History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Automotive Industries page on X July 2024, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Volvo 140 Series is a line of mid-size cars manufactured and marketed by Volvo from 1966 to 1974 in two and four door sedan (models 142 and 144 respectively) as well as five door station wagon (model 145) body styles—with numerous intermediate facelifts. More than a million Volvo 140s were built in 8 years.

Volvo Cars began manufacturing the Volvo 144 at Torslandaverken in the late summer of 1966 for the 1967 model year. The 144 series, which followed the Volvo Amazon (120 series, outside of Sweden), was the first Volvo to use a tri-digit nomenclature, where the first digit indicated series, second digit indicated the number of cylinders, and third digit indicated the number of doors. Thus, a "144" was a 1st series, 4-cylinder, 4-door sedan. The 144 was the first Volvo to feature a more rectilinear or boxy styling. Compared to the Volvo Amazon, the 140 was a radical departure with minimal exterior and interior carryover, notably a stylised version of the front split grille. The car's basic shape would survive into the 1990s as the 200 series. Mechanically, the car used many of the same drivetrain components as the Amazon, but also showcased many improvements, including disc brakes on all four wheels. It was named car of the year in 1966 by Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld. The engine in the standard 144 was the same as found in the standard Amazon (121), the 1.8l B18A, but the 144S was given the more powerful B18B from the 123GT and 1800S. Late in the 1967 model year production of the Volvo 142 (2-door sedan) began, in time to build 1500 units for the first year. In 1968 production of the Volvo 145 5-door station wagon began, completing the three body styles used in the 140 range.

For the 1969 model year Volvo enlarged the B18 to become the 2.0 litre B20 and replaced the generator with a more modern alternator.

In 1970 a flow-through ventilation system, where vents were added towards the rear of the car (on the exterior under the rear window on the 142 and 144 and as a grille next to the right side taillight of the 145) and electrically defrosted rear windows, were introduced. The split rear side window on the 145 became one piece which was no longer possible to open.

In 1971 the first of several styling changes were introduced, including a revised black grille which saw the now ubiquitous Volvo diagonal line introduced as well as new wheels. A console on the transmission tunnel with a clock was now standard. Model year 1971 also saw the introduction of the B20E, which was a high compression version of the B20 which introduced Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, giving a power figure of 124 PS (91 kW; 122 hp) DIN or 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) SAE.

The styling changes continued in 1972 with the introduction of flush mounted door handles and a slightly revised dashboard with fake woodgrain trim, newly designed switches and a small central panel with a clock.

As a replacement for the Volvo Duett, Volvo produced a high roofed version of the Volvo 145 station wagon, known as the 145 Express. From the windscreen back, the roof was raised by approximately 5 cm (2 in), and from the B-pillar back it was raised again by about 30 cm (1 ft). It was available in three configurations: standard station wagon (full glazing and five seats with the option of an extra two rear-facing seats), fully glazed panel-van with only two seats, and a two-seater panel van with no glass in the rear doors and rear quarter panels. It found a niche market, and several coachbuilder firms later made Express versions of the 245. Its rear hatch was made of glass-reinforced plastic.

In 1974, the 140 series evolved into the 240 series for the 1975 model year. The 164 was continued for another year in certain markets.

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