Is the 240 now a classic

[rusty244]

Originally Posted by redboy

I think the 240 is a classic- it has followed the 'morris minor' vw beetle path in that in its later years, it was bought by people who wanted a car 'made like they used to', and demand escalated just before it was discontinued.

I'd probably compare it to the w123 merc rather than the 124- the 124 was a MUCH more refined yet bland looking car. The 123 was much more old fashioned and a bit noisier and rougher, just like the 240. (Its most durable model was also called the 240)

Completely agree that the 240 is much more comparable to the W123 rather than W124 merc, seems to have a similar period feel and was released in 1976 (few years after the 240?).

The 240s seem to survive better than the W123s in the UK as regards terminal rusting (can't remember the last time I saw a W123 actually). Although both have a reputation for very durable powerplants - in the case of the Merc diesels from the period however they are almost unusably slow in today's traffic from what I have heard).

Interesting that a W123 in nice condition now commands a fairly decent price here (even the saloons which are much less desirable that the coupes/estates), maybe in a few years the 240 will follow suit!

[Steve and his 244]

Originally Posted by GMad

Are they heck!
I still see to many of em around.
An inexpensive old runaround is the most polite description for a 240 that I can think of!

Ha! Do you even like volvos? dont think ive ever seen a positive comment from you!

Of course the 240 is a classic, when people think of an old volvo - they think of a 240 estate. when mine was on the road all i got was comments on how they were becoming classics

[OldBlueVolvo]

According to me, 240s are all classic cars now. I also say that 740s are classics too, though some more so than others. Don't ask me to define what a 'classic car' is though.

[john h]

Yeah, it's a classic - an icon even.

I personally don't think every old car becomes a "classic". I will never consider a Nissan Stanza a classic car, no matter how old it becomes.

For me the "gateway" to classic status starts when the car was new... it has to be a good car in the first place.

The 200 was a heavily revised 100 and should be considered as the same family. As such, the car ticks all the boxes in my mind as a classic:

- a good design, well built
- carefully and regularly evolved through a long production run
- strong popularity when new and good loyalty and repeat custom
- synonymous with the brand for one or more generations of buyers
- chracterful and evoking its country of origin

All those apply to the 100/200 series, just like other classics such as the original Beetle, Mini, Morris Minor or the 911.

Sure, there are some scruffy old banger 240s about, but that does not mean it is not a classic car.

John

[Audrey Old]

...some people will never understand what a classic car is. When I arrived at a classic car show back in summer in my tax-exempt Volvo 164, one smart-alec said quite loudly that my car shouldn't be there cos it was just like all the other Volvo 240s you see in the supermarket car-park every day!

In all honesty though, whilst taking my disabled mothers shopping to her place this morning (ten miles each way in my 240 estate) I saw 3 others, including an immaculate W-reg saloon. I didn't note any other single make and model 1980s cars, although I too am undecided as to what constitutes a classic car.

In a certain car-mag their 'endangered species' section says only one 1980s Talbot Tagora as being still on the road, although this is probably another notoriously inaccurate DVLA statistic. A local friend has one as a back-up to his Humber, and treats it as a day-car, like lots of us 240 owners, but that doesn't make either of 'em classics. The 240s are very sensible, robust day-cars, just that: in that role many will survive for ages, but will they ever be true classics like the Amazon?

Perhaps after all, its the tax-exempt status that is the boundary?

Paul

[OldBlueVolvo]

Originally Posted by Audrey Old

...some people will never understand what a classic car is. When I arrived at a classic car show back in summer in my tax-exempt Volvo 164, one smart-alec said quite loudly that my car shouldn't be there cos it was just like all the other Volvo 240s you see in the supermarket car-park every day!

I don't know why somebody would say that, even if that's how they felt about your car.

I remember I was stuck in a jam on the A27 amongst all the cars going to the festival of speed one year. A small Mazda full of 'chavs' slowly drove past admiring my car (I think). When they saw the grille badge one of them shouted out "Oh, I hate Volvos!". It amazes me that he didn't know what car I had until he saw the front of the car.

[wooble]

classic [ˈklæsɪk]
adj
1. of the highest class, esp in art or literature
2. serving as a standard or model of its kind; definitive
3. adhering to an established set of rules or principles in the arts or sciences a classic proof
4. characterized by simplicity, balance, regularity, and purity of form
5. of lasting interest or significance
6. continuously in fashion because of its simple and basic style

n
1. an author, artist, or work of art of the highest excellence
2. a creation or work considered as definitive
3. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Horse Racing) Horse racing
a. any of the five principal races for three-year-old horses in Britain, namely the One Thousand Guineas, Two Thousand Guineas, Derby, Oaks, and Saint Leger
b. a race equivalent to any of these in other countries See also classics
[from Latin classicus of the first rank, from classis division, rank, class]

I'd say it fits!

[c_lee]

Originally Posted by OldBlueVolvo

I don't know why somebody would say that, even if that's how they felt about your car.

I remember I was stuck in a jam on the A27 amongst all the cars going to the festival of speed one year. A small Mazda full of 'chavs' slowly drove past admiring my car (I think). When they saw the grille badge one of them shouted out "Oh, I hate Volvos!". It amazes me that he didn't know what car I had until he saw the front of the car.

A couple of weeks ago I was parking my 240 near my daughters town centre property.

Not to stereotype all youngsters wearing such dress, but, a couple of young ( 20's maybe ) lads with hoodies and walking the CHAVY walk on the other side of the road shouted ' hey mister, NICE motor'.

I told my daughter when I went in and she said ' your joking, for a 240 '.
( I need to educate her more yet ).

I reminded her of a time some years ago when we were on holiday in Spain and one evening we were walking down the main drag in an area where there were lots of bars with open fronts, full of youngsters dancing and with music blaring out.

Now, on holiday I often wear big patern colourful shirts with things like yachts, pineapples, parrots etc on them.
I was wearing a big patern parrot shirt that night.

We were on the opposite side of the road but as we passed a bar the music volume lowered and the man on the microphone shouted ' hey granddad - nice shirt ', then the music went up again.

We couldn't help but fall about laughing.

[Mike_Brace]

Originally Posted by c_lee

A couple of weeks ago I was parking my 240 near my daughters town centre property.

Not to stereotype all youngsters wearing such dress, but, a couple of young ( 20's maybe ) lads with hoodies and walking the CHAVY walk on the other side of the road shouted ' hey mister, NICE motor'.

I told my daughter when I went in and she said ' your joking, for a 240 '.
( I need to educate her more yet ).

This summer after coming off the ferry in Brittany I went through a small town in the late evening and a group outside a bar all stood up cheered and toasted the Bitch Machine and trailer!

Mike

[oman5]

Yes they are classics. An obvious design classic, they changed so little throughout the production run that a 1993 example is recogniseable as the same car as a 1974 example. This formula worked well for mercedes benz, Rolls-royce etc, who all carry it off by making such a damn good product in the first place. The numbers surviving is irrelavent. at the last count there was something like 30,000 morris minors in existance, and that was the very car that started the whole "practical classic" scene.
If you need one defining criteria that makes Volvo 240s a classic, something that puts them above contemporary cars, it's that it was designed with longevity in mind and was built to a standard rather than down to a price, not mentioning any names like Ford or vauxhall, oh dear me no.
IMO the day Ford took over Volvo was the day the music died... but keep that on this forum.