It’s been 70 years since Volvo began selling cars in the United States. In September 1955, Volvo unveiled to the public the PV444 prototype, a maroon coupe with whitewall tires, in the Swedish pavilion at the California State Fair & Exposition in Sacramento. Later that year, Volvo sold its first new car in the U.S., a model similar to that maroon prototype.

Volvo started producing cars in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1927. Since then, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles and passenger cars.

Sold from 1957 to 1970, the 122 (later 122S) is also known as the Amazon, but a copyright dispute allowed the use of that name only in Sweden. In 1959, Volvo became the first automaker to make seat belts standard equipment. The 122S/Amazon was the car

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