The other 240

I have mentioned my love for the Fairlady, Nissan's 240z, but there is another 240 that I hold close to my heart. This one happens to be often loved by soccer moms and New England college students, and the professors of those colleges. I am talking about the Volvo 240, the brick shaped car known for its reliability and safety. One of my best friends acquired one from an aunt for his first car. It was in terrible shape, the paint was peeling, the AC didn't work, the windows didn't roll down, and the door latches and locks were finicky at best. But it ran strong, and it was the only car any of our friends owned that was real wheel drive, meaning it was the only car we wanted to ride in when there was fresh snow in any parking lot.

Now as these cars enter their second decade of life a new crowd is starting to take interest in them. There reliability, coupled with the fact that they are dirt cheap to pick up, rear wheel drive, and can have a turbo bolted on without to much trouble has made them part of quite the revival. They seem to today to be in the same standing they were when they first came out, the poor mans solution to expensive E30 BMW's, and I am fine with that.