Our oldest son had a head-on crash in his '92 244 Friday night. He hit a Toyota Corolla that crossed the centerline. The accident was in town, so both cars were doing 25-30 mph. Mitch received a rather nasty burn on his left arm but was otherwise unhurt. The other driver was also unhurt.

The 244's front end crumple zone worked as designed. Damage was constrained to the radiator support, fenders, hood, bumper, and bumper struts. The hood remained closed and latched, and all doors opened and closed perfectly after the accident. The accident was potentially extra-severe because the impact center was directly on the passenger side (left) front corner. I'll post some photos tomorrow. The impact center on the other car was in the middle of the front bumper, which can help dissipate the crash energy.

Life-saving may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Mitch could have been badly hurt in this accident. Volvo 240 owners feel very good about putting their families in these cars.

As an aside, the insurance company is attempting to jerk us over. They want to total the car and give us only $1500 for it. Unfortunately, the car had pristine sheet metal, a "new" motor (120k miles with new seals), a "new" tranny (new seals and tailshaft bushing) and even an uncracked dash! I am afraid I will never be able to find a 244 this nice for less than $2500. Anybody know a good brick-loving attorney... ;-)