Fourteen years after Volvo transitioned away from the box as a template for their cars, it’s hard for many kids to remember a time where their kind were ferried around from soccer practice to camp to swimming in box-shaped people movers with spartan interiors, turbocharged engines if your parents were cool, and a public radio sticker in the back window. But from the late 1960s all the way through about 2000, this shape defined the Volvo experience, and it’s arguably more iconic than any other Volvo design, even if the others are prettier or more adventurous. You can find this 1983 Volvo 240 Turbo wagon for sale for $2300 in Portland, OR.
Archive for June, 2014
Swedish Monday – 1983 Volvo 240 Turbo
June 23, 2014Patina and a Sign – 1955 Studebaker 1/2 Ton Pickup
June 20, 2014Among classic car selectors, there’s a suwb-segment of folks who go absolutely crazy for surface rust, handpainted signage, or a combination of the two. And to tell the truth, there is something pretty cool about seeing the history of the truck painted right on the door – it just helps you picture a time when all the working trucks wore handpainted signs on the doors, along with a exchange-style phone number and perhaps the name of a trade that has become obsolete, like, say, radio repair. These trucks are still not terribly rare in rural areas, and we’ve got one for you today. Check out this 1955 Studebaker 1/2 ton pickup, for sale for $2750 in Petaluma, CA.
Not What It Seems – 1991 Buick Reatta
June 20, 2014In the mid-1980s, when Buick was actually turbocharging their Regal coupe at various levels, they decided to develop their interpretation of a sports car. While they ultimately failed at creating a sports car, they did create a sufficiently attractive luxury coupe powered by the 3800V6. It was built with an unusual level of assembly by hand, where a team would work on one assembly, and robots would then move the car to the next craft station – for 1991, the owner even received a special sleeve containing the manual, signatures from the supervisors at each craft station, and a pen, flashlight, and tire gauge. Early cars also came with an innovative touch screen control for the radio, climate control, trip computer, and and more. However, by the time the car came out, GM had decided Buick was going to focus on older buyers, and as such, the sports never made it into the car, and the touch screen was dropped for the later model years. You can find this one-of-1241-built 1991 Buick Reatta for sale in Fairfield, CA for an unstated price, or a couple of 26″ wheels and “some $$$”.


