Volvo 480- too little too late? Where did Volvo go wrong?

[VanDerGraaf]

This is a topic that has always run through my mind, but with the acquisition of a collection of review reprints (thanks Dan ), it has really come to a head-

HOW DID IT ALL GO WRONG FOR VOLVO AND THE 480??

When the car was released there were big plans- 35,00 to be made in the first year,25k of that destined for the States.
Actual final production run after 10 years- around 80,000. Exchange rates killed the US market for the car.

The initial electronic engine control in the ES (Renix/Bendix) was flawed and caused lots of faults to occur. In-car stuff in the early years often seemed to die/malfunction. This cost Volvo dearly not only financially with many replacements under warranty, but also in reputation as their image for reliability was tarnished. After a 40,000 mile long term (problem-ridden) test of an 1988 ES, Autocar said:

"Inside the skin of the Volvo 480ES is a great car trying to get out. But we can't be bothered to wait any longer."

This kind of publicity must have given the cars a bad rep and harmed sales....

Third (and most importantly), Volvo DIDN'T KNOW what to do with the dammned thing!! From the outset they allowed their public image to dictate, to an unneccesary extent, limitations to the car's potential.
All early reviews complain that the ES was underpowered and deserved more.
Even when the Turbo was released the performance was limited for "dynamic safety". Autocar noted after testing one:

"There is still scope for a much more sporting 480 Turbo with real teeth."

Volvo could have built a real monster with the 480 performance-wise but chose not to- another nail in the coffin. There would have been a market for such a thing.

The shitty (for Volvo) build quality on the interior didn't help either.

AFAIK the 2.0 480 didn't even get a review from the press- sad, as it was a much improved car by then.

The truly sad bit is that the 480 really is a great car. But it seems fate had it in for her from day one.

I know this post seems a bit negative but remember it is focusing on all of the things that were bad points that caused the car to be Volvo's great underachiever. We all love ours (most of the time) and that's what matters!
And no apologies for the long post either.

So- where do YOU think Volvo went wrong? What could they have done better?

[catgroom]

Well,from the little I know I can only offer a little!

This was what Inchcape Volvo in Norwich had to say about them.

Volvo were so excited with the design that they had come up with,that they rushed it onto the market.Quality suffered,mainly with the electrics.

Id say that there are lots of ill-thought-out parts of the 480 which would have been so much easier to get correct first time.Some of the water traps are just ridiculous,especially where the put that piece of foam on top of the plastic piece of the bumper side brackets.

The sub frames could have been better protected-much!

I still think that the quality of the bushings used are hopeless.Having said that,the design of the front suspension is so that those wishbones eat the bushes inevitably.

Inside the car,the build quality is definately not Volvo.My previous,bar one,cars before my 480s were 3 Lancias,known for shoddy interiors.All of these cars were better screwed together than the interior of a 480.Stuff just rattles and squeaks.My previous Paris Turbo had been owned by a guy from here who had clearly spent days padding and adapting fixings so that the cabin was squeak free.The difference was amazing.It made for the feel of a much more refined 480.

Great post Rohan!I know Ive not been all that relevant through this reply,but hey!LOL

Steveus

[Mike]

I'll go with catgroom on this. My previous four cars have all been Lancias, and the build quality and design flaws on the Volvo are crap in comparison (but so are some VWs - I looked at replacing my Lancia Dedra with a Corrado. I tested several, and they were all dropping to pieces in the cabin....)
Anyway, back to the original topic: I remember a work colleague buying a 480 in, I think, 1988 - it spent most of its first year under repair, and I don't think he kept it much more than that first year. That sort of reliability would be the death knell for any manufacturer, and I guess Volvo never overcame the reputation gained by those early cars. A bit like Lancia with the early Betas, and Triumph with the Stag. They were all developed into good cars, but the reputation stuck.

[Dan the 480 Man]

Great post Rohan-and not too long either-just manageable!

I think the US exchange rate put several nail's in the coffin early on...it was only the reliability and shoddy workmanship that nailed the rest home. I think that as the target audience was the US, and it never made it-Volvo had too much of a big project on their hands to just fritter away. This is reflected in the low production amounts (which i still think were around 81k )-it highlighted the fact Volvo wern't really interested in mass-producing the car, but had invested too much to let it fizzle out. Over estimating demand, hence more models/specs being made available to try and find a 480 suitable for 'every pocket'. The 440 was supposed to be the flagship (:?) and i suspect this is where Volvo's money went-a car aimed at general everyday use as opposed to the 480 being a Sporty alternative....that cost way too much!

