From August 20-22, I had the pleasure of attending VROM, Volvo Rendezvous for Owners and Members, in Gothenburg, Sweden, reportedly the largest single Volvo Meet in Europe and, probably, the world. Correctly pronounced "Vrooom," this get-together was formerly known as the Volvo and Renault Owners Meeting. For reasons unknown to this writer, Renault is no longer involved, but the organizers managed to keep the acronym. What an experience! This was a true Volvo lover's eye-feast: three glorious days of Volvo-related activities with all kinds of Volvos for as far as the eye could see.

My trip went like this: Orange County, California, to Dallas, Texas; Dallas to London where I hung out for a few days and then London to Gothenburg. By the time I walked out of the airport in Gothenburg, I had firmly concluded that airplane seats are not as comfortable as the seats in my 1800E. It did my heart (and other parts) good when I walked out of the airport to find that all the cabs were Volvos.

My Volvo experience began on Friday with a trip the Volvo factory outside of Gothenburg. Once on the Volvo grounds and signed in, we were given the opportunity to test-drive a nice selection of new Volvos. There were several cars to chose from and, as far as I know, there was no limit on how many of the cars we drove. (We were only asked to obey the speed limit and I did. Really! I think. Those kilometers per hour and miles per hour conversions are so confusing.) Peter Jonsson set yours truly up with an S80 T6 and my new friend Ernst from Holland rode shotgun. It was awesome. I had the time to try others out after Ernst and I got back, but quite frankly I felt as though I had peaked and all I wanted to do was savor the experience. All I can tell you is that it was very fast and very quiet.

Next was a tour of the Volvo factory. I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised to find out that Volvo contracts out the fabrication of some of the parts for the new cars, and that those contractors are housed right on the grounds of Volvo for the sake of convenience as well as efficiency. What stood out most for me was watching the robots manipulate the manufacture of the bumpers for the S80.

On to the Volvo museum, also located on the grounds. I've seen pictures, but they don't compare to the reality. From the original Jakob to the P1900 to the P1800 prototype to the customized 1969 1800S formerly driven by the president of Volvo to the experimental "Rocket" 1800 that had been considered as a possibility for the design for the 1800ES. There was a jet plane, an intense-looking four-wheel drive vehicle (Ernst tells me he has one), trucks, experimental vehicles, race cars and more. It was a wonderful experience. The people at the museum were great and they even opened up the P1900 for some close-up pictures to bring back to my friend, Dave Hunt, who continues to restore his own P1900. There was a lot to see and, of course, I was the last one to leave. With help from one of the guides from the factory tour, I found my way back to Gothenburg for the Friday night dinner on time.

This is where I was first introduced to a very large group of people as the guy who came all the way from California to go to this Volvo meet. Ernst assured me that I hid my shyness well when I more or less stood up and took a bow. Dinner was all the steamed shrimp you could eat and hotdogs for the kids. I tried half a dozen, but to eat them I had to twist off their little heads and clean them while they stared up at me. Not my cup of tea, really, and I opted for a hotdog with the other kids. It struck me funny that I was some 8000 miles from home and eating a hotdog for supper, but it tasted good nonetheless.

There was also an indoor display of a number of vintage Volvos. Here I met the first of many Volvo owners and checked out their cars. I got a ride back to my hotel from Marcel and Karin from Holland in their very valuable and beautiful '71 1800E.

With the help of VROM coordinators Bo Kruger and Peter Ljungberg, I made it to the rally the next day and hooked up with Martin and Dottie Stickley, an American couple who live in London. Martin owns his own P1900, which he did not bring, but another one of the VROM coordinators, also named Peter, had loaned the Stickleys his completely restored 1958 Duett to drive in the rally. The Stickleys invited me along and I gratefully accepted.

As I waited for the rally to start, I could not believe the number and the variety of Volvos that filled the parking lot at the Volvo dealership where we met. The VROM coordinators had their hands full at keeping everything running smoothly, and they did a great job.

Soon we were on our way. Life was good. There I was, a guy from California, riding in a vintage Volvo through the Swedish countryside on a beautiful, sunny day with a couple from London and everywhere we turned, more vintage Volvos. Our only tasks were to have fun and try to answer questions about Volvos and local history in the hope of scoring the most points. We didn't win, but we had a great time.

The rally ended with literally hundreds of vintage Volvos parked on the front lawn of a magnificent castle that was built at the turn of the century. I got as far away as I could in order to take a picture of all these cars in front of this castle. Every time I thought that the last one had arrived, another would show up. I could not get them all into the same picture, even with the help of my wide-angle lens, so I left out the castle.

Next, dinner was served (no shrimp this time) and awards were handed out. I had joked earlier with some of my new friends that I might receive the longest distance traveled award. I was only kidding. I didn't even know if they gave such an award. Besides that, I was sure that if there was one, it would go to someone who drove there, but sure enough, I came home with a nice trophy and a number of Volvo-related gifts.

Once again I was introduced to the group. The master of ceremonies asked me how many and what kind of Volvos I owned. I was humbled to tell them that I owned only one Volvo -- an 1800E -- although I had once owned an 1800S when I was younger. Nevertheless, I was welcomed with opened arms, but somehow I left with the feeling that a person shouldn't own only one Volvo. I know many of you will support me in this.

The final day of VROM was a concours and swap meet. Again I could not believe the number and variety of cars and people in attendance. This is a big event held in downtown Gothenburg. It was a short walk from my hotel, but at first I thought I was in the wrong place. It seemed too big to be a Volvo meet. I didn't believe it until I saw the VROM banner flying high overhead. There were three P1900s, lots of Duetts, an 1800 for every year of production including the number one prototype that is being driven by a man from Sweden and kept in original condition. There was even an 1800 pedal car. There were a number of customized vehicles including a couple of convertibles. There were lots of PVs. One was an unbelievable air-brushed PV544 with a wood dash. Not a wood-grain dash -- a custom-made wood dash. The owner, Detley Lehmann, did all the work himself. Any classic car owner would be in awe of the accomplishment. There were Duetts turned into pick-up trucks and stake-beds. There was a Duett hearse, a number of military vehicles, a bus, lots of 122s and Volvo cars of every description. One very old and worn PV had a record player built in under the dash that I believe was still in working order. Who needs a CD player? It was amazing!

And then there was the swap meet. There were rows and rows of tables of brand new, used and remanufactured parts for Volvos. Everything you could imagine and some that you haven't. I bought some rubber parts that I needed badly and a hood support that I didn't need, but it was brand new and it only cost me 10 Swedish Crowns (a little over a dollar).

I did not have the time to see everything. I was cruising the part tables one more time when the meet finally ended at 3:00 PM on Sunday. Did I have a good time? Yes I did! Was it worth the trip? You bet! Would I do it again? Now that is an idea with merit. VROM was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. The people were wonderful. Everywhere I went, people were kind and helpful. I've been invited back and I would love to go back. The country was beautiful. The cars were incredible. And the people were even better. Next time I would like to bring my car and some friends and their cars along. You have to admit it would be a great way for a group of Volvo lovers from the United States and elsewhere to celebrate the millenium.

Three smaller photos by Peter Ljungberg
One larger photo by Björn Johannesson

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