Volvo Sport road trip / don’t worry about car culture
Volvo enthusiast David Bello drives an 1,100 mile road trip in a friend’s 1956 Volvo Sport
Every time the older generation starts to worry about the kids, the kids teach themselves how to do it—then post it on YouTube for everyone’s enjoyment.
I can’t understate how refreshing it was to watch Volvo enthusiast David Bello drive an 1,100 mile road trip in a friend’s Volvo Sport (also referred to as a P1900), so I’m sharing it with you.
And in doing so, touching on a larger point.
The friend, 82 year old David Hunt, has owned his example of Volvo’s rarest production car since the 1950s. As in one of 67 rare. Being an early model, it was made in California by the Glasspar Company from that once new and wondrous composite material: fiberglass.
Hearing about why Hunt wasn’t able to take the White Knight himself—and watching the process involved in awakening a 1956 Volvo from storage—would be spoiling the video, so I won’t mention it here.
Nor can I advise you buckle up for the 1,100 mile drive from Anaheim to Davis, California and back: this is a Volvo with no seatbelts.
What I will talk about, however, is the visible, authentic, blink ’cause you won’t miss it trust between friends that led to the elder David saying to his young friend before departure:
“I trust your ingenuity and creativity […] because you can’t just go to the manual and fix it. It’s in Swedish.”
The ensuing road trip and documentary are really well-shot, and a welcome palate cleanser to the usual style of car video that falls into the following categories:
- look at this supercar I bought
- EVERY family SUV DRAG RACE
- we DESTROY this PRICELESS 80s classic
- here’s why this former F1 champion is a loser
- watch us create a Porsche-killing Crown Victoria for $1,000 (in 24h)
- 2023 McFlash GT | Swallow The Bitter Pill
A bunch of Volvo people meeting up to go camping, then to congregate in Davis, California for a huge meetup—no matter what they’re driving—is my idea of car culture worth celebrating.
People, then cars.
How’d the Volvo Sport do? You may not be surprised at how well it handled its yearly exercise. Plus, it managed a reported 28.6 mpg. Perhaps more surprising was the stunning campsite they scored on the way to the show. It is California, after all.
People talk about patina and vehicles, as if it is a look or a finishing touch. Patina is really the evidence of spontaneous drives, roads traveled, and characters met. Faking it is to miss out on living it.
