I bought my first Volvo new in 1970. It was a far better vehicle, back then than most of the dreadful rolling stock on the road at that time. Ironically, Volvo didn't build it's best cars in the '70's. My 200-series Volvo's in the '80's were far superior, and they are still a far better car today than most of the stuff out there in the 21st century - I'm still driving a 1990 240.
It's almost 2023 and all my cars are 90s (almost): 1995 W140 Mercedes S class 1992 Lexus ES300 manual transmission 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 2001 Mercedes E320 Wagon
My 1970 144 saved my life in a rollover after being rear ended by a double semi! It was the last year for double roll bars. I now drive a 1988 244 that only has 120K miles. ❤ classic Volvos!
My parents bought a 1967 Volvo 144S in 1973 and drove it until 1985. We all loved that dark blue car with blue vinyl interior. Mother was very confident driving it even in deep snow. It never failed to climb out of snow drifts.
@@kenhammscousin4716 It was special to us. I have later learned it was special and still sought after. Only 1,500 made with that trim. Two blocks over from here, somebody reminded me about that this weekend. 😊
I enjoy these foreign Volvo ads. Here they weren't nearly as fast. I once tested a used low mileage 1974 144. It was 0-60 in 3.4 days. We're the only country in the world that puts on so much smog equipment that it actually uses more gas than it did without the equipment.
Yeah, it was based on statistics on how long an Joe Lunchbox american of the time wore down his Volvo, compared to another Joe who ran down his american made car. The old Volvos were built in a wildly different way, out from a wery different aspect of what a vehicle was to be, and i think the comparison fails to bring a proper picture for why the Volvos tended to last longer. I own a 144S from 1970, that has been kept well and runs nicely after restoration. But i did own a 1970 144L that had 586 thousand kilometres behind it, matte black paintjob, purple flames on the sides, an interior that looked to had been the testing ground for some nuke, a raw 4 speed manual gearbox with a electrical 5 downshifter, a violently tuned Stromberg carb that was on the limit of soaring to space once toyed with to much. But that old bitch was the most fun car i had.
I like the subtle self-inflicted l jab at Women’s Lib movement in that last ad - “How are we supposed to mobilize when we can’t even get out of the parking lot?”
After seeing a horrific accident in early 80s i decided I needed a solid car as I had two young daughters,so I had two Saab 900s as they looked better but were solid as a Volvo.But obviously now I drive a Volvo XC70 still as solid as ever as drives like a dream.
I'm driving my XC70 right now on a road trip from Switzerland to Greece via Italy. Got me out of the mud a couple times already. Wouldn't drive anything else.
My parents bought me my first car a 1968 Volvo 144. I could fit all my stuff for university. It had issues. There was a problem with how the rear shock absorbers attached to the swing arm. I took the arms off and had a machine shop weld a fix which Volvo started doing later. At university in western NY it ALWAYS started. I made beer money jumping other kids cars in the winter. Jumping a GTO would cause all the lights to dim and electric Tach would drop 1000 rpms. Occasionally the large nut that held the stick shift in place would come loose and and you'd pull the stick out of the transmission. This added more peril to my commute in Philadelphia. As the car got older, if the engine got hot the carburetors would vapor lock and you could not restart the thing if the engine quit. I learned to "heel and toe" when in traffic to keep it running. I had the car for 20 years.
I'm 47 and do not remember most of these. Great stuff thanks for the laughs. I do remember the SAAB one with the car rolling down a hill, flipping 4 times and the guy gets in and drives off...
Loved the las tone, with all those dinosaurs on the parking lot...lol at that crane camera you can see reflected on the car´s windshield, slowly panning away...
Cool, Richard Mulligan and Al Molinaro! I love the Volvos from this era, certainly excellent cars, but Volvos peak was probably the 240-940 era with the 850-v70/s70 as a close second. Still love them all! Rock solid reliable ridiculously long-lasting cars period! For once, the ads were no BS! 😁
my grandfather owned an old 100 series Volvo. Thing was a tank. He was ahead of his time too as he had a little "recycle!" bumper sticker on it and mind you this was long before recycling was a thing most people do.
You include the 1800E here, but I feel like the 164 would have been pushed harder sales wise. From what I understand from swedish sources, Volvo was a luctury brand in the USA, so I am suprised to see that no 164 managed to slip in... (for those who don't know, the 164 was a 144 with 6 cylinders instead of 4, a different front end and a lot more chrome...)