Agreed-crappy plastics that rattle to buggery over 60mph, seconded on the stupid seals (lights/boot-especially that friggin' harness on the tailgate!) and holes under the bonnet which aren't even covered-but i very much doubt Volvo even considered long term effects-they had a bit of an 'iffy' model on their hands which they didn't really change that much over it's 10 years. I think the fact the Phase II was never launched say's alot. But they obviously liked something about the 480, because the C30 borrows similar features...

Some great ideas though: pop-up's, still cool , an info centre! Find me another car that age with a system like that? Heated seats (which probably did work!), electric mirrors and windows...in 1986! A front wheel sporty alternative from the ruler and pencil guys!

The big failing i think comes from Volvo itself. I think, and if it was the truth they wouldn't admit it i reckon, they lost interest as it wasn't going to be as big as they had hoped, mainly because of the US market. It was just something they had to persue. Perhaps £17k was too much for a top spec 480 with a not great set of reviews like those!

But bollocks to all that-i love my 480! It's coming into it's own now, and for a piece of Volvo history (it was their first front wheel drive wasn't it?), i can live with it!

Good topic R!

[hjkort]

There's a really good car inside the 480, and I'm still trying to find it. I know it's there and I am willing to wait and repair and repair and repair...

[clubman_dan]

i think if they spent a bit longer, improving durability and quality it would have helped, i also think it should have been rwd

[piper1st]

Great topic Rohan ... as you have all said ... i love my 480 to bits too, but I guess this is where ‘the Volvo shame' comes into play.

But they obviously liked something about the 480, because the C30 borrows similar features...

The 480 is defoe the sibling that Volvo would say "why can't you be more like your brothers?", but the 480 continued to rebel and become the shame of the family. Then it was forgotten by Volvo and never to be mentioned again!! Hence now Volvo says the 850GLT was the first Volvo to be front-wheel-drive, which we all know is not true!

On the run up to the launch of the C30, I didn't see one mention of the obvious similarity it has to the 480, but instead, the looks of the C30 were compared with the days of the P1800 ES!

So, to answer the question … “where do YOU think Volvo went wrong?”

‘The Volvo shame’ proves they weren’t proud of their achievements with the 480, it’s obvious now, like Dan said …

they lost interest as it wasn't going to be as big as they had hoped, mainly because of the US market. It was just something they had to persue.

Like you said Rohan, they went wrong by not rolling out a ‘fast’ 480 and embrace the ‘sport’ image of it!

What could they have done better?

Maybe they could have ‘re-launched’ the Volvo, perhaps with a joke like “perfection rarely comes on the first attempt!” or “practice makes perfect”??

But above all, they should have taken their time and made sure everything was kosha before the first unit was sold!

[owen080808]

it should have been faster from the off, we all know it has the potential. If it did then it would have been a hit and been remebered a lot more. I think if you look back now a lot of cars which were badly glued together but go like stink are fondly remebered, and the ones which are trully well built are easily forgetable.

but then i'm also glad that 480's are percieved to be bad cars, it just enhances the feeling of being unique, driving something different and enjoying it everytime i get in my car

[Brasco]

Dunno... the VW Golf GTi was about at the same time and is a legend... if nothing else, Volvo had to make a car better than that. Too slow and too unreliable to make an impression. BUT that's part of it's charm, the fact is that it's massively under-rated. Stick a richmod in a late turbo and there you have it, a GTi killer. They didn't go far wrong.

[VanDerGraaf]

I'm glad everyone agrees that not making the 480 fast really dented both potential sales, and ultimately the retrospective reputation of the car. Let's face it, if the turbo had been turning in Richard's ECU mod performance figures, the damned thing would be a lot more famous than it is now. And it was entirely possible, not some retrospective fanboy pipedream.
But a company struggling (with no small degree of uncertainty) to redefine its public image didn't yet have the guts to go out with backboxes blazing.

Volvo Cowardice 0, Current Turbo Owners 1.

I have to say though, what the hell is it with the rattles? It is not just us with our old cars. Apparently many of the cars squeaked and rattled from new. I don't think I would have accepted that if I had just paid 15k in old money.


Once when I went to the Volvo dealers to order something innocuous like a window strip, the parts guy asked to come out to see the car. He looked at it with an indescribable expression, somewhat akin to a bastard mixture of admiration, regret, and mild frustration. He turned round to me and said:

"Every time Volvo sold one of these cars they lost money."

I think he had a soft spot for the awkward fucker.