Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. In all this time, we've had just one Volvo 140 in this series (though this Volvo 164 is pretty much the same car). Given that the East Bay has been a Volvo epicenter for many decades now, what's up with that? Today we're going to add another, this one a sporty coupe with a lot of travel to its credit.

Back in '71, you could buy a new Volvo 142S for $3,020. With the base '71 Chevy Nova 2-door priced at $2,176 and the Datsun 510 coupe going for just $1,990, the purchase of a new 142 showed that you were a sensible car buyer, willing to pay a premium for safety, European build quality, and longevity… although- now that we think about it- the Datsun 510 sure was a helluva deal!


Judging by the old Navy base parking stickers and the not-often-seen-on-Bay-Area-Volvos George Bush decal, it's a safe bet that this car is owned by a current or retired Navy officer; it's fairly common for Navy personnel once stationed in Alameda to like the place well enough to make permanent homes here. It appears that this car was beloved enough to have major chunk of its body replaced after a wreck (yet never repainted).

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