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During my recent trip to Iceland, I stopped by a few Reykjavik wrecking yards to see what kind of stuff those Norsemen send to The Crusher. We’ve seen this Lada Niva, and this Renault Megane, some Dodges, and now we’ve got a DAF-connected Volvo that was never sold in the United States.
The 440 was a front-wheel-drive hatchback, which seems so un-Volvo-like for the late-80s/early-90s.
You could get the 440 with a no-doubt-godawful continuously variable transmission (known as the Transmatic), but this one has a 5-speed.
Here’s the likely reason it is no longer on the street.
It’s telling that most of the results I found for a search for Volvo 440 videos were of the “let’s kill this terrible car” variety. Here’s a fiery, smoky brick-on-the-gas-pedal example.
Throw that rulebook out the window!
Is there a safer way to lose your heart?
The 1980s were still going strong in 1993 Germany.
26 Comments on “Junkyard Find: Volvo 440 GLT...”
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Ugh. That thing just looks nasty. Like a cross between a B3 Passat and a 1st Gen Ford Fucus.
I think it’s sexy, but then, I tend to go for blocky/clean/rational designs.
And a very safe way to lose your heart at that!
Kinda reminds me of the Saab 9000. Looks like it could have been (i know it isn’t)the 4th sister car to share that chassis.
I was thinking it looks more like a cross between a Merkur XRT4 and a late 80’s Ford Escort…
Mating within the same family… ew.
The successor to the successful (in Europe,) 340 series? Can’t speak for the 440 but the CVT in the 340 was reliable if maintained. Manual was better. DAF passenger inherited some good safety features from the takeover but build quality wasn’t Volvo.
Drove a Ford Scorpion on an 80’s trip to Germany that I’d say was this car with a few minor cosmetic changes. Tiny little engine, tight stick and suspension; it was a lot of fun to drive hard.
I doubt there’s any connection between the Scorpio and this, what with it being an RWD executive car.
Agreed. The Granada/Scorpio is more related to the Ford Sierra than any Volvo product. Plus, the Scorpio generally is not powered by a “tiny litte engine”, at least by European standards.
The 400 series cheapened the brand possibly even more than the primitive 300, with its lazy design and subpar quality. They are extremely rare compared to for example 850 series Volvos from the same era.
Nah. Quite a lot have survived – so far. It is one of the cheapest “supposedly premium” cars on mobile.de though.
My first car was a Volvo 440 5spd I bought when I was stationed in England. The hatchback design was ugly as sin, yet very practical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_480
Best weird Volvo ever.
Ah yes, Volvos attempt at building a better Civic.
I just like the gloriously weird and anti-Volvo styling.
“I just like the gloriously weird and anti-Volvo styling.”
It’s styling was inspired by the P1800, which I suppose wasn’t a typical Volvo design insomuch as it was designed by Frua.
Except in 1990 it was better than Civic
Transmatic = steel-belted CVT. Compared to the 340’s earlier rubber band. A conventional automatic was available on the 400 but the default in Europe would have been manual. No 80’s diehard electrics in these Dutch built 400’s.
I’m digging that 80’s interior, look at how easy the controls are to use and reach, and how logical most of its set up without curbs to bruise your knees or a huge center console to get in the way.
I was liking the size of the greenhouse. Wow!
Also, it looks very Volkswagen-y to me.
Wonder why us Americans were never offered these in the 80’s and 90’s without cheapening the brand as well as the very neat wedge like 480. A perfect replacement for us folks who were fans of the 1800ES. You figured Volvo would have increased their CAFE with more entry models like these.
Volvo couldn’t make money on the expensive cars it sold here, there was no way they could have sold anything cheaper. This is a Golf/Jetta competitor.
I used to own on back in a day. In 1992 I bought 2 years old 1.6L model with stick, manual windows and heated seats. Sold it to a friend after 4 years of daily driving (12K miles/year). It survived Russian winters, bad gas, awful roads with minimal maintenance until something broke in transmission (engine still ran) in 2010 and it got traded in for a new Focus. Volvo could make reliable cars in the past…
Thanks for the memories. I remember seeing these advertised at the Stockholm airport back when i arrived for my yearly sales tour. Did not notice as many on the roads mostly larger Volvo’s and Saab’s. Quite a few American cars and a few Asian cars. I remember going thru Norway in the winter in a Toyota Corolla that had frozen water on the front floor every morning. By the end of the day it was a 2 inch thick puddle. Every Friday we went to a local gas station to have the under side of the car sprayed with used motor oil to keep the car from rusting. We always left a trail of oil behind us when we left the gas station. That had to be the coldest car i ever rode in. The following year my agent had a Ford station wagon (He was 6’4″ tall) and finally found some heat. Good memories.
If you are interested in Volvo’s models – C30, C70, S60, S80, XC60, XC70, XC90 and their prices, you should check on http://www.warrenhenryvolvo.com for more information ;)
Or I could just check the Volvo Australia website, which would be more relevant to me than a Florida based car dealership.