SEVEN OUT OF THE 10 SDVSA MEMBERS who attended the General Meeting on October 12 drove their Volvos. There were three 1800Ss, two ESs, a PV444 and a P210. We were pleased to see Jacob Quimpo put in an all-too-rare appearance, unfortunately sans his 1800, which is undergoing major reconditioning.

     Once newsletter editor and publisher Doug Gagliardi arrived with the latest issue of 1800 NEWS hot off the printer, we could top worrying and start the meeting. Remember, “Dedicated Doug” drives all the way from Upland, CA in his 1800S, so we have good cause to be concerned for his safety. Doug admits that, like many 1800 owners, he is likely to be traveling a little (or maybe even a lot) too fast! These cars are 40 years old, fer cryin’ out loud!

     Now we had the newsletters and we had stamps, but because of a prior commitment, Kurt Sievert, our membership coordinator and keeper of the mailing labels, was absent. Esteemed president Peter Webb took it upon himself to meet with Kurt the next day, and together they got your newsletter labeled and into the mail in a “timely fashion.” Clearly, Doug’s not the only dedicated one!

     Our San Diego Auto Museum representative, Richard Pattee informed us of a troublesome piece of pending state smog legislation, in the form of California Assembly Bill 386. If you wish to join the fight against punitive smog policies for the vintage car community, Richard has promised to come up with a protest letter we can each copy and send to our state Representatives. A petition with a bunch of signatures only counts as one letter in the eyes of the politicians, so we each need to send our own.

     Our attention next turned to plans for the remaining two important SDVSA events for 2005, namely our Annual Swap Meet on Saturday, November 19, and the Holiday Party on Sunday, December 11, which will take the place of our General Meeting next month. More details inside

     We’re also encouraging our members to put an upcoming SoCal VCOA event on their itineraries. After high praise from Doug, who attended last year’s Bozzani Volvo Show, considerable interest was generated in caravaning up to Bozzani Volvo in Covina on Saturday, November 12.

     Our caravan will assemble at the Windmill Restaurant at the junction of Palomar Airport Road and I-5, and we will LEAVE at 8:00 a.m. for the drive up to Covina. Consider sharing a ride with someone who doesn’t have a car to enter in the show, and split the cost of that $3-a-gallon go-juice.

It should be another great Volvo event and well worth your time and money (see page 2 for more). 

   SDVSA’s legendary Annual Swap Meet takes place at Crown Point in Mission Bay Park on Saturday, November 19. Unfortunately, local Volvo hero Sven Olafsbrosson will not be in attendance this year, so the rest of us will have to muster our Viking spirit, and work that much harder to make this event the success to which we have grown accustomed. We are going to make every attempt to fulfill all the promises of the flyer on page 7.

     At the eleventh hour, as we pondered long and hard as to where we could hold our traditional SDVSA Holiday Party, Richard Pattee once again came to our rescue and offered the use of his abode. So you can look forward to kicking off another memorable holiday season with good food, friends, and White Elephant gifts! As a courtesy to our hosts, and to those planning our main course, we ask everyone to RSVP by Wednesday, December 7, at (619) 234-4231 and let Richard and Darcy know which appetizer, side dish, bread, desert, etc. you would like to bring. Our hosts will keep track of everything, so that we don’t end up with 25 bags of potato chips! It behooves you to RSVP early to have the best choice of what to bring. Beer and sodas, and the main course will be provided by SDVSA, as usual. If you would like to participate in the White Elephant gift exchange (not mandatory), please limit your spending to $10 to $15, and your gift doesn’t have to be car related. We’ve had some hilarious gifts in the past! More information on this “Jul Fest” is provided on page 8.

     We hope to see you at all of these great club activities!

      For those of you waiting with ’bated breath for news of the recent Coronado Classic Speed Festival—your wait is over! Jeff Perry, our former newsletter publisher, and writer and photographer par excellence, has spun another illustrated tale worthy of his reputation. Look

for it on page 5. Below, a 692cc 1959 Berkley B95.