History of Volvo

Volvo was founded in 1927 in Gothenburg, Sweden by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson as a subsidiary of a ball bearing company named SKF. The very first Volvo car, nicknamed ‘Jakob’ left the assembly line on April 14, 1927. The objective was to produce vehicles that could withstand the rugged terrain and weather of Sweden, unlike the available foreign models at the time. Grabrielsson and Larson can be quoted saying, “Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain, safety.” Over the past 91 years, Volvo has consistently lived up to their main values of innovation, safety and even sustainability.

“File:Volvop18395va1961rear.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 21 Jan 2017, 22:39 UTC. 17 Jul 2018, 16:44 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Volvop18395va1961rear.jpg&oldid=230522779>.

A leader in safety innovation, Volvo released the first three-point safety belt in 1959 in their production of the PV544. The engineer who pioneered the invention, Nils Bohlin, waived his rights to the patent for the belt so that everybody could benefit. It has been estimated that since then, over one million lives have been saved thanks to this historical evolution in automobile production. But Volvo didn’t stop there. They are also responsible for the invention of the rear facing child safety seat, engineered in 1972, and the child booster seat in 1976, now a standard in child safety. In 1976, Volvo also released the lambda sond, a small device that improved emissions on vehicles by 90 percent and is now found on almost every vehicle found on the road today. In more recent years, they have continued to improve the safety of people with technology like their Blind Spot Information System (2003) and Pedestrian Detection (2010).

“File:Volvop18395va1961rear.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 21 Jan 2017, 22:39 UTC. 17 Jul 2018, 16:44 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Volvop18395va1961rear.jpg&oldid=230522779>.

Volvo has produced everything from family vehicles to sports cars, buses and wagons throughout the decades. Released in the early 1970s, the P1800 (shown above) is famous for its on-screen appearances, and may be the most iconic model released by the company. However, Volvo made its first major success in the American market in 1944 with the Volvo PV444, the first small Volvo vehicle made ideal for families. Since then Volvo has continued to strive towards both quality and safety with their vehicles, currently providing a full line of luxury vehicles.

Did you know?

Cole’s Collision is proud to be a Volvo Certified Body & Paint Service Shop. Cole’s has met specific equipment guidelines, which includes welding equipment that allows high strength steel structural replacement repairs to be completed to factory specifications. High strength steel repairs are different than traditional steel repairs and it is important that they are completed correctly. If not the structural integrity of the vehicle will be jeopardized.