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I, too, get a great feeling from making a very viable and safe car from what should, by modern measures, be long gone. "Looks lika a brick? Rides like a brick? Lasts like a brick?" I choose the last.
In the mid-Seventies, when my sister-in-law topped a hill on one of the many four lane undivided highways in the Arlington, VA (D.C. suburb) area only to collide head-on with vehicle in her lane, she walked away with bruises and a totalled 144. The other driver lay dead. I became a believer.
Beginning with a 1975 245DL, through our current 1988 244GL for me and our 1997 965 wifemobile, maintenance and safety and a great ride make ownership more a joy than a burden. We enjoy the 6-year clean driving record on out insurance, too.
My folks were at working age in the Great Depression. As a newly-minted MD, Dad took a competetive exam to get into the US Army. Mom finished a Cornell degree, went to work in journalism and later in a settlement house. They taught all us four kids this rule "Eat it all, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without." I learned to clean sparkplugs from Dad, he being at that time a Major in the US Army and on active duty in the then-new Pentagon.
My first action when something breaks is "what can I do to fix it or come up with a work-around", later on I might condsider a replacement. To me that goes right along with the RWD Volvo world view. Even when the money is available, outsourcing to a shop is a low priority.
Besides, the brick LOOKS like a Volvo. The Brickboard business cards I hand out show a side view of a 245. (Preferred vehicle for a pre-mini-van soccer Mom.)
Fun thread,
Regards,
Bob
:>)
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