Vovlo 740: Best Shitbox Ever?

In a recent story in Slate about my unnatural affection for the Porsche 911, I called Volvo an "icon of safe, dependable, vanilla transportation." And I feel kind of bad about. During the past two years, I've owned two late '80s 740 Volvo wagons -- both hand-me-down gifts from my older brother. And I have to say -- if you're forced to own a commuter, buy one of these.
What's good about these angular Swedes? First off, you can't kill them. My wife and I drove one with more than 200,000 miles from Michigan to Oregon. Two years later we drove it from Oregon to Maryland. The transmission boiled over, the taillights worked half-time, and the exhaust leaked into the interior, but it made the trip (though soon after it found it's way to a charity). The second one we had withstood a wreck with a stake truck before we sold it for a few hundred bucks. The engine in the 740 is indestructible, though the rest of the car sheds parts staring at 100,000 miles.
So if the low-budget commuter choice is between Toyota and Volvo, go with the Volvo 740. Better yet, get a nice 142 brick like this one in Classic Motorsports.