1975 Volvo 245 Wagon

The Volvo 240 wagon is the Swedish utilitarian ideal: boxy, safe, indestructible, and completely indifferent to fashion. This is the car for people who calculated cost-per-mile and concluded that buying one Volvo beats buying three of anything else. The 240 wagon hauled kids, dogs, furniture, and IKEA runs for two decades essentially unchanged because it was already right. When Volvo estimated these cars would last 300,000 miles, owners said 'hold my lingonberry' and drove them to 500,000.

240 wagons look better worn than pristine. The boxy shape ages gracefully, and original paint with decades of wax develops character no respray can match. These were working cars — dents from loading furniture, scratches from dog claws, stains from kids. That's not damage, that's provenance. The real crime is a concours 240; these cars are meant to be used.

The B21/B23 engines are bulletproof. The suspension is simple and robust. Parts are readily available and cheap. These are cars that teenagers can work on, which is why so many have survived. The biggest threats are rust (Volvos love road salt) and neglected maintenance (even immortal cars need oil changes). Daily driver? Absolutely — that's what they're for.