Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Tag: volvo

July 10, 1962 – The three point seat belt is patented
This Day

July 10, 1962 – The three point seat belt is patented

Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin received a US patent for his three-point automobile safety belt “for use in vehicles, especially road vehicles” on this day in 1962. Volvo had hired Bohlin four years earlier as the company’s first chief safety engineer. At that time, seatbelts were rarely used outside of auto racing because the common lap belt system of the era often resulted in internal injuries in accidents. Above: 1963 Volvo P1800.Top: Nils Bohlin demonstrating his invention. Courtesy Volvo. By Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 To remedy the problem Bohlin designed the three point seat belt system still used today. The primary advantage of Bohlin’s design is its ability to secure both the upper and lower parts of the body in a collision. The design would become...
June 2, 1954 – Volvo unveils its first sports car prototype
This Day

June 2, 1954 – Volvo unveils its first sports car prototype

Volvo founder Assar Gabrielsson had a fascination with new technology and regularly traveled the world to identify new products and processes that could benefit Volvo. In 1951 he came across a company called Glasspar, which was located in Montecito, California, that made fiberglass boats and sportscars. Fiberglass was relatively new at the time, and Gabrielsson became obsessed with it. To introduce the material to Sweden, he struck a deal with Glasspar to design and build a sports car, while training Volvo’s staff on the fiberglass manufacturing process. Back in Europe, Volvo engineers would lead the development of the new vehicle’s chassis. Fast forward to this day in 1954, and Volvo unveiled the prototype Volvo Sport P1900. Above: The Volvo Sport prototype (source: Volvo)Top: Vol...

If you learned something today,

please buy me a beer!