I loved my ‘72 144e. It was a high mileage and unloved car with nearly no paint because of it’s oxidation. It was a great car that started every time I wanted to drive it. It was slow but stopped on a dime with it’s disc brakes all around. In high school I jumped it off the railroad tracks getting about 1 meter of air under it. It was very well balanced and landed flat with a little bounce.
the 1966-1974 Volvo 140 Series was assembled in Torslanda, Sweden Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Ghent, Belgium Shah Alam, Malaysia
Yeah but parts on Mercedes (original Mercedes parts) lasts longer and has higher Quality, which is why it would be a bit pricier, i restored my 1983 240D from sitting on a field to an almost rust free cruiser, i've only had my licence for barely a year so im not an old rich bloke.
11:25 I think the Volvo Wagon is pretty big too, but how big is the American Station Wagon in the 70s?? It looks bigger than today's minivans. It seems possible to sleep with 3 people lying on the bonnet. I love the way Volvo advertises. Serious but fun and reliable! It's sad that they've lost their Swedish flair lately and are no longer like Volvos. If I buy a Volvo, I will buy a used model that is at least 20 years old.
ok. we had a -86 volvo 245 when i was a kid, pretty roomy and cheap with the 5 speed non overdrive gearbox. ;) but not comparable to a mercedes, i know im swedish i should love volvo, the series 240 740 and 940 are the nr 1 most popular 1st car for boys in sweden, but everywhere else in the world they are classed as retired folks cars.. :P
Where did they get this footage from? Volvo had some of the best car ads.... so many memories going back to '68 our parents started driving Volvo... I can remember looking at Toyotas and such... they were all biege... I was only 3-4 years old my first memories are car memories hahahaa....
Just got rid of my 1990 240 DL with somewhere north of 300,000 miles on it. Can't say fer sure cause that gauge broke 12 year ago at 271,875 miles. Driven hard daily with very little good up keep. Matter of fact no matter what I did or did not do for maintenance for it, that car always came through for me. My Jaguar won't last neary half as long. I'll miss that old car sorry to see it go but it was time.
See back in the Day '70s second hand wasn't in vogue.... my parents needed something new and reliable and roomy and preferably not domestic. They didn't have the types of warranties and coverage they do these days i.e. pre owned, etc. BTW my friend's father in Cleveland was a pioneer with that through Jaguar Volvo BMW British Leyland.
yea but i can buy parts and fix a volvo, for the same price on a merc i might be able to buy spark/glowplug. I mean we have a 1989 190 e 2.6 and a 1983 300 cd both great cars, but when shit breaks it them it takes some time and money to fix, while on our volvo 240 and 144 it takes only a couple of dollars and 30 minutes to fix some switches balance the carbs
To be honest;y,in my area(somewhere in middle ofTaiwan) we call Volvos "the tanks on the street",because they are so strong that if you crash into a wall,is the wall that need serious repair not your Volvo(ok,maybe a new bumper and some paiting job) or you(You will die another day)
Ummmm..... We bought Volvos because Mercedes cost about 60% MORE.... two children in prep school... that's like saying "don't buy a Mazda RX-7 but a Porsche 911 instead."
haha made you upset did i? ;) you can thought buy a mercedes for the same price as a volvo (2nd hand, which is best) and frankly fuel economy and all that is better in a merc. 90% of my friends drive volvo 240, 740 and 940 none of them ever makes it under 10L/100kms. while my mercedes never exceeds 10L/100kms which is quite critical when you are a student without an income. and my merc is 30 years old while their cars are 15-20 years. but old volvo's are reliable aswell and good in snow :)
my lads always say: "damn it rides smooth!" and they jump in the seats, the w123 seats are so soft and springy you cant help it. sure it doesnt take a 90° corner at 100km/h, but in what luxury/cruiser car is that necessary? a w124 should be even better in handling than mine, ive considered a w124 as my next car, if ill ever get rid of my 240D. ;)
i don't entirely agree, although you're quite right in places. but that's what i love about these things. a pensioner's car in a loooooooooooooong drift. as for mercs, they're good, i even had one, but for instance a w124 or a w201 are nowhere near as controllable as a 7/9, despite their multilink suspension. wobbly and shit. though a tad more comfortable. yet lacking silliness.
