Its something I've often wondered actually... how come Volvo don't make commercial vans or pick-ups? Yet, they manufacture big wagons. :thinking:

Don't they have to have a smaller engine or speed restriction built in?

And nice big diggers

Volvo started making small trucks and vans virtually as soon as the Jacob OV4 started production in 1927 and carried on until the 1950's before splitting into Volvo cars and Volvo trucks. Trucks got bigger after the war and went Worldwide. Still small trucks and vans though at that time. Not in large numbers and competition was fierce. Designation was LV, for Lastbil.
A good little book to find is Volvo - World trucks No7 by Pat Kennett. But all of the Volvo history books give details. There is a companion book to the Volvo produced Cars history which is for Trucks only.
The Duett was available as a van and when they started to be made the production of the chassis units fizzled out. The PV Cabrios were also built on those chassis by several different coachbuilders.

FYI about chassis units. http://www.pvchassi.com/index_e.html

I think Volvo would do very well if they made a new light commercial van or pick-up. Volvo wagons are very popular, excavators (as Army mentioned above) are also very popular... there's a gap for expansion I think.

Bo, a Swedish friend, tells me that, while they should, theoretically, be limited to 30Km/H (19MPH), 'Army', the authorities often 'turned a blind eye' as such a slow speed on public roads was itself considered potentially dangerous. Originally, such vehicles were generally only used to provide essential transport in the remoter, more rural parts of Sweden and so would only rarely encounter other traffic.

According to my friend (who is in his mid 70s), the concession arose out of the need for farm vehicles following a shortage post WW2.

To be legally driven by a 16 year old, a Traktor could only carry two passengers (including the driver) and the rear wall of the cab could be no more than 10cm (4") behind the seats. Although many vehicles were modified in this way, the PV was one of the more popular ones due to it's availability, ease of conversion, repair and maintenance, and manufacturer support.

Where it was incorporated, speed restriction was most often easily and cheaply achieved by fitting a restrictor (which was also by design easily reversible of course :regular_smile:) into the carburettor. Bo recalled that many young men (and more than a few women) of his generation cut their motoring teeth on such vehicles, learning basic mechanics in this way that they still use today.

In more recent years, the conversion and customisation of these vehicles has evolved into a hobby that is limited only by the extent of one's imagination. Far from being working farm vehicles, many are now works of automotive art that are cherished and displayed with pride at shows up and down the country.

Regards, John.

One way of keeping the speed down was to use 2 gearboxes joined together. Only one had a gear shift. Very low top speed but burn rubber anywhere which appealed to many teens and still does! Nice ones of these are now collectable in their own right. Quite a few have been converted back properly into pick ups to be like the old ones and now carry full type approval.
All of them are accepted by the Swedish PV Club as a distinct breed of PV.