The Square Savior
Two oil crisis have put the brakes on global auto manufacturing and relatively small producer Volvo is hit hard. A couple of ideas are brought forth to save the brand: a possible merger with Saab-Scania or a sale of part of Volvo to the Norwegian government - but both fall through. Instead, Volvo puts 100 per cent effort into a new model: the 760. The project even gets the working name "1155" or "Five minutes to twelve", as the rush is on to save the company and it happens at the last minute.
To be cost-effective, a lot of the technique in the car is taken from the 240 model, but the 760 is more luxurious, larger inside, and with a six-cylinder engine. With its American-inspired boxy design, 760 becomes a huge success, and is soon followed by the four-cylinder 740-model. The decision to launch the more high-performance model first is seen as a genius move - it helped sell the standard model. The 760 model had 156 horsepower and more than 221,000 cars were sold 1982-1990. The car is a part of an exhibition at the "World of Volvo".
One part of the building "World of Volvo" is a museum - the Volvo history of cars, trucks and buses since the very first Volvo left the factory in Gothenburg in 1927. Another part is a big exhibition about the present and the future, with funny activities in connection with Volvo, to do for the whole family. There is also a restaurant and a café. The building opened to the public in 2024.
www.worldofvolvo.com/en/ (website also in English)
The Square Savior
Two oil crisis have put the brakes on global auto manufacturing and relatively small producer Volvo is hit hard. A couple of ideas are brought forth to save the brand: a possible merger with Saab-Scania or a sale of part of Volvo to the Norwegian government - but both fall through. Instead, Volvo puts 100 per cent effort into a new model: the 760. The project even gets the working name "1155" or "Five minutes to twelve", as the rush is on to save the company and it happens at the last minute.
To be cost-effective, a lot of the technique in the car is taken from the 240 model, but the 760 is more luxurious, larger inside, and with a six-cylinder engine. With its American-inspired boxy design, 760 becomes a huge success, and is soon followed by the four-cylinder 740-model. The decision to launch the more high-performance model first is seen as a genius move - it helped sell the standard model. The 760 model had 156 horsepower and more than 221,000 cars were sold 1982-1990. The car is a part of an exhibition at the "World of Volvo".
One part of the building "World of Volvo" is a museum - the Volvo history of cars, trucks and buses since the very first Volvo left the factory in Gothenburg in 1927. Another part is a big exhibition about the present and the future, with funny activities in connection with Volvo, to do for the whole family. There is also a restaurant and a café. The building opened to the public in 2024.
www.worldofvolvo.com/en/ (website also in English)