honestly can’t remember the last regular cab that resembles mine, always king cabs. I’m actually quite surprized to see any Toyota truck from before 2000, in fact I could say the same thing 10 years ago (there are a couple of 1986-88 trucks with campers in good condition nearby though). I had a 1982 SR-5 that was eaten alive by tinworm when I gave it away in 1998, and the 1980s Toy trucks were mostly gone by early 2000s, likely either beaten or rusted to death. I miss the Toyota Hi-Lux shortbeds–that was a fun truck to drive. Here in ATL, the Xterra is mostly a memory.
Las time I was in Spain I didn’t say any Renault 9/11, the Euro model for the Alliance/Encore.They were everywhere in the 80’s and 90’s.
In Houston I have not seen a Taurus mk1 for years. I loved that car.
I meant see…. not say, sorry.