The Volvo PV 4444

In the dawn of World War II planners of the Swedish car manufacturer figured that the future of VOLVO would be secured if they could introduce a reliable and foremost economical and affordable car. The answer was given with the PV 444 which was later nick named "hatchback" or "buckelvolvo" due to it's characteristic outline. 

It was not until 1946 and the end of the war that the PV444 got into production in a larger scale. The response from the market was overwhelming and the 444 model became a legend. It was Volvo's first four cylinder in almost 20 years and it came with a 1.4 litre motor powering the 2240 lbs (974 kg) heavy car with 70 BHP (51.5 KW) to a top speed of 140 km/h - which where later even increased to 180 km/h.

Production numbers rose constantly during the years and reached a total of  64.087 during 1957 and 1958 when the PV444 was replaced with the newer 544 model.

We came across this wonderful 1948 model in original black color on a Sunday afternoon walk in the Punta Carretas neighborhood in Montevideo, Uruguay.  Parked next to the sidewalk on side street it appeared to be in very good shape and obviously in daily use. Another nice encounter in Uruguay - the largest car museum on this planet.