Weird name, beautiful car, and an awesome world first: This is the Volvo Amazon, the first car to be sold with seatbelts as standard equipment — first as lap belts in the front, and again later with three-point belts. Quite the landmark moment, times two!
As for the name, the Amazon was named for the fierce warrior women of Greek mythology — not for the river, and not for the shitty retail megacorp. BUT! Thanks to a copyright conflict, the name could only be used in Sweden, and so this car was also the first Volvo with the brand's later familiar three-digit naming. Thus it was the 120 series in export markets.
Lastly, it was also the main inspiration for Peter Horbury's design of the 900/850-succeeding 1996 S80 and V70, bringing curves back to the Volvo brand. Ironic that it was among the models that saw Volvo move away from the three-number naming started with the Amazon/120.
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“Fun fact: SIM City was forced to pretend that all parking lots were underground because the game would be really boring if it was proportional in terms of parking lots.”
Really boring like too many real cities and suburbs?
"Parking minimums shape your entire life even if you don’t realize it, from the size of your rent check to the length of your commute to how many friends live nearby."
It strikes me as increasingly absurd that the number of #cars around here is still being allowed to increase. There's hardly any place left to park them anymore!
My brakes wore so unevenly, though, to the point where one of the pads started to grind. The inner pad on the driver's side was literally slanted at like an 86° angle (it's supposed to be 90° vertical/flat). It's fortune and grace that I didn't lose the car on a stoppage attempt.
It's also a good thing my brother taught me how to engine brake. He deciphered it on our Versa, and it's knowledge I keep handy for poor mechanical conditions. (it's also a very useful skill when winter driving: just be ready to catch your car on ice) #cars#driving