What's Your Favorite Swedish Car?

Volvo

You and I person been connected a awesome tear recently, beloved reader. For caller regular questions I've asked you astir your favourite French cars, your favourite Italian cars and your favourite British cars, and you each delivered pinch each sorts of absorbing answers. This week I want to cognize astir your favourite Swedish cars. Sure, location whitethorn not beryllium galore Swedish automakers, but nan ones that presently beryllium and nan ones that utilized to beryllium person produced each sorts of fascinating vehicles.

Of people you've sewage Volvo, 1 of nan astir innovative automakers of each time that has produced scores of enthusiast darlings, and now its design-forward Polestar spinoff brand. Then there's now-dead Saab, beloved by architects and nerds nan world across. But Sweden has besides birthed Koenigsegg, shaper of immoderate of nan fastest hypercars successful nan world, and location are a fistful of defunct Swedish brands that I'm judge you Jalops would emotion to show maine about.

Volvo

I'm inclined to beryllium basal and opportunity my favourite is nan Volvo 850, arsenic my dada owned a awesome golden connected golden wagon pinch nan rear-facing third-row seat. I could besides opportunity nan Volvo 740/940 Turbo wagons, which characteristic successful some of nan top people advertisements of each time. I owned a lowered, straight-piped 940 Turbo wagon that I miss dearly. But I've sewage to prime thing alien for this. Do I situation opportunity nan Yamaha V8–powered XC90? Should I beryllium basal and opportunity nan V70 R aliases Saab 900 Turbo? Maybe nan astonishing Volvo Duett wagons of nan 1950s and '60s, aliases nan ultra-rare fiberglass P1900 roadster?

No, my favourite Swedish car is 1 that conscionable hardly missed retired connected being sold successful nan United States, pinch a creation I find really fantastic: The Volvo 480. Introduced successful 1986, nan 480 was Volvo's first front-wheel-drive car, a two-door hatchback pinch pop-up headlights and a sloping solid hatchback inspired by the 1800ES. There's each sorts of bully creation elements here, for illustration nan accepted Volvo grille mounted debased successful nan bumper, and nan driver-focused interior is beautiful cool. Most 480s had reasonably tame Renault-sourced engines, but location was a turbocharged exemplary that had 122 horsepower.

Volvo

The 480's pop-up headlights were truthful it could meet American NHTSA crash-test requirements while still being very aerodynamic, and it was 1 of nan first European cars pinch U.S.-style 5-mph effect bumpers. But contempt yearly income forecasts of 25,000 units, successful 1988 nan 480's U.S. marketplace motorboat was indefinitely postponed because of changing marketplace conditions and nan speech rate. What a shame!

So, reader, what's your favourite Swedish car? Let maine cognize successful nan comments beneath and I'll information up my favourite answers later this week. As usual, if it's a car you really owned you get prize points.