Volvo 200 Series (Sweden, 1974-1993)

Volvo built nearly 2.9 million of its 200-Series cars in its 19 years of production between August 1974 and May 1993. The car has gained a reputation for having amazing reliability and being incredibly practical. It was criticized for being boxy and boring, but it is the best selling chassis that Volvo has ever made.

The 200-Series of cars started as an evolution of the 100-Series in 1974. To save money, the early 200-Series cars shared a body structure with the 100-Series, but it received a larger front crumple zone for better safety. They were considered so safe that the United States National Highway Transport Safety Administration used the 240 as the baseline for automotive safety in the 1980s.

The cars were available with either a four-cylinder engine called the 240, or a six-cylinder, called the 260, and it was available as a coupe, sedan or station wagon soon after launch. The station wagon became the most famous of the designs and defined what it meant to be a station wagon for Volvo.

The six-cylinder never proved especially popular. Of the 2,862,573 200-Series cars made, only 177,402 were 260 coupe, sedan or wagons.

The turbocharged versions of the 245 wagon was the fastest production wagon in the world for a time in the 80s. The turbocharged 240s also won the European Group A Championship in 1985.

The 245 wagon was also the final member of the 200-Series to stay in production. The final car built was the world's only 243 wagon. Volvo took the body of a 242 coupe and added the roof from the 245 to create the only Volvo 200-Series two-door wagon ever officially made.