I love Swedish cars! My favourite is the Saab, as I like a quirky car but not sure why, I can't seem to find any Saab dealers lately so I guess I will have to go for the nice, sensible, stylish, reliable Volvo instead.
It's time when cars have supreme built no big dents while in normal accident but nowadays minor accidents even with cycles,bumper and bonnet damage easily
yeah i understand that modern cars are rubbish in snow, partly because of big rims and hard tyres and low ground clearance. ;) id say the Mercedes w123 and the volvo 240 are pretty similar apart from some bits of course.
no prob. :) yeah to be fair it is a diesel so comparing it with a petrol volvo wasnt fair., those carb. petrol mercs did drink a bunch. ive owned my car for almost 3 years and not much have gone wrong, ive never been left stranded except for once when i ran out of fuel. i wish i could afford to pay for more fuel but im just going + - nothing every month.
i think in almost every part of the world, the Mercedes are called "The Panzartank" or just Tank, cus it keeps going no matter what. ;) but volvos are ok too.
@@mrfudd13 They're really not that high lol I was going to said that I would know since I drive one but uh... Nothing's ever broken on any of my Mercs.
I bought my first Volvo new in 1970. It was a far better vehicle, back then than most of the dreadful rolling stock on the road at that time. Ironically, Volvo didn't build it's best cars in the '70's. My 200-series Volvo's in the '80's were far superior, and they are still a far better car today than most of the stuff out there in the 21st century - I'm still driving a 1990 240.
Love the 80s rwd Volvos. Restoring an 88 744 GLE
mrfudd13 - the 240 are great cars. I had 3 of them. My present 203, V70 even better.
It's almost 2023 and all my cars are 90s (almost):
1995 W140 Mercedes S class
1992 Lexus ES300 manual transmission
1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
2001 Mercedes E320 Wagon
Volvo 244GL is a masterpiece!
Yes Sir, I enjoy my 240 SW 2.3 1992 with more than 500.000 kms.
I play this for my 240 every night before bed
Good man.
Best comment in the whole video haha
Lol
I've never been a fan of car commercials, but at least these have humour that I find amusing. If only today's commercials were this amusing.
My 1970 144 saved my life in a rollover after being rear ended by a double semi! It was the last year for double roll bars. I now drive a 1988 244 that only has 120K miles. ❤ classic Volvos!
Got a Volvo 142 from 68 last week as a birthday gift :)
My parents bought a 1967 Volvo 144S in 1973 and drove it until 1985. We all loved that dark blue car with blue vinyl interior. Mother was very confident driving it even in deep snow. It never failed to climb out of snow drifts.
How do you remember so much about a damn car
@@kenhammscousin4716
It was special to us.
I have later learned it was special and still sought after. Only 1,500 made with that trim. Two blocks over from here, somebody reminded me about that this weekend. 😊
The 1973 facelift 140 was especially nice...very crisp.
I love Volvos I'm crazy about old Volvos
Johnny Barrett have a 91 240dl for sale
a man of taste !
i want a blue/red/orange volvo 144 gl 1970
Now I wanna buy a Volvo 140. Thanks ads.
These adverts are so much better than modern ones.
Back in my day blah blah blah
I enjoy these foreign Volvo ads. Here they weren't nearly as fast. I once tested a used low mileage 1974 144. It was 0-60 in 3.4 days. We're the only country in the world that puts on so much smog equipment that it actually uses more gas than it did without the equipment.
My 37 year old 164E is still running strong.
"In Sweden they last an average of 11 years"
11 years was much back in the day?
plaqueconspiracy You'd have to have some pretty decent maintenance & mechanical know-how in order to make any pre-1980's car last ten years or longer.
Yeah, it was based on statistics on how long an Joe Lunchbox american of the time wore down his Volvo, compared to another Joe who ran down his american made car.
The old Volvos were built in a wildly different way, out from a wery different aspect of what a vehicle was to be, and i think the comparison fails to bring a proper picture for why the Volvos tended to last longer.
I own a 144S from 1970, that has been kept well and runs nicely after restoration.
