For the most part, my parents preferred functional over fancy cars, so the childhood rides in our driveway were generally uninspired. There was a Plymouth Duster, an Oldsmobile station wagon, and briefly an Audi wagon that turned out to be a bonafide lemon. My dad did own a post office Jeep, complete with steering wheels on the wrong side for mail delivery, and you didn’t see those in a consumer’s garage every day. It had no additional seats other than the driver’s, so we sat unbelted on the steel floor when we rode in it – ah, the Seventies.
But my heart leapt when in the mid-80s, my parents purchased a gunmetal gray Volvo station wagon. To my high-school sophomore eyes, while it wasn’t exactly a Corvette, that car was cool: stick shift, sleek Volvo logo on the grille, and upgraded with a great sound system thanks to my audiophile father. Since I lived in the boondocks and none of my friends ever wanted to drive out and pick me up, I was the designated driver through my junior and senior years of high school, and I put that car through its paces with the tape deck blasting.
For the most part, my parents preferred functional over fancy cars, so the childhood rides in our driveway were generally uninspired. There was a Plymouth Duster, an Oldsmobile station wagon, and briefly an Audi wagon that turned out to be a bonafide lemon. My dad did own a post office Jeep, complete with steering wheels on the wrong side for mail delivery, and you didn’t see those in a consumer’s garage every day. It had no additional seats other than the driver’s, so we sat unbelted on the steel floor when we rode in it – ah, the Seventies.
But my heart leapt when in the mid-80s, my parents purchased a gunmetal gray Volvo station wagon. To my high-school sophomore eyes, while it wasn’t exactly a Corvette, that car was cool: stick shift, sleek Volvo logo on the grille, and upgraded with a great sound system thanks to my audiophile father. Since I lived in the boondocks and none of my friends ever wanted to drive out and pick me up, I was the designated driver through my junior and senior years of high school, and I put that car through its paces with the tape deck blasting.
So I get a little misty with nostalgia looking through Car & Driver’s retrospective gallery of Volvo station wagons. With the release of the V90 wagon impending, C&D looks back on Volvo’s history of grocery haulers. There smack dab in the middle is our gray 245 GL, lounging at the beach, looking great as ever. Enjoy some highlights from the gallery below. Man, I miss that car.
Volvo P1800 ES
Volvo P1800 ES
Volvo P220 Amazon
Volvo 245 GL
Volvo 850 T5-R
Source:: 95 Octane