Jim Lucht, of Providence, and three of the cars in his collection, a white 1966 1800S, a 1958 444, and, below, a 1967 Volvo 122S.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

PROVIDENCE A collection of four Volvos, ranging from the 1950s to the 1970s, cram Jim Lucht’s modest garage and driveway.

And he keeps two more of the famed Swedish cars in storage.

Lucht, the information director at Providence Plan, a joint city-state urban planning venture, was not always a Volvo man.

The son and grandson of mechanics, he worked as a mechanic for seven years before attending Worcester State College and changing careers. During that time, he said, he was into American muscle cars, especially AMC Javelins.

“I love American cars and my first car was a 1973 Javelin,” he said, adding that he owned nine American cars, including three Javelins, over the years. “I was never into foreign cars.”

Then, about 14 years ago, he got into Volvos.

“My sensibility changed and Volvos are a cool compromise,” he said. “They were made well and are fairly easy to work on.”

He added that they have “good styling, mileage, [and are] quirky.”

Lucht’s oldest Volvo is also his most recent acquisition, a green 1958 PV444 with 54,000 miles on it that he bought last fall. (PV reflects Volvo’s full name, Volvo Personvagner AB.)

He said the car is 95-percent restored, noting that he does all the mechanical work on his cars and mainly sends them out for body and paint work.

“It was the last year [of the 444] and it sounds like a tractor starting up,” he said, adding that he finds its looks similar to a 1940 Ford. The hood does indeed seem to be a copy of a 1940 Ford three-quarter-ton pickup truck, while its rounded rear reflects that of the 1940 Ford sedan.

“The 444 has the best exhaust note,” he said. “I like the sound of it, it sounds like a hot rod.”

He said the PV444 was replaced by the similarly styled PV544, which was the first Volvo to break into the U.S. market. The numbers reflected the number in the series (5), the number of cylinders (4) and the number of doors (4).

Volvo Cars, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, has been a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. since 1999. With Ford’s recent sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, to Tata Motors of India, rumors persist that it might also be mulling the sale of its Volvo unit.

Volvo, which means “I roll” in Latin, was originally established as the trademark for Swedish ball bearing company SKF. SKF established Volvo cars as a subsidiary in the 1920s, and the Volvo name seemed appropriate for cars.

Volvo started producing cars in 1927 and from the beginning focused on safety, with the following statement ascribed to the original top two executives, managing director Assar Gabrielsson and technical manager Gustav Larson:

“Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain, safety.”

To further the claim, the Volvo trademark of a circle with an arrow is an ancient symbol for iron, reflecting the high-grade of metal used in manufacturing. Volvo claims on its Web site that it was the first auto company to develop and install laminated glass, three-point safety belts (standard on all Volvos since 1959), padded dashboards, rear-facing child seats, central, high-mounted rear brake lights, and side impact and whiplash protection systems.

Many of its safety innovations have been incorporated by the auto industry.

But while earning a reputation for safety and reliability, Volvo’s reputation for style was limited to its famously box-like cars, or “bricks.”

That changed in 1992 with the introduction of the fast and stylish 850 model, the first front-engine Volvo to be exported to the United States. It was followed by the S70 and S60 models. The S60 is currently in production, with a diesel version of the XC60 recently spotted being tested in the Los Angeles area, according to autobloggreen.com.

“I don’t have much experience with modern Volvos, the generation after the 850,” Lucht said. “Front-wheel drive is a different animal.”

His PV444 shares garage space with a white 1966 Volvo 1800S coupe. The classic sports car was produced between 1961 and 1973, with the last year being devoted exclusively to production of the 1800ES, a hatchback or station wagon version with an all-glass tailgate that is echoed in the current Volvo C30.

“It was a basket case when I got it,” he said of the 1800S, adding ruefully, “Do not take on a restoration project when you have just gotten married.”

Lucht is divorced with a 4-year-old son, Aiden, whom he sees almost every day. He is currently not dating anyone, but he said he did go out with a “Volvo mechanic with pink hair” for about a year.

The 1800S was made famous as the car driven by the Saint in the 1960s British television show of that name, starring Roger Moore as sleuth Simon Templar. The show was picked up by NBC in the United States in 1966.

“[The 1880S] is the hands-down favorite” Volvo model said Lucht, noting that a red 1966 model owned by Irv Gordon of Long Island — New York license plate MILNMILR — has been driven 2.6 million miles.

Parked in Lucht’s driveway is a pale yellow 1967 Volvo 122S Station Wagon. Known as the Volvo Amazon in Sweden, the 122 reflected an early 1950s American sensibility in style and was produced from 1956 to 1970, with the station wagon version coming out in 1962. “It was a legendary car,” Lucht said, pointing out details reflecting its rugged construction, including the massive chrome hinges atop the tailgate.

Beyond the 122, Lucht has a bright yellow 1972 Volvo 142E sedan with a plaid-and-check interior.

All four of the Volvos at his house are registered and insured. “They are the only cars I drive,” he said.

He also has a project car, a 1978 Volvo 242GT — the 200 series was produced from 1974 to 1993 and is “almost the same car [as the 100 series]” — which he keeps at a friend’s house; he is currently rebuilding the engine.

And he has an unrestored 1970 grey Volvo 142S automatic sedan in storage that he maintains as a winter driver, as the yellow 142 in his driveway is “a Nevada car in very good shape with almost no rot, a very clean body.”

“[Volvos] were made to be repaired rather than thrown away,” Lucht said, adding, “They’re a great car, civilized and quiet, and I love the fact they are classic cars that I can drive year round and get good mileage.”

For more information, go to:

www.volvocars.com

www.canadiandriver.com (for an article and pictures of Irv Gordon and his 2.6-million-mile 1966 Volvo 1800S)

pelsworth@projo.com