Ford vs. ClassicVolvo.com

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The Right To A Domain / Ford vs. ClassicVolvo.com

ROUND 5
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4,
Read Press Clips: Local Daily, Expressen, Wall Street Journal web, WSJ text,
Round 5 is a round of contemplation and, maybe, reconciliation. I am getting a bit boared with pounding on the FoMoCo brick wall. So here in Round 5, I change the style a bit and publish some material that is in line with my comments in Round 4 about Volvo being an ingredient in the Swedish soul and backbone. And that is an ingredient in my veins. Have fun!

The Story about a Volvo 1927...and a Ford

My grandfather, Verner Lundin (1894-1969), was running, among other things, a taxi station in the 1920 and 30:ties. He then lived in Sundshult, a village that is situated in between the two Bullaren lakes in the north of Bohuslän, about one hour (today!) north of Gothenburg in Sweden. Today Sundshult is really in the back waters but in those days it was a real melting pot with a big shop, a mill, a sawmill, a power station, a brick factory and other entrepreneur activities. Verner was very into modern techniques and motor vehicles were very interesting. In 1927 he bought one of the very first Volvo automobiles to use as a taxi in the area. It was a 1927 model and it did have chassis NR 127. He was fond of the, then brand new, Volvo and its heavy construction was working well on the gravel roads of that time. My grandmother, Astrid Lundin (1902-) did also drive the Volvo. She was the first woman in the county of Bohuslän that passed the test for a cab drivers license. This happened in 1927. "When I had my test I drove around a bit in the yard and the inspector was standing in the window looking" she recalls. Today she is a woman of 98. Some years ago she stopped driving and voluntarily returned her drivers license (all her life valid for every possible vehicle on the road after the 1927 test!) to the authorities.
When time for regular maintenance came up, Verner drove down to the Volvo plant in Gothenburg. In those days it probably took several days. Down at the Volvo plant he used to have a chat with the founder of Volvo, Assar Gabrielsson! "The first time he went down for maintenance, Gabrielsson was sitting in a bit of an attic. It was a bit provisional. But the next time he came around the situation had improved a lot! Then Gabrielsson was sitting in an office with glass doors!" tells my uncle, Per-Erik Lundin, who has herd the story many times.


The sheriff in the Bullaren area did not drive (!) so my grandparents had to bring out the Volvo taxi to use as a police car and assist the sheriff when needed in pursuit of criminals. There are lots of stories about my grandparents helping the sheriff to chase thugs. When the sheriff had to do court service in the near by town, Strömstad, he, of course, went in the Volvo. The tale tells that on the way home, my grandfather and the sheriff always stopped the car as soon as they crossed into the sheriffs jurisdiction and took a couple of schnapps'! I guess the period for prosecution has expired for this (rather serious!) crime.


Grandfather Verner also had a pickup in his company. It was a Ford model T 1922 (!!). He bought it as an open chassis and did build the rear and the drivers cabin himself. From the picture above you can study the somewhat home made design. There are stories also about this Ford pickup. One tells that it could not be driven up the big hill in the village because the petrol then did not reach the carb. Verner always had to reverse up this hill (this might not be significant with the Ford quality of those days - it might have been a mistake in my grandfathers construction even though I do not think so....)! Another story tells about Verner driving home on the frozen lake one day. In those days they always made "winter road" on the lake. In the distance he spots another resident of the village and decides to have some fun. He tied two pieces of string to the steering wheel, put the accelerator on suitable speed and claimed, while driving ahead on the lake, on to the back of the pickup. The pickup was carrying some drums and they were excellent to hide behind while driving via the string-equipped steering wheel. At a distance it looked like a Ford pickup driving by with no chauffeur! The joke worked excellently and the poor villager told the tale about the "Ghost Ford" for many years to come. My grandfather laughed a bit behind his back but I think he never told him the whole truth.......

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