For years, as I walked past a charming red house near my family’s place in Darien, Connecticut, I noticed an ever-shifting array of Volvo 240s dating from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I decided that, if I were ever to write for an automotive outlet, I would try to learn more about this concentration of Swedish bricks in my neighborhood. So I did.
After getting a green light from Autopian higher-ups, I strolled over to learn more about why this round-up of Volvos lived here. In more rural areas, it’s not as unusual to see stockpiles of certain makes and/or models from days gone by, but a town populated by the latest in Range Rovers, Porsches, and Ineos Grenadiers, the phenomenon registers as more intriguing.
Roger and Judy Kleinert are a retired couple, both of whom worked in IT. You’ll find them cheering on the Army football team (hell, their Golden Retriever is named “Trooper”) and spending idle days on the water. What gets them around? Volvo 240s – five of them.
Make no mistake: These retro Swedes see regular exercise. Lest you think that the two don’t use their Volvos on a daily basis, I saw the Kleinerts – with Trooper – driving the bronze sedan through town as I was taking a walk the same day I met Roger.
Mr. Kleinert has nursed the Volvo bug for a lifetime, first owning a 145 before basking in the glory of the 240 beginning in the early 1980s. His wife, meanwhile, got fed up with her first car: a 1977 Pontiac Sunbird. She latched onto the tough-as-moose automaker around the same time, buying a 1981 example. It seemed like destiny, then, for these Volvo lovers to meet.
When I first spoke to Roger, he underscored that Judy was “the true enthusiast” of the pair, despite his ownership of, among other 240s, a dependable wagon.
A prevailing sense of logic guided Judy towards her decision to become a lifetime Volvo patron. “I did the investigation and found out that it’s probably more cost-effective to get an ’81 Volvo, with everything included, than it would be to get an American car with the add-ons,” she recalled, lamenting the possibility of “a radio that’s X number of dollars, if you get radial tires that’s X number of dollars…”
“Plus,” Judy added, “the safety factor of the Volvo.” It was then that I brought up a certain classic Top Gear episode.
In series 13, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are tasked with finding what they believe to be the perfect car for newly-minted 17-year-old drivers. Clarkson picked a 1994 Volvo 940 wagon. While his 940 was assembled just after 240 production drew to a close, a quote he bellowed in defending his choice felt apt to mention. “Look at the amount of metal between him and the tree he will inevitably hit!”
Judy drove her first 240 until she replaced it in 1987 with another one, in white, which you’ll see in the Kleinert driveway today.
The two are now 69 years old, having logged hundreds of thousands of miles on their Swedish steeds. I was told, proudly, that Volvo sent them mileage plaques affixed to their car’s dashboards.
Total mileage on the five Volvos:
- Roger’s 1993: 240,000
- Roger’s 1990 Wagon: 225,000
- Judy’s 1987: 265,000
- Judy’s 1988: 110,000
- Judy’s 1993: 270,000
- All five: 1,110,000
To be sure, Roger bought the ’90 wagon with around 100,000 miles on the clock, meaning he’s added 125,000. And though I’m not sure how many miles the ’93 had upon acquisition, it was purchased from a sales rep in New Jersey with low mileage. Add the fact that the predecessor to Roger’s wagon was yet another 240 he owned, a 1982 245, and indeed he and Judy have driven over 1 million miles in this one Swedish car model.
You may be reminded, at this point, of Irv Gordon, the New York man who logged 3,200,000 miles on his Volvo P1800. Gordon still stands as the man who logged more miles on a single car than anyone else in history. I asked the Kleinerts if they knew of this fellow Volvo fanatic. “Yes,” they answered in unison.
Despite this devotion, both Roger and Judy do not describe themselves as car enthusiasts. At one point during my pair of interviews, I asked if they had any sort of 240 shrines, perhaps a shelf with 240 scale models somewhere in their house. Negative! The idea “is a little too extreme for me,” Judy says.
Perhaps Roger sums it up best: “They seem like a cult car. I’m not a cult person.”
In a 2012 Fortune article entitled “The Curse of the Volvo 240,” Alex Taylor III posits that Volvo has been dealt a damning fate due to discontinuation of the Kleinerts’ favorite car. “When you hear that Volvos last nearly 20 years, the reference is probably to the 240. Owners keep them forever and roll up astounding amounts of miles, extolling their homely virtues and ignoring their obvious drawbacks, like a pokey four-cylinder engine.” Taylor sums up the 240 as “an anti-status symbol, a conspicuous sign of inconspicuous consumption.” When Roger told me of the killing Volvo dealers made through marketing 240s as “Nanny Mobiles” to wealthy families in our area, looking to give their children and sitters a safe mode of transport, it seemed fitting that I would come across Taylor’s brilliant tagline soon after.
