On the evening of the 12th of June, the parking lot at the San Diego Auto Museum once again looked like there was a classic Volvo meeting taking place. There were one ’57 444, three 1800 coupes, one ES, one of each of 240 and 850 wagons, and one S70! Eleven of us gathered in the meeting room, including the SDVSA’s newest member, Peter Webb, who just bought Greg Leeper’s 1968 1800S, advertised in 1800 NEWS. Peter did not bring his newfound treasure to the meeting, because he immediately began to restore the car. Knowing the generosity and knowledge of our members, we are sure Peter will get all the help he needs to finish his project successfully! 
We all missed our treasurer, Bob Skoog, at the meeting. Bob has had some serious health problems lately, and we wish that he will be back to his ornery self soon! All Southern California Volvo fans, and all the other friends you have made nation wide -- pursuing ”the cause” -- are rooting for you, Bob!!

     NOTE: New management rules at Wes Hinkle’s San Diego Volvo has reduced our club discount on parts from 20% to 10%! This is rather distressing, since we recently approached this dealership for closer ties with our club. 

     The 13th installment of the Largest Volvo Meet in Southern California took place at Westside Volvo in Culver City on Saturday, June 14. (This is one dealership, which supports our classic Volvo activities. Too bad it’s so far from San Diego..Ed). As far as we know, the only San Diego area car there was Rick Burton’s BRGreen 123 Canadian.

     The tour of the Hubble compound on June 15 was interesting, to say the least. Mr. James Hubble is an extraordinary artist and architect, working in a similar style to Antonio Gaudi, although certainly not as grandiose His dwelling and utilitarian spaces blend in well with the surrounding native rocks and oak trees. It is an impressive display of free form design, using adobe, bricks and concrete, stained glass and steel. Certainly one of Southern California’s most worthwhile man-made places to visit. 

     This year’s Menghini Winery get together, on June 22 was a rather quiet affair. As usual, it started out at the Standard gas station on Via Rancho Pkwy. Three 1800Ss, one ES, one 240, and, of course, Jeff Perry’s imposter Volvo 

“lastbil” (truck), gathered under gloomy skies. We waited an extra ten minutes past our scheduled departure time for any stragglers before our little caravan set out on a leisurely pace for our 11th Annual Julian R&R. The advertised stop at Ramona Vintners Cellars came to naught, as it wasn’t ready to receive visitors due to delays in construction. But, never mind, it gave us some additional time to enjoy hot coffees, pastries and the inevitable Volvo talk at Dudley’s bakery in Santa Ysabel. Suddenly two SAABs from the L.A. Association appeared – a welcome addition to our all-Swedish car group. However, no signs of the Sunbeams. We continued our trek to Mike and Toni Menghini’s always-hospitable establishment, and arrived about noon. For the full story on our visit this year, turn to page 7. 

     August will be a busy month for car clubs, and the SDVSA is no exception (see ”Schedule of Events” on page 5). The 12th Annual Automobile Heritage Day take place in National City on Sunday, August 3. Although the SDVSA has received ”personal” invitations for the last several years, we never have participated. This is not an official SDVSA event this year either, but the information is presented on page 4, and we would encourage our members to attend -- to show our club colors, so to speak.

     The General meeting on Wednesday, August 13 back at the San Diego Auto Museum, will feature a ”Pizza ’n’ Video” night again. We’ll meet at 6:30 p.m. to have time to take care of club business before the festivities begin. If anyone has a video featuring Volvos, cars, or any other subject, which might be of interest to the assemblage, please bring them! We still have unscreened versions of our favorite 1800 driver, Simon Templar, a.k.a. ”The Saint”, from the TV series of the same name. 

     Don’t forget, the SDVSA Annual Swap Meet at Crown Point in Mission Bay, on Saturday, August 23. Just turn the page for all the details.

     Also in August, the National VSA/VCOA West Coast Meet takes place on Friday 15 through Sunday 17 in Olympia, WA. It is about an 18 to 22 hour easy drive from San Diego on I-5 all the way. An application for this event is found on page 3. We hope to see some SDVSA cars there!