give me your stereotype on Volvo drivers..

Disclaimers: Though at opposite ends of stereotypical spectrum, I like to kid Volvo & Lambo guys

I had 2 Saab 900s - 1 Turbo. Loved the seating, handling and zip, hated their neediness.

With *that* out of the way - Is there such a thing as a dirt cheap, reliable, low maintenance Volvo?


"I am weak-ish on snatch" ~ joker57676

 

In past decades Volvo drivers were always the slowest and wouldn't get out of anyone's way. Now they have been replaced by Prius drivers.

 

In 1973 I went to work as a mechanic at a Volvo/Triumph dealer.Volvo owners up until that time were mostly known as "University types". They were people who kept a car for 10 years, and the Volvos, while expensive, would last that long. Volvo, at the time was the safest car on the road by a very long, long way. Mercedes was a bit of a distant second and no other manufacture even ubderstood the concept (thereby alienating a large group of potential car buyers). As upscale young couples discovered just how safe and durable the cars were, they had to have them, and bought them in very large numbers. As the years progressed, and as Volvos saved more and more lives of their owners and familys, more and more upscale familys paid the higher price and bought more and more Volvos. These Volvo owners were wonderful people. Mostly lawyers and other professional people who, while not necessarially politically liberal, cared about other peope and improving the world around them.
So, you had safety concise people driving (expensive) safe cars, and protecting themselves from the, at the time, possibly horrible consequences of an auto accident. During these years Volvo saw huge sucesses and saw sales improve markedly every year. Volvo owners had an identity-upper middle class family oriented people who wanted to be able to live through a car crash and keep a car for 10 years without having to play the undesirable trade in game.
The introduction of the air bag (a Volvo creation) and the Federal Governments requirement of automakers to provide them changed everything. All of a sudden Volvo had nothing to offer that was "special". All automakers had finally figured out how to make an engine last well past 100,000 miles, and the airbag simply nullified the huge safety advantage that Volvo had. All of a sudden Volvo was just an average car that cost too much. When Volvo introduced the 850, traditional Volvo owners abandoned the brand. I actually had 240 owners who bought an 850, tried it for a year or two, and went back to the trusted and reliable 240.
So now Volvo is a struggling botique automaker that has no idenity. They have nothing unique to offer and charge too much to sell it to you. As a result the present Volvo owner has no real idenity, if anything they are people who thought they were buying an upscale Honda Accord that is now manufactured by a Chineese company.

 

Anonymous people that I can honestly say I have never thought of before.

 

There’s a Volvo in Orlando, S40 I believe, on at least 26” rims. Not sure where it fits in the stereotype.

 

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Had a Mustang come into the shop once with very similar marks left on the hood.

 

Well I like cars and carry a gun (or two), though I have only owned one Volvo (many years ago and it saved me from getting too badly hurt in an accident, it did not survive), but I have never understood the stereotypes people have about owners of certain cars (corvettes, miata's etc). I have owned most of those type of cars and I don't fit into any known stereotype, unless you know a lot of Autistic people with almost no formal education and have owned 467 cars. If you do I'd love to meet them, Maybe we can start a club!.

 

I'd say if it is a P1800? Probably an older guy with great taste in bodywork, who is fine with driving a tractor.

Otherwise? Just saw a pair of really hot blondes exiting a Volvo wagon at the grocery store yesterday. Always liked station wagons, but not sure if I was looking more at the car or the occupants.

 

We purchased two Volvos recently which replaced a Toyota and a Lexus. We never owned not knew anyone that owned a Volvo before purchasing the two we did. We currently own a '14 S60 which is my daily driver and my wife just got a '18 XC60 to replace her RX330. I drove everything before choosing the S60. Part of my reasoning for selecting the S60 is you don't see them very often like a BMW 3 series which are spotted every other car. Bottom line, I couldn't care less what the stereotype is for Volvo drivers.

 

How true.

 

When I was growing up in communist Poland (60s-70s), Volvos had a totally different image then here in US.
They were usually driven by business owners (small manufacturers and retail stores were allowed there, an exception among the commie countries).