Most of them were sedans but Volvo's head of design, Jan Wilsgaard, was more into a hatchback. There were many design proposals to consider, many of them from outside designers. The introduction was initially planned for 1980 but was at this stage postponed until 1981. Choosing the right design is just as difficult and important as filling the car with the right technical content. The technical specifications were only finalized at about the same time as the final design was frozen. The project, which was now known as the P31, was subject to changes. The exterior design, however, had to be brand new. This was, for instance the case with transmissions, suspensions and many other system solutions. For cost reasons most of the technical content was to be carried over from the 200-series with only minor modifications. The car was also to be somewhat shorter than the 240 but have the same width and be 100 kg lighter. It was also decided that rear-wheel drive should be employed, that the wheelbase should be 10 cm (4") longer than that of the 240. It was decided that reliability, fuel efficiency, longevity, serviceability, low noise levels, design and performance in that order should guide the development work on the new project. Careful studies and large mental flexibility would lead the team on to the right track and along that track there was very little or no room for mistakes. There was no Internet to surf in order to broaden the views but Volvo made use of the best possible tool available at the time, a very thorough analysis of the surrounding world. The 760 was conceived in a time when conditions changed almost daily and in the company there were many strong and different opinions regarding the new car. It was just as difficult to foresee what kind of car the customers of the 1980s would want. ![]() A car designed and built to meet the continuously higher demands for fuel efficiency, exhaust emission control and safety that kept appearing. The 200-series was soon to be complemented with a new generation of smaller cars from the Dutch subsidiary Volvo Car BV, but at the same time a new large volume-seller for the 1980s was desperately needed. It was expensive to build cars in the Torslanda plant, too expensive in fact, and it was no longer profitable to export them. ![]() It was also a very difficult economic time for the company. The first oil crisis had just passed and at Volvo, problems were rising regarding the build quality of the new Volvo 240. When the first plans for the new car were drawn up around 1975 the automotive industry in general was experiencing a lot of difficulties, and Volvo in particular. The 760 became the car that actually saved Volvo Car Corporation back then and paved the way to the modern company of today. Seen as elegant and exciting with its characteristic design it was well received. No typical Volvo, yet unmistakably a Volvo. In February 1982 - 30 years ago - the new Volvo 760 GLE was launched.
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