Volvo PV444/544 is First Produced

The Volvo PV is a series of two door, four passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's early stages, Volvo decided that a new smaller car delivering good fuel economy would assure the company's future. A raw materials shortage during the war drove home the point that an automobile should be smaller, and also complicated Volvo's ability to mass-produce the product. In 1944, when the car was finally introduced to a car-hungry public, response was very positive and orders poured in from the Swedish population. It was another three years though, in 1947, before the production was made available.

The PV444 was Volvo's first uni-body car. It was also the first Volvo in almost 20 years to come with a 4-cylinder engine. The first PV444s were powered by a 40 hp 1.4 L inline-4 engine designated the B4B, with three main bearings, overhead valves, and a single downdraft carburettor. Late in 1955, an uprated version called the B14A was given twin side-draught 1½ in SU carburettors.
By the 1957 model year, engine displacement was increased to 1.6 L and both single downdraft- B16A and twin side-draught-carburetted B16B versions were offered. Fuel economy was quite above average[who?] and performance particularly with the twin carburettor configuration was brisk. The combination of performance and durability won over many two-seat sports car drivers, allowing them a pleasurable drive in the entire family's company if desired.

In 1958, the PV544 was phased in. Subtle differences with the PV444 included the introduction of a curved one-piece windshield to replace the two panes of flat glass, a larger backlight, and a ribbon-type speedometer. The 444's 3-speed manual transmission was also supplanted by a 4-speed unit in the 544.
The next significant change occurred in 1962, when the B16 was replaced by Volvo's new B18 engine, initially developed for the P1800 sports car introduced the previous year. This 1.8 L engi...

It may surprise you to know, as it surprised me, that no less than 530,467 Volvo PV variants were produced between 1944 and 1969. The vast majority were the two door saloons, 440,000 in fact. There was also an estate car and a van. They were all in left hand drive form as the importers for this country never sold them in England. In 1924 the decision by Gustaf Larson and Assar Gabrielsson, two friends who had previously worked for the Swedish SKF bearing company, was made to produce cars in volume production. They were initially backed by SKF. The Volvo name had been registered as an SKF trade name, but was not used by the new company until 1926. The name Volvo is from the Latin meaning "I rotate". The PV was designed as a tough, go anywhere vehicle, well up to the demands of hard Scandinavian winters and loose surfaced roads. Volvo always seem to have been influenced by North American styling and that can be seen very clearly when you look at a PV. It resembles certain American pre war cars made by Ford and Chevrolet. The front suspension owes something to the US also. The high saloon body with its fast back styling certainly gives plenty of headroom but is a little on the narrow side. It has some limitations due to the very small, high rear window and rear vision at the best restricted. I have lost count of the many times I have reversed into things with my PV and that is the latest PV544 with the "large" rear window. The car, to my mind, absolutely oozes character and surprises people with it's turn of speed. It looks absolutely perfect in a Swedish setting, with red coloured houses among the lakes and trees of a Scandinavia.

The PV came in various versions, starting with a 3 speed 1414cc engine and split front and rear screens in 1944. This gave a top speed of 76 mph on 44bEp and cost the equivalent of £480, which was expensive. It was always expensive in England and probably explained why it was never imported. The 1583cc version still with 3 speeds but...