The people who own 240s can be as possessive as the Kleinerts – these humble Volvos run forever and are easy to work on if something goes awry. Judy describes the 240 as a “hands-on car” – since any minor troubleshooting or upgrade can be executed without much hassle – and Roger boasts, with a knock on wood, that “they’ve never let us down…in a bad situation!” throughout their years of ownership. Oil changes, and other basics, couldn’t be easier, according to Roger and Judy.
Although these two claim to not subscribe to the Cult of 240dom, they don’t seem too far off. For instance, I asked if Judy and Roger felt that the 240 was the perfect choice of car for Darien, Connecticut, one of the wealthiest ZIP Codes in the United States. “Absolutely not!” Judy responded in an instant. Of course, that brought a chuckle, but Judy backed the take with a few words of sincerity. “I take pride in washing my own car, waxing it twice a year, stuff like that. You’re not gonna find people doing that in Darien…I find satisfaction in doing it myself.”
It seems, then, that – like the resourceful third pig in the famous fairy tale – the Kleinerts have done well to build a house of bricks.
All photos by Tyler Roland, Roger & Judy Kleinert
In Saturday, 1987, the electric carb in my father’s 240 went bork bork on an E75 offramp. He was furious, because the small town dealership was closed for weekend and it was probably the only component in the car that was not somewho fixable with a hammer and random bits from a service station (as opposed to gas station).
Later, a bit too enthuastically driven Alfa 75 smashed into the rear of the Volvo at an intersection. The rubber covered section of railroad track serving as the rear bumper was basically intact, but there was a small dent in the rear hatch. Even the rear lights were ok. And our necks. The front of the Alfa: some bent metal, smashed headlights, towing hook shaped hole in the radiator… Beige Volvo – Italian Stallion: 1-0.
We need more of this type of car, and definitely more of the humility and practicality demonstrated by the Kleinerts.
I recall our family 1984 240 DL wagon as an amazing upgrade to our failing ‘81 Subaru GL (air conditioning! vinyl seats!). When we bought it in the early 1990’s, my parents didn’t realize it had extensive hidden crash damage and would let in sheets of water when driven through the automatic car wash. Later, my dad struck a deer at 55 mph without even touching the brakes and only soft panels and lights were damaged, which he replaced on his own. A family friend had the donor 240, which had recently ingested a guard rail through the rear driver’s side door and out the rear hatch-crazy damage and the guardrail was cut away, but they couldn’t/didn’t extract it from the vehicle. After the deer repair, it drove well for several years until replaced with our first new car, a 1994 Toyota Previa LE (kind of similar if you think about it, despite the space-age supercharger and radical styling.)
I miss our family’s old Volvos:
Mom’s 83 DL sedan (Sand Beige)
My 71 144S (Dove grey over red interior)
My 72 145E (originally teal – repainted burgundy)
and Mom’s 1990-something medium blue metallic “It matches the earrings you gave me for Christmas last year, Dear” 240
Mom even received a little Orrefors bud vase from Volvo for writing one of those “My Volvo Saved Me” letters after my Sister demolished the ’83 DL and buying the new 240.
And she cried when it was sold in favor of a Saturn which was chosen because it could be towed 4-down behind the DutchStar.
Now my parents are driving a new white XC40 – which is likely to be their last car.
I miss my 240
Those elephants are coming for you. The Great Elephant Migration is coming to Hollywood in July. Cool installation, and it’s wonderful you got to see them on the road. I’m surprised they weren’t under wraps or in a semi-trailer.
Posted to the wrong article. Ow hell.
Confused me for a minute, there. Thought it was some sort of coded threat lol
That’s good to see, especially as a fellow multi-Volvo owner.
I strongly prefer the 700/900-series to its 200-series brethren (and I prefer the 140-series to the 200, at least on exterior design), having passed over a 245 to get my first Volvo, a 745 which was apparently extremely overdue for a timing belt service, so it was soon replaced with a 765 Turbo.
As products of their time, though, I get the appeal of staying with what this couple knows and cherishes.
I consider myself a person who likes to buy a lot of different makes. I’ve owned quite a few things over the years, but despite that, I keep coming back to Volvos.
