Hello,

This past weekend, my friend said that my 1988 245 was a Ford because Ford owns Volvo. I told him that when the car was built, Ford didn't even have Volvo on their radar screen so that couldn't possibly be true. He insisted that when Ford bought Volvo, at that exact moment, all Volvos, regardless of when they were built, became Fords. Whatever.

The point was raised that Ford now makes all Volvo parts, including those for older Volvo cars, like my '88. I said that all the Volvo parts intended for use on that car were already made and that neither Ford nor Volvo are making such parts currently. Is that true or does Ford really have manufacturing control over parts for the 240 series?

BTW: I have both a Volvo and a Ford (Ranger). At 48,000 miles, the Ford needed a new engine, radiator, and heater core to the tune of five grand (coolant caused electrolysis and ate the engine/rad/core from the inside out). The Volvo is still going on its originals at 170,000 miles.