Google Maps is full of obscure but intriguing tourist attractions, and Volvo Island definitely ranks among the most intriguing ones. Added to the platform in 2015, it has received hundreds of positive reviews and currently has a 4.9 rating on Google. That’s pretty high for a simple 2001 Volvo S80 sedan, but then again, it’s not every day you see one of those stranded in the middle of an artificial lake.

The story of Volvo Island can be traced back to Scott Mann, a resident of the nearby Ottawa City and owner of two car repair shops. 13 years ago, after an old strip mine got filled with about 40 feet of standing water, Mann decided to place an old Volvo on a peninsula extending into this man-made lake and then organize a contest around it.

After placing the S80 on a small islet about the size of the car itself, Scott Mann used an excavator to remove the peninsula it had been towed to the islet on. This was essential to his plan because he planned to ask the world how the car had wound up in the middle of the deep lake. However, he ended up scrapping the plans for his contest because he feared that people would attempt to go into the water to reach the vehicle.

But even though the contest was cancelled, Mann decided to keep the car on the lake, as a kind of fun tourist attraction that would bring some publicity to his repair shop business. It’s unclear how good a marketing idea it proved to be for Scott Mann, but Volvo Island definitely became a popular landmark in the Ottawa area.

Located near the intersection of Illinois Route 71 and US Highway 6, roughly 80 miles southwest of Chicago, Volvo Island is a landmark like no other. Despite having spent over a decade in the open, at the mercy of the elements, the 2001 Volvo S80 sedan still looks in excellent condition.