Started with a 960 wagon that I adored. I had it at a time in my life where the kids were little and I had nowhere to work on it, so as it aged, I couldn’t keep up and sold it on. I still miss that silky inline 6.
It was replaced by a 98 V70 that I got for peanuts. It was a little rough, but for the price, I would have been dumb to turn it down. Had the charming 3rd row seat an everything. It was fatally injured by an escalade that caught fire in a grocery store parking lot across from it. Melted the nose and caused other issues. It was traded for a Mazda cx9, but missed.
A number of years went by, kids are driving age now. I found a deal on an 06 V70, and that’s still in the driveway. I mean, it needs a torque converter now, but that’s a different story, my own fault. I’ll get it fixed in the coming weeks.
That got a replacement of a 13 xc70 and it’s well-liked in the family.
Got wifey an S90 Inscription, she loves it, anyone who rides in it loves it.
There is some sickness that comes with these dumb things. I don’t exactly know what it is however. They’re not super fast, they’re not showy, but they are somehow charming beyond all reason. I don’t know how a car has charm, but these damn things do. Newer ones, older ones, they all seem to have something. I also appreciate that they are safe, that certainly is a welcome comfort.
I find myself attracted to the older cars in the bunch, I’m a little afraid of the S90 because I can’t just whip out the laptop and connect VIDA to do my business. The rest I have a good grip on.
I’m right with you. I recently bought my fifth Volvo – 2017 XC60 – which supplements my 2007 XC90 V8 and will give me a chance to give the 90 the TLC it needs to keep running superbly for another 150K miles.
You’re spot on, there is just something special with these. I suspect it’s because of the care and attention to practical detail taken when designing and manufacturing them. Most other manufacturers tend to feel slap-dash in comparison. Or – in the case of gm and arguably VAG – it seems like there’s a different committee for every portion of the vehicle, and they don’t bother to communicate with each other. So the steering wheel-area group doesn’t talk to the center stack group, and none of them recognize the exterior design group(s) even exist.
I work in automotive service and have for decades, and I see nearly every make and model on a fairly regular basis. I put my money where my mouth is. I’ve owned more Volvos and Mazdas than any other brand – in fact my ownership record only includes two Toyotas and a Mercury aside from the Mazda and Volvo vehicles IIRC. I point-blank refuse to buy anything gm, VAG, Subaru, and Nissan/Infiniti, and it’s baffling to me to see folks repeatedly buy such brands, especially when there are more than viable equivalent alternatives in the same price bracket. ????♂️
Now that you mention that, I am also a serial Mazda owner. Ford Probe, Miata and CX9, they also have a charm. Not as many as the Volvos, but I believe you did touch on one part; that is the cohesive nature of the car.
This week, I’m on vacation and hobo-house/pet sitting. I’ve driven my friends cars which are a newish Altima (it’s really not that bad), a Lexus GS350 and a Subaru Outback with the H6. They each have their virtues, but none of them really have anything special overall. The Altima is “an car” and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing that would make me want to own one, but as basic transportation on a budget, you could certainly do worse. The Lexus is rather nice as one might expect, but for the price, it darn well ought to be. The Outback was the surprising letdown; between the H6 that has the power of an H4 but the gas mileage of a V8, the wacky lack of integration between the infotainment and the gauge cluster (yes I know I have a low tire, but which one?!) I just don’t understand why people would buy one much less several copies of these things. The Lexus I could see getting another, but while I could afford it, I am far to cheap to part with that sort of money.
I’ve had a selection of mid-size Mazda sedans over the years going back to the late ’80s; I’d have preferred if they were wagons or 5-doors, but choices were limited. My wife is on her third CX-5 (repeat leasee), and I have lost count of how many family and friends have CX-5s, plus a few CX-9s and a CX-90 (which is quite impressive). A year ago I was nearly convinced my next car would be a CX-50, until parking it next to the wife’s current CX-5 and discovering how much shorter it is in height. It’s more like a wagon than a crossover, which is both good and bad.
I hadn’t planned on the XC60, and had been a bit dismissive of the first generation ones as they didn’t really favorably compare to my XC90. The current generation are quite handsome but I dislike the interior being so screen-focused – I like my hard controls, darn it. But it came at a time and in a condition and price I couldn’t refuse. But it’s brought me reluctantly into the world of backup cameras, adaptive cruise, Bluetooth, built-in navigation, and so on, which is kind of nice to have and certainly feels more modern. It took less than a day to learn the ins and outs of the system, and having a steering wheel control for the screen is a reassuring and positive touch.
