1978 Volvo 244 GLE...OF DESPAIR

1978 Volvo 244 GLE...OF DESPAIR 05/10/2005 « prev 1st rand curr next »

It's that funny pumpkin-orange color that Scandinavian cars used to offer.

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This comes from the old story that Volvo used to test its door and window seals by putting cats in them to make sure they were air-tight.

oh snap. this could be so true. is it true?

You hope that potentially hundreds of cats have died to ensure higher automobile quality? That's pretty harsh, Tekende.

When the legend outgrows the truth, print the legend.

It's true now.

petro's, tek's and your comments all earned chuppies tonight. be honored. BE HONORED

tripperday, I would chubby you to infinity for this quote. Rock on.

There is a grain of truth in this one, but the original story has been twisted a bit. The thing is, Swedish cars used to have cat parts in their brake system. This was supposed to make the car safer and because of that the government introduced a tax incentive, if you had a car with this system you could buy gas tax free. A famous slogan was used, "Med katta i bromsen s� slipper du omsen" (roughly, "With the cat in your brakes, you'll escape the VAT"). The tax program was stopped in the late seventies by minister of industry Nisse �sling, in cooperation with Gunnar Engellau and PG Gyllenhammar of Volvo. Gyllenhammar, the CEO of Volvo at the time, initially opposed the cancellation but was forced to fold when the locals got wind of what was happening. The slogan is still used today by animal rights activists as a reminder of how Sweden's relative prosperity has come at a price.

what sort of cat parts? thats what intrigues me.....

I would guess ligaments maybe? But I can't see how that could possibly be better than a simple steel cable. Really no functional part of a modern machine should be made from animal tissue.

740GL. Arctic blue exterior, faded tan velour interior. A faint smell of men's deodorant through the funk of Armor-All. Cassette tape possibly jammed in the deck.

There are coffee rings on the dash, but it isn't coffee, it's dip spit. There's cat hair in the console, and sand.

Also, cigarette burns are on the bench seat in the back.

you saw that car too, eh? only a wooden oar to prop up the trunk.

It's actually orange.

very much like a pumpkin, a Scandinavian pumpkin

in highschool I had a Pontiac T1000. it is a similar car of despair, the break system used a bungie cord as it's main component.

cause only Trent knows how you feel.

I love the entire Volvo of Despair storyline. "Volvo of Despair" has a great ring to it.

Yeah, one of my favorite arcs.

I can't figure out if you're making a fool of yourself by being snarky over his correct spelling, or suggesting Ray finance an Egyptian archeology dig. Either way is fine, I guess.

I'm suggesting that my Inbox stop showing like 3 copies of every single comment made in response to mine. It is SERIOUSLY slowing down my check-over process.

This was the first strip I read. Needless to say, it got me hooked.

This is my favourite Achewood strip and I want this car.

The Shins and Rocky Votolato have this exact effect on me.

simultaneously pulling apart your ear and mouth is a great way to express despair

Beef screams. But no one can hear!

Roast Beef is the authority on all things depression related.

I saw a Volvo on the US60 once that someone had painted the bumper black on, and had written in white letters, "The Volvo of Despair".

I laughed pretty hard.

my god sits in the back of a limousine / my god comes in a wrapper of cellophane / my god pouts on the cover of the magazine

This is one of my favourite achewood arcs ever. Probably the one that turned me into a rabid fan. Incidentally, I wonder if Trent Reznor has ever been shown this arc. I like to imagine he'd get a kick out of it.

He'd just be happy shot of the Volvo. I hear he drives a Saab now... Oh what a differing world from teenage years to Super stardom.

Kurt Cobain drove a Volvo... Maybe that is what killed him.

in all seriousness it should be #3 on the list with Courtney Love and heroin tied for #1 I guess

Is the shotgun #2?

My dad used to own a pumpkin orange late 70s volvo. It caused him an immense amount of emotional trauma.

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Nice Pete: Chapter 18

My highschool mate and I both had '76 model Volvos our parents had passed down to us. Chris called his the "Ox" and soon they were The Oxen. We used to go on surf trips in them and quite frankly are not at all associated with any despair... except when I learnt how to drive in it. Like your driving instructor handing you a helmet with a visor and pointing at the tank you hadn't noticed sitting on the driveway.