Volvos are boxy but they're good. Everybody knows this and that's because legendary Volvo designer Jan Wilsgaard made them that way during his tenure at Volvo from 1950 to 1990. The son of a Norwegian merchant seaman, Wilsgaard was a workingman's designer, known for standing shoulder to shoulder with his studio craftsman and carving the clay from the models himself, wearing clogs while he worked as always.
Asked to comment on the success of the Volvo 240, the car that institutionalized the boxy look for Volvo, Wilsgaard said, "It might be due to the fact that the car is a little square and sluggish, just like the Swedes themselves."
It was British designer Peter Horbury who changed all that and made Volvos look cool, notably with his unique shoulder line that helps make the Volvo XC60 the best-looking of the compact SUV crossovers.
Horbury had never really worked anyplace good before he became Volvo's design director in 1991, but he revolutionized the car Swedish company's design vocabulary and managed to do it while being true to the company's design DNA - an incredible feat.
The 1992 Volvo ECC concept car, noted at the time for its use of recyclable materials, introduced the new themes, and everyone remarked on the car's unique shoulder line. Sadly, the pace of progress at Volvo was slow because of the financial constraints that eventually led to the company's takeover by Ford, so lots of other car companies adopted Horbury's design lick (notably Honda) before the cars of Gothenburg were transformed.
But now this shoulder line characterizes everything that Volvo makes, just like the Hofmeister Kink characterizes the profile of the windows in the cabin of a BMW (a styling device BMW introduced in 1961).
After a time as Ford's director of U.S. design, Horbury is back at Volvo, replacing ex-Mercedes man Steve Mattin, who did the new Volvo S60. It'll be interesting to see what direction Horbury takes the company now that it has new ownership from China.
It's interesting that such a simple design lick can have such lasting importance.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com
diondi says:
10:18 AM, 10/14/10
Horbury's shoulder is a much more flattering design cue than the Bangle butt.
mercedesfan says:
10:23 AM, 10/14/10
" notably with his unique shoulder line that helps make the Volvo XC60 the best-looking of the compact SUV crossovers"
You say that as if it's fact when it is purely opinion. I happen to find the Q5, GLK, and new X3 all better looking than the oddly-proportioned XC60. I agree that Volvo's character line is appealing and has made for some far more attractive Volvos in recent years, but I still wouldn't say any of them are the "best-looking" in their segments. But, that is my OPINION.
zcalvert says:
10:28 AM, 10/14/10
to be honest, i miss the old boxy volvos... especially the wagons.
dougtheeng says:
10:51 AM, 10/14/10
"You say that as if it's fact when it is purely opinion. I happen to find the Q5, GLK, and new X3 all better looking than the oddly-proportioned XC60. "
For me, it goes: XC60, Q5, GLK and X3...in that order. The XC60 and MAYBE the Q5 are the only ones in that group I would call handsome. The GLK and X3 are not lookers.
dougtheeng says:
10:51 AM, 10/14/10
just my opinion of course :)
csubowtie says:
11:52 AM, 10/14/10
I'm a fan. The looks of the Volvos, and mainly that shoulder line, are what drove me into a Volvo dealership to see what they had to offer. Of course after learning a little about Volvo's I was reminded why they were never on my radar to begin with, but hey, that it popped up at all was because of this.
tmanz says:
12:50 PM, 10/14/10
"You say that as if it's fact when it is purely opinion."
Isn't that the purpose of the internet?
Woops, I mean. That IS the purpose of the internet!
With all due respect to the inside line staff they are often only differentiated from some of the other posters on here by the fact that they can start a thread.
ms3fun says:
01:32 PM, 10/14/10
As far as looks goes, Volvos look good from the front or the side. The rear is acceptable on most of their lineup.
But the rear end they stuck on the C30 is about the ugliest butt on a car I have seen in a long time.
c615586 says:
02:03 PM, 10/14/10
I met Peter Horbury at a suburban detroit shopping mall on a random Saturday back in 2005, shortly after he had been transferred to head Ford's US design offices. He seemed surprised that I would recognize him (as did my then girlfriend, now wife.)
He was very gracious as I peppered him with questions and complimented his design philosophy. I remember he told me to keep an eye out for the C30 and the C70 which were some of the last Volvos with his direct design influence.
I'm glad he's back at Volvo and I'm looking forward to his next round of designs.
saxdogg says:
05:13 PM, 10/14/10
Nice photography! (Or photoshop...)
stovt001 says:
08:23 PM, 10/14/10
I love this design feature.
And my list would be in the order of XC60, GLK, Q5, and X3, for what its worth. I'd toss in the SRX ahead of the Q5 if we can include that in the running.
j2j says:
11:15 AM, 10/15/10
I like how Honda picked up Volvo's D-pillar taillight design for the CR-V.
esoterica says:
08:13 AM, 10/16/10
Horbury's Volvos were simply far ahead of their time in design, and predicted many design trends, which is why the '01 Volvo S60 is possibly the least-dated looking '01 vehicle on the road. Volvo did pedestrian-friendly front ends before (and arguably better than) anyone else, they did the two-level trunk (in the S80, and later the S60 and S40) way before BMW appropriated (and ruined it) for the 7-series, they did the coupe-like roofline in a sedan first (S60)... about the only styling trend they didn't predict was the high beltline that was fashionable for several years, but that seems very anti-Volvo anyway.
myob says:
07:31 AM, 10/18/10
Try the XC60 in R-design trim if you want the best looking version. Quite a step up from the other XC's.
I've realized over the years how important properly sized and styled wheels are to styling. Often a mundane looking car will transform with the right wheels. I suspect most cars start out as concepts with huge expensive looking wheels, only to be whittled down for cost and mpg reasons to having too little wheel in the wells.