I am a serial Mazda owner and basically have had everything over the years. They just have that drivers feel to them. I have always loved how engaging they are, no matter which model you’re driving. I suggest/push for them whenever anybody asks.
Yeah they aren’t the most technologically advanced, or best in class in anything, or whatever measurement you want to throw at them. But they just have that feel that makes them enjoyable to drive compared to just having an appliance.
I’ve done something similar. It’s just Swedish cars in general. I’ve had three Volvos (1999 S80 T6, 2005 S40 2.4i 5MT and 2016 XC70) and my Saab (2005 9-3 Linear) they’re just special cars. Absolutely brilliant. My daily is currently a Mazda CX-5 (another brilliant car in its own way) but when it’s time to replace it, it will be getting replaced by Volvo #4.
There was a family like that not too far from mine about 20 years ago, when I’d drive by instead of Volvos it was Saabs. Swedish Saabs, pre-GM. Then it changed to the 9-5 wagon until eventually after Saab went away to be replaced with, you guessed it, a Volvo.
As a Saab 900 (pre-GM) lover, I get it about the Volvo 240s. If I was ever to get a Volvo it would be a 240. If it was another Mercedes it would be a W126. There’s something about that era of cars, build quality, soul, design, just something that is timeless.
Does this mean you lived not far from a man called Ove?
Ive owned a 89 240 wagon “Ludvig” for over 15 years. bought for $600, inspired largely from the articles and comments on the “old site”, and it’s been literally the best car purchase of my life. 41 states, and 175k-ish miles in that time. I have endless vacation stories, long-haul weird gadget pickups, and other (mis)adventure stories in that car.
Just last sunday’s adventure; loaded up the back with cardboard, drove down the canyon to the recycling center, then to home depot for fencing and pavers, a quick car wash, Classics & Coffee downtown (i’m never the cleanest car there, but frequently the most heavily laden) back up the canyon, unload, hook up the trailer and took a load of slash to the collection site.
Ludvig works for a living. moves pianos, sleeps two. Despite 36 years and 430k miles (and plenty of work), it still feels fresh and lively, its infinitely useful and endlessly charming. These get under your skin and into your blood… like microplastics.
Mine was an 80, in the drabbest beige ever, 4-door with the 4+3 manual transmission.
But my favorite was Karen Hill’s. I don’t know if the real Karen Hill drove a Volvo, but Volvo ownership really shines a light on the movie character. She’s long past any illusions about what Henry does for a living, and she knows their lives are precarious, literally hanging by a thread, and so she seeks the safety and security of a Volvo because she can’t get it from her husband.
I love this story, thanks for this!!!
The 240 outlived it’s replacement, iirc it was produced for an additional 2 years after Volvo stopped producing the 740 which was intended to fully replace the 240.
I’ve had both (among a dozen or more other Volvos). I liked the spirited turbo in the 740 but the 240 just has a charm you’ll never find anywhere else.
Technically the 700-series got renamed to the 900-series, which was then changed to the S/V90, which continued until 1998, several years after the 200-series was discontinued.
I see the 200-series as complementary to the 700-series and its successors. Cheaper, smaller, and a bit more approachable to the widespread public versus the “executive” status the 700-series et al commanded. Just as the 850-series successor to the 200-series (and its own S/V70 successors) was the “new school” freshness the brand needed, and allowed the 900/90-series to bridge the higher-end gap until the S80/V70/XC70 replacements came out.
Built a house of bricks…that’s freaking gold right there
So Volvo is only 1/5th as good as a Honda Prologue.
It’s about 3.2 times as good, thanks to Irv Gordon.
They’re boxy, but good.
I love the 240. My family had a white ’83 sedan for about 4 years when i was a kid back in the late 90s early 00s. We got it with low 200s mileage on it and made it to around 280k.
It was quite the guzzler, but the thing was the most reliable car my mom ever had up to that point, it was the last in a long line of desperation beaters that we had as the family second car. It was comfortable, quirky, and solid as hell. It was certainly rusty by the end, but for an 80s car to make it into the 00s with intense regular use in upstate NY is rare.
I only wish something with the 240s virtues was still available today.
I am a former Certified Volvo 240 Nut™, so I get it. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the 2nd best passenger car ever made.
I’ll bite. What’s #1?
I was hoping somebody would! Mercedes-Benz C/W/S123.
Excellent choice
True story.
Can’t really argue with that.