Description
1963 Volvos – Black and white 9 3/4″ x 13″ ad has photos of five different models with their prices, all less than $4,000. The headline states that “If you want economy you’ve got to pay for it” and the text discusses how untrue this fact really is. It starts by saying that “There’s only one way to build an economical automobile. You build it by putting things into it – not by leaving things out of it. You don’t strip the engine of power and strength and stamina. You don’t make the car so small the family has to draw straws for a seat. And you don’t skip on those finishing touches that make an automobile a pleasure to own and drive (that’s austerity, not economy)”. It then goes into what needs to be done when you build a car such as this. You would put dual carburetors on the engine, machine finish the combustion chambers to give them a mirror finish, you would put five main bearings in the engine instead of the normal three, cast the engine block from charcoal iron, stamp the body panels – sides, top and bottom – from heavy-gauge Swedish steel, rust-proof the entire body, install 15-inch wheels before making the smaller changes that need to be done. That’s what is done to all of the 1963 Volvos.
Source: October 26, 1962 Life magazine.