But i did own a 1970 144L that had 586 thousand kilometres behind it, matte black paintjob, purple flames on the sides, an interior that looked to had been the testing ground for some nuke, a raw 4 speed manual gearbox with a electrical 5 downshifter, a violently tuned Stromberg carb that was on the limit of soaring to space once toyed with to much.
But that old bitch was the most fun car i had.
@kris-meek I'm daily driving my '71 volvo 145 haha
Had a 240 wagon that went 300k.
@@vincentsartain3061 You mean post-1980.
My father had a Volvo 244DL and it lasted for 30 years.
I like the subtle self-inflicted l jab at Women’s Lib movement in that last ad - “How are we supposed to mobilize when we can’t even get out of the parking lot?”
А теперь попробуйте вспомнить, когда в последний раз в рекламе что-то говорилось про надежность. Увы, эта эпоха ушла безвозвратно.
Now that's a hardtop.. best quote lol
After seeing a horrific accident in early 80s i decided I needed a solid car as I had two young daughters,so I had two Saab 900s as they looked better but were solid as a Volvo.But obviously now I drive a Volvo XC70 still as solid as ever as drives like a dream.
I'm driving my XC70 right now on a road trip from Switzerland to Greece via Italy. Got me out of the mud a couple times already. Wouldn't drive anything else.
mein erstes auto , gebraucht 1979 , fahre heute immer noch volvo
Absolut Klasse, sehr stolz fahre ich meinen alten '79er Volvo 245!
Awesome collection!! Thanks!!
My parents bought me my first car a 1968 Volvo 144. I could fit all my stuff for university. It had issues. There was a problem with how the rear shock absorbers attached to the swing arm. I took the arms off and had a machine shop weld a fix which Volvo started doing later. At university in western NY it ALWAYS started. I made beer money jumping other kids cars in the winter. Jumping a GTO would cause all the lights to dim and electric Tach would drop 1000 rpms. Occasionally the large nut that held the stick shift in place would come loose and and you'd pull the stick out of the transmission. This added more peril to my commute in Philadelphia. As the car got older, if the engine got hot the carburetors would vapor lock and you could not restart the thing if the engine quit. I learned to "heel and toe" when in traffic to keep it running. I had the car for 20 years.
3:37 Hey, look everybody...it's Al from "Happy Days" !!
LOL! When Al worked at Arnold’s, he parked his Volvo in back of the drive-in.
@@galebailey5583 He didn't wanna get seen from others that drive American.
@@galebailey5583 Lol!
I'm 47 and do not remember most of these. Great stuff thanks for the laughs. I do remember the SAAB one with the car rolling down a hill, flipping 4 times and the guy gets in and drives off...
I felt that was from Fiat, because of the same scenario.
Great stuff, especially the first ad :)
I have a amazon with b20 engine, I used it in classic rally events. I was expecting that the engine brakes for rebuilt it, but it never breaks!!
1:28 if sparks don't fly
Your whips too high
Loved the las tone, with all those dinosaurs on the parking lot...lol at that crane camera you can see reflected on the car´s windshield, slowly panning away...
I saw a Volvo XC70 struggling to get out of a parking spot and I immediately thought of the last ad.
Cool, Richard Mulligan and Al Molinaro!
I love the Volvos from this era, certainly excellent cars, but Volvos peak was probably the 240-940 era with the 850-v70/s70 as a close second.
Still love them all! Rock solid reliable ridiculously long-lasting cars period!
For once, the ads were no BS! 😁
Ralph Meeker too
my grandfather owned an old 100 series Volvo. Thing was a tank. He was ahead of his time too as he had a little "recycle!" bumper sticker on it and mind you this was long before recycling was a thing most people do.
You include the 1800E here, but I feel like the 164 would have been pushed harder sales wise. From what I understand from swedish sources, Volvo was a luctury brand in the USA, so I am suprised to see that no 164 managed to slip in... (for those who don't know, the 164 was a 144 with 6 cylinders instead of 4, a different front end and a lot more chrome...)
I loved my ‘72 144e. It was a high mileage and unloved car with nearly no paint because of it’s oxidation. It was a great car that started every time I wanted to drive it. It was slow but stopped on a dime with it’s disc brakes all around. In high school I jumped it off the railroad tracks getting about 1 meter of air under it. It was very well balanced and landed flat with a little bounce.
