It seems unbelievable somehow, but one of the real icons of Volvodom in the U.S.A., Bill Webb, author of “Swedish Iron,” the definitive work on the Volvo 1800 series cars, and editor/publisher of Western States Magazine, is retiring for health reasons. Bill has been a steadfast supporter of all things Volvo in Southern California, and nation wide through the VSA, since the early 1980s. We all hope that Bill and Kathy will have a long and rewarding retirement! Knowing Bill, though, don’t be surprised if you see him at future Volvo events—as a spectator, of course!

     Our attendance is improving! Ten members, and one new recruit, participated in the SDVSA General Meeting on March 9. The new member is Max Wirth, who is the proud owner of a 1963 P1800, which he bought brand new at an auto dealership in Switzerland! 

     To present the argument for the SDVSA to remain affiliated with VSA, we feature a letter on page 6 from Bruce Potter, current president of the VSA. Read and compare with the letter from Lee Cordner in the last issue of 1800 NEWS. The decision you have to make is close at hand!

     Doug Gagliardi, our new layout artists—and an excellent one at that—came all the way from Upland, CA, to personally deliver a hundred copies of 1800 NEWS!  We were late in giving him some of the material, thus the reason for his heroic efforts. We apologize for that. In view of this, we have promised to have all newsletter materials submitted to him no later than the Friday before the second Wednesday monthly General Meeting. In addition, Doug will be printing the newsletter on his own equipment at home, shipping it down to San Diego, and saving the SDVSA money at the same time. Such a deal! So, let’s make every effort to keep the deadlines, to keep Doug happy—and working for us!

     We are slowly selling things left over from the 2004 VSA West Coast Meet. Besides T-shirts and two varieties of hats, we have really beautiful grill badges, which were used as prizes. The miniature “Volvo” P1800 C-pillar emblems in the form of tie or lapel pins and the dash plaques have all been sold! 

A list of the remaining items and prices appear in “Annonser” and on page 9, accompanied with pictures of each item.

    Mark Jankowski’s San Diego East County Tour on Saturday, April 23 is just around the corner! This year’s  tour should be especially scenic after the third rainiest season on record in San Diego County! Turn the page for the itinerary for this year’s installment. Make you
plans to attend now! 

    We have a problem with the next scheduled SDVSA events. Beyond our control, the Julian Classic Motoring Show and the 40th Fallbrook Vintage Car Show dates coincide. Our dilemma is that our usual group of dedicated fans is not really big enough to have convincing representation in two places at the same time. Since we participated in the Fallbrook Car Show (without many Volvos showing up, it may be added) for a number of years, our main focus will be on the Julian show this year, to see how much support we can get for that event. If we don’t see a significant increase in participation, we’ll go back to our usual “BBQ Picnic and Horseshoe Tournament” at the Menghini winery. Of course, if some people wish to enter the Fallbrook show, we would like to see that, too! Hopefully, we won’t be faced with the same predicament next year! 

     Following from the discussion above, there is a new twist to our annual trek to the Menghini Winery in Julian this year. We are combining our visit with the 2nd Annual Julian Motoring Show, which takes place on Sunday, May 29 at the winery! Bob Engberg, chairman of the show, is looking forward to seeing our Volvos at the winery, even providing a space for our Volvo clubs in the Club Corral. He would like to see some Volvos enter the show, too, “perhaps a 444, 544, 120 and 1800.” Page 3 has more information and an entry form for the show. You can also visit www.julianclassic.com. We usually bring picnic lunches and something to BBQ, but the show is going to provide food and drinks for purchase (around $5.00). All proceeds go to the community of Julian and its Firefighters. Our SDVSA contact man is Bud Hartwell, (619) 588-2180, who is a member of the show committee, and the contact for the OCVC is Dave Hunt, (714).630-2207. Further instructions on times, meeting places and lunch accommodations will be announced in May’sissue of 1800 NEWS!