Part I: The Journey Begins

Before we begin, I'd like to revisit my childhood years when I used to visit my grandparents' house in Narragansett, Rhode Island each weekend. They lived on a quiet, rural road, close to the water, so we would always take walks down to the pier at the end of the street. On the way down, there was a house that wasn't anything special, but had a few distinct aspects that I remember clearly about it. The first, and unrelated, aspect that I remember was a large fishing boat parked on a trailer in the front yard. The second aspect I remember were two old Volvo wagons, both painted in white. I think one was a later 940 or a V60, and the other was a 240. I remember liking the 240 a lot. I thought it looked nicer and its design appealed more to me. Even to my younger self, I couldn't pin point what made the design of the 240 appealing. At the time, I must've been at least 10 years old, and I had no idea that what I was looking at would be a car I would come to love a decade or so later. 

As it would turn out, the Monaco idea didn't sit particularly well with my parents, and the idea was discarded. However, that didn't stop my search for a classic car to call my own. One day in August, Sam sent me a link via text message to a Craigslist ad of a 1988 Volvo 240 sedan in beige. The owner was asking $1050, which was very much in budget. There was something all too familiar about this car though. I knew I had seen it before. It turns out, this beige 240 was located only a few blocks away from my house, which was very convenient. Not only was there a classic that I could afford, but it was local! I presented the idea to my parents, who seemed rather happier that I no longer wanted to daily drive a large '60s American boat, but now a smaller, much more reliable '80s sedan. 

I went to check out the car, and by that, I mean I just road my bike over and gave it a good look over. It was a solid car, but it had been around the block more than once, so to speak. The paint was faded, there were pieces of trim missing, and it had these cheap aftermarket hub caps that looked awful. Otherwise, the car seemed decent. Was it worth $1050? Absolutely, and I was totally sold, or at least I thought I was. I told myself I would purchase the car, and I would clean the car up and make it my own.

That turned out to be another pipe dream. While my parents didn't talk me out of it, I realized the car just wasn't right for me. It needed work, but I was still fixated on owning an old '60s or '70s American classic. At the time, I didn't realize it, but this experience with the beige 240 was slowly shifting my perspective on car ownership from fantasy to reality. Despite this, it would take a few more years for me to realize these Volvos were right for me. 

The beige 240 wasn't the last car ownership pipe dream of the summer. I continued looking at American classics, one of which we know all too dear and well on ONEC. That being the 1974 Chevy Monte Carlo, located at Andy's East Coast Speed. Reference Late Summer Cars Pt. 1 to check out the '74 Monte entry. I'm not sure what made me fall in love for a brief period of time, as that car was probably a terrible choice. Sam and I determined that the car probably had rust issues, noting a patch of Bondo, and the more obvious fact that the car was two different colors. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and I really was too far into my pipe dream to realize that was the case. The pendulum would swing back, and I eventually would come around to the reality that a 1970s American car may not be the greatest idea for a first car to daily drive. 

One last car I considered getting was another pivotal car in my love for Saabs and Volvo. It was a silver 1986 Saab 900 S sedan, located not too far from my house. In fact, during Bike Ride 3, I had unintentionally visited that car when I went to photograph another Saab for one of the entries. I never ended up seeing the car, and it ended up selling because it was only listed for $1200. However, while out on a bike ride in January of 2023, I think I came across where the Saab moved to, but I can't confirm it's the same car. 

This experience with the Saab and the Monte helped change my perspective on what I wanted from a car. I realized that an American classic would be a terrible daily driver, and truthfully, I was beginning to gain more of an appreciation for smaller, sportier European cars. I'm not sure what exactly made me fall for Saab and Volvo. Was it the fact that we owned one, or was it that my family had a history with the brand? Like I said, I can't say truth be told, but I can tell you that by the end of summer, my mindset was changing.