If only American car inspections standards were this strict (8:56-9:53)
Volvo made safe driving possible for everyone in 1970-th!!! 50 years ago...
When I will have an extra garage slot, I will buy my dream car 244GL.
More car ads should be like this!
the 1966-1974 Volvo 140 Series was assembled in
Torslanda, Sweden
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ghent, Belgium
Shah Alam, Malaysia
Just amazing
It interesting to see the commercials for Volvos, and what they offer, reliability, they trustworthy,safe cars,
cool cars, tough and reliable
Good for you. Mercs are very good cars, well built and comfortable. but i can not drive a merc some of the places i go in my volvo 240.
But Mercury can go where vovlo can't. Dragstrip!
The first as was brilliantly written and directed
Had 2 Volvo 144 s of the best cars i ever had problem free ,wish can have one of them back,solid engine and bodys.
When they are trying to show how the Volvo 144 Grand Luxe Limousine Sport is quick in acceleration in 5:30 minutes,the ad actually speeds up the film.
Yes, Volvo is safe and reliable but not that fast (usually).
Mantaff ini baru mobil 👍👍
Yeah but parts on Mercedes (original Mercedes parts) lasts longer and has higher Quality, which is why it would be a bit pricier, i restored my 1983 240D from sitting on a field to an almost rust free cruiser, i've only had my licence for barely a year so im not an old rich bloke.
11:25 I think the Volvo Wagon is pretty big too, but how big is the American Station Wagon in the 70s??
It looks bigger than today's minivans. It seems possible to sleep with 3 people lying on the bonnet.
I love the way Volvo advertises. Serious but fun and reliable! It's sad that they've lost their Swedish flair lately and are no longer like Volvos.
If I buy a Volvo, I will buy a used model that is at least 20 years old.
Nice video.
ok. we had a -86 volvo 245 when i was a kid, pretty roomy and cheap with the 5 speed non overdrive gearbox. ;) but not comparable to a mercedes, i know im swedish i should love volvo, the series 240 740 and 940 are the nr 1 most popular 1st car for boys in sweden, but everywhere else in the world they are classed as retired folks cars.. :P
Very nice :)
Good looking car.
im sorry let's say this 8/10 in the last 40 years
of all the old cars i see on the road, old volvos have to be the most common. goes to show how well they are built
Best cars I ever had.
Where did they get this footage from?
Volvo had some of the best car ads.... so many memories going back to '68 our parents started driving Volvo... I can remember looking at Toyotas and such... they were all biege... I was only 3-4 years old my first memories are car memories hahahaa....
I have a 1995 Volvo 940 turbo, what amazing car!
I just bought a Volvo 164
And? Still going
great volvo
LOL.... I had one Volvo and 7 SAABS 6 BMW 6 VW. Some Volvos really rocked though, you know which ones I'm talking about :)
Just got rid of my 1990 240 DL with somewhere north of 300,000 miles on it. Can't say fer sure cause that gauge broke 12 year ago at 271,875 miles. Driven hard daily with very little good up keep. Matter of fact no matter what I did or did not do for maintenance for it, that car always came through for me. My Jaguar won't last neary half as long. I'll miss that old car sorry to see it go but it was time.
See back in the Day '70s second hand wasn't in vogue.... my parents needed something new and reliable and roomy and preferably not domestic. They didn't have the types of warranties and coverage they do these days i.e. pre owned, etc. BTW my friend's father in Cleveland was a pioneer with that through Jaguar Volvo BMW British Leyland.
Volvo760gle voiture la plus sécurisé au monde j'aime bien
Volvo for life!
My favourite was the Duett station Wagon
yea but i can buy parts and fix a volvo, for the same price on a merc i might be able to buy spark/glowplug. I mean we have a 1989 190 e 2.6 and a 1983 300 cd both great cars, but when shit breaks it them it takes some time and money to fix, while on our volvo 240 and 144 it takes only a couple of dollars and 30 minutes to fix some switches balance the carbs
To be honest;y,in my area(somewhere in middle ofTaiwan) we call Volvos "the tanks on the street",because they are so strong that if you crash into a wall,is the wall that need serious repair not your Volvo(ok,maybe a new bumper and some paiting job) or you(You will die another day)
Volvo being Volvo. No fuss, no gimmicks. Even today.
