VOLVO 1800 s

THE VOLVO 1800 S. EITHER THE MOST EXPENSIVE ECONOMY CAR IN THE WORLD, ORTHE LEAST EXPENSIVE GRAN TURISMO CAR IN THE WORLD.

I t's hard to look at the 1800 S andrealize that it gets 29 miles to the galloncruising at 70 miles an hour* ... becausei n styling, in performance, in every senseof the word, it's a Gran Turismo car.

I t's built so strong that body men havebeen known to break into vile oathswhen they have to work on one.

I t has leather seats that let you drivein comfort (with plenty of leg room),and an occasional seat in back that willhold any luggage you can't fit into thetrunk - or two people who don't mindriding cramped.

I t goes 108 miles per hour, which ismore speed than any reasonable personever needs. (If you want a Gran Turismothat goes faster, it'll cost you at least$10,000.)

But the thing that really gives you theGran Turismo feeling is the way itcruises and handles. And that's some-thing we can't describe. So if you findyourself even half sold on the 1800 Swhen you've finished this booklet, getyour Volvo dealer to let you test driveone. That should convince you.

With electric overdrive, a worthwhile option.

IT HAS ALL THE COMFORTS YOU'D EXPECT IN A GRAN TURISMO CAR.

The bucket seats in the 1800 S arel eather, adjustable, and fit your body.

When you sit in them, your legs haveenough room to be as comfortable asthe rest of you.

The three-point safety belts that arestandard equipment provide the kind ofsafety that makes you feel even morecomfortable.

Driving is easy because the instrumentpanel is complete. Everything you need isright in front you. Speedometer, tacho-meter, trip mileage counter, oil pressuregauge, oil temperature gauge, watertemperature gauge, gas gauge, clock,turn indicators, and indicator lights forhigh and low beam. The electric over-drive is mounted on the steering wheell i ke a turn indicator lever.

The heater and defroster system isthermostat controlled and has an extre-mely large capacity. (It has to have.Remember, this car was built withSwedish winter in mind.)

I n the back is the occasional seat. Itcarries two people, or folds down tomake very good storage space for anyluggage that spills over from the trunk.

About the trunk. It's big enough to holda three-suiter, a two-suiter, a one-suiter,and an overnight bag. Nobody canaccuse us of overstatement if we saythat's pretty roomy.

The 1800 S is fast, maneuverable, andeasy to drive.

I t has a tough, four-cylinder engine with115 S.A.E. horsepower output. As wementioned before, when it's speedingyou along at 70 m.p.h., it uses about agallon of gas every 29 miles.

I t has a five bearing crankshaft, twinSU carburetors, fully machined combus-tion chambers, separate induction portsfor each cylinder, a double exhaust sys-tem from the fly-wheel back, a full-flowoil filter, and an oil cooler.

The gearshift is fully synchronized inall four forward speeds.

Disc brakes on the front and drumbrakes on the rear give you even brak-i ng on all four wheels. No sway orfading in emergency stops.

Two torque rods absorb the torsionalstresses that influence the rear axleduring braking and acceleration. Theaxle is located laterally by means of atrack bar. This means the 1800 S willhold the road and take corners far betterthan you'd normally expect, even at highspeeds.

Coil springs and telescopic shock ab-sorbers make cruising a comfortablebusiness even over fairly rough roads.The shock absorbers contain nylon cellsfull of freon gas, which doesn't frothup and fail to cushion the blows likehydraulic fluid.

The 1800 S also has a sealed coolingsystem. If the radiator starts getting toohot the steam flows into a special con-tainer, cools down, and drains backi nto the radiator. No more standingaround while you wait for an overheatedradiator to cool.

The best way to tell you about 1800 Sbody is to tell you something about howi t's made. It isn't pieced together, it'sbuilt as one rigid unit. A process calledClosed-Box-Type Construction is usedaround the doors and windows. (Thatmeans that the openings are stronglysupported by solid boxes of steel, notmerely by braces in the corners.)

All the closed sections of the body arerustproofed before they're welded, soyour car won't rust in places you can'tsee or get to.

After welding, the body is etched inacid so the first coat of paint will havea better surface to hang on to. The bodyi s then immersed in rustproofing primer.More primer is sprayed over that coat.Then an intermediary coat of paint. Thenfive color coats.

I n between each coat of paint, the bodygets baked, hand-rubbed and thoroughlywashed. Pretty Swedish girls go overthe whole body with soft flannel mittensfeeling for faults the eye can't see.

The result of all this is a body that isespecially rigid, resistant to torsionalstresses, and long lasting. Oh, yes. Andbeautiful.

"The Volvo 1800 S is a very civilized touring car for people who want to travel rapidly in style, a GranTurismo car of the type much in the news these days - but at a price that many people who cannot afforda Ferrari or an Aston Martin will be able to pay" - Road and Track Magazine.