I'd buy a Volvo if I was in the market for a car.
10:14 Lödder Burt / Burt from Soap !
i wishd id had 5 142 volvos and 2 gt models
Ummmm..... We bought Volvos because Mercedes cost about 60% MORE.... two children in prep school... that's like saying "don't buy a Mazda RX-7 but a Porsche 911 instead."
01:30 smooth stance 🔥
Uncle Leo at 1:29!
"It's tougher than you are."
haha made you upset did i? ;)
you can thought buy a mercedes for the same price as a volvo (2nd hand, which is best) and frankly fuel economy and all that is better in a merc. 90% of my friends drive volvo 240, 740 and 940 none of them ever makes it under 10L/100kms. while my mercedes never exceeds 10L/100kms which is quite critical when you are a student without an income. and my merc is 30 years old while their cars are 15-20 years. but old volvo's are reliable aswell and good in snow :)
Les Volvo ils ont toujours été renommée pour leur robustes mécanique et la sécurité de leur passager
My 1997 V70 has lasted 20+ years.
This video needs a part 2
Also that Volvo was Tor Eckhoff (apetor) holiday car. Rest in peace, Apetor...
Volvo
my lads always say: "damn it rides smooth!" and they jump in the seats, the w123 seats are so soft and springy you cant help it. sure it doesnt take a 90° corner at 100km/h, but in what luxury/cruiser car is that necessary? a w124 should be even better in handling than mine, ive considered a w124 as my next car, if ill ever get rid of my 240D. ;)
i don't entirely agree, although you're quite right in places. but that's what i love about these things. a pensioner's car in a loooooooooooooong drift.
as for mercs, they're good, i even had one, but for instance a w124 or a w201 are nowhere near as controllable as a 7/9, despite their multilink suspension. wobbly and shit. though a tad more comfortable. yet lacking silliness.
2/12/222
I miss my 1970 144 and 1982 244. Both gutless but apart from that great cars.
6:45 that driving on the muddy trail gave me anxiety
I love Swedish cars! My favourite is the Saab, as I like a quirky car but not sure why, I can't seem to find any Saab dealers lately so I guess I will have to go for the nice, sensible, stylish, reliable Volvo instead.
Saab automobile is long out of business
That's good advertising campaign ! Like Wendy's trolled McDonalds, MoPar trolled Ford. And Volvo trolled all Detroit Three automotive industry !
Car animal hello my new friend
Now I gotten a sudden urge to buy a Volvo....
damn thats impresive, then im wrong. Im saying like a 190 e its like 5 inches off the ground it has a hard time just getting out of my driveway
It's time when cars have supreme built no big dents while in normal accident but nowadays minor accidents even with cycles,bumper and bonnet damage easily
yeah i understand that modern cars are rubbish in snow, partly because of big rims and hard tyres and low ground clearance. ;) id say the Mercedes w123 and the volvo 240 are pretty similar apart from some bits of course.
The Volvo was a compact. The Mercedes was a midsize.
such as..? my 240D is like a small jeep with big tyres 185/80-14" good ground level, been offroad in woods and on non plowed snowy wood roads.
Tops Volvos
no prob. :) yeah to be fair it is a diesel so comparing it with a petrol volvo wasnt fair., those carb. petrol mercs did drink a bunch. ive owned my car for almost 3 years and not much have gone wrong, ive never been left stranded except for once when i ran out of fuel. i wish i could afford to pay for more fuel but im just going + - nothing every month.
Volvo, Volvo, Volvo!
i think in almost every part of the world, the Mercedes are called "The Panzartank" or just Tank, cus it keeps going no matter what. ;) but volvos are ok too.
😙😙😙😙
5:58 me driving satsuma in my summer car
My 940 does 7l/100km, and a properly tuned b20 should be around 8-9l/100km. That said, the mercedes are not a bad choice either, both are great cars!
Yep, mercedes of a similar era are in the same league if not better than the volvos. I still daily a 95 W140 merc
No they are not! Have you seen the maintenance/repair cost record for Daimler?
@@mrfudd13 They're really not that high lol
I was going to said that I would know since I drive one but uh... Nothing's ever broken on any of my Mercs.
what exactly are you asking? could you specify?
How many car adverts are funny these days? And doesn't life look more real, and somehow much more attractive? God, I must be old......