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Curbside Classics Archives
Auto-Biography Archive
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![Less than a month after competing in my first four-day, 1000-mile car rally (read about it here) I was in a business-class seat on an SAS flight from Newark Airport […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Landvetter-Airport-e1729287503330.png?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: Working Where Volvos Are Born – Part One")
Auto-Biography: Working Where Volvos Are Born – Part One
Posted on October 20, 2024 | 13 CommentsLess than a month after competing in my first four-day, 1000-mile car rally (read about it here) I was in a business-class seat on an SAS flight from Newark Airport […] -
![My earlier post on the 343 GT concept car described Volvo of America’s interest in the North American sales potential for a face-lifted and re-powered version of Volvo Car BV’s […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/480-ES-Cover-Illustration.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Volvo 480 ES – Dutch Treat or Cruel Trick?")
The Volvo 480 ES – Dutch Treat or Cruel Trick?
Posted on September 15, 2024 | 20 CommentsMy earlier post on the 343 GT concept car described Volvo of America’s interest in the North American sales potential for a face-lifted and re-powered version of Volvo Car BV’s […] -
![Getting ready to go for a hike in the Cascades this past Wednesday: Stephanie: Why don’t we take my car for a change? It’s so much nicer than your noisy […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CC-222-077-12001.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Our 2013 Acura TSX Sport Wagon – A Brisk Drive To Commemorate Its Tenth Birthday And To Reflect On Some Recent Lapses Of Judgment")
Our 2013 Acura TSX Sport Wagon – A Brisk Drive To Commemorate Its Tenth Birthday And To Reflect On Some Recent Lapses Of Judgment
Posted on August 31, 2024 | 38 CommentsGetting ready to go for a hike in the Cascades this past Wednesday: Stephanie: Why don’t we take my car for a change? It’s so much nicer than your noisy […] -
![Having spent a few hours stitching on my latest improvement to my ’66 F100 — a proper full-grain leather steering wheel cover from Australia — I decided that it was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_1453.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "I Take My 1966 F100 On A Road Trip – And Get 21 MPG")
I Take My 1966 F100 On A Road Trip – And Get 21 MPG
Posted on August 27, 2024 | 54 CommentsHaving spent a few hours stitching on my latest improvement to my ’66 F100 — a proper full-grain leather steering wheel cover from Australia — I decided that it was […] -
![After decades of bopping down endless gravel forest roads close to the edge of adhesion in the xB, I lost it, sliding off the side of the very road I […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_1376.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: I Finally Slid Off A Forest Road Into A Tree – Because I Was Driving Too Slow")
Auto-Biography: I Finally Slid Off A Forest Road Into A Tree – Because I Was Driving Too Slow
Posted on August 13, 2024 | 45 CommentsAfter decades of bopping down endless gravel forest roads close to the edge of adhesion in the xB, I lost it, sliding off the side of the very road I […] -
![Better late than never? In a sign of mellowing that seems to come inevitably with old age, I’ve become a bit less harsh on my cars (and people?). I was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0824.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: My ’66 F100 Finally Gets A Roof Over Its Head After Spending Its Whole Life Outside")
Auto-Biography: My ’66 F100 Finally Gets A Roof Over Its Head After Spending Its Whole Life Outside
Posted on June 23, 2024 | 20 CommentsBetter late than never? In a sign of mellowing that seems to come inevitably with old age, I’ve become a bit less harsh on my cars (and people?). I was […] -
![By late 1979, I had been a full-time permanent employee of Volvo of America Corporation for nearly two years, a welcome change from my earlier status as a “permanent temporary” […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VCC-Front-three-quater-e1719085574631.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: The Volvo Concept Car – A 700-Series Preview")
Auto-Biography: The Volvo Concept Car – A 700-Series Preview
Posted on June 23, 2024 | 16 CommentsBy late 1979, I had been a full-time permanent employee of Volvo of America Corporation for nearly two years, a welcome change from my earlier status as a “permanent temporary” […] -
![(first posted 6/17/2018) Father-son relationships can be complicated. Sons naturally want to exert their ever-growing prowess, which is a good thing when it’s channeled properly, but when it […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CC-362-010.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: Gen1 Taurus – My Father Finally Takes My Advice and Treats Himself to a Nice Car")
Auto-Biography: Gen1 Taurus – My Father Finally Takes My Advice and Treats Himself to a Nice Car
Posted on June 16, 2024 | 41 Comments(first posted 6/17/2018) Father-son relationships can be complicated. Sons naturally want to exert their ever-growing prowess, which is a good thing when it’s channeled properly, but when it […] -
![The RoadSport was another special project I was fortunate enough to be involved in during my early years at Volvo. To set the stage a bit, we’ll first take a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/tumblr_mantb5TKJY1r2dcdfo1_540.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: The Volvo RoadSport — Volvo’s Turbo Powered 1977 Show Car")
Auto-Biography: The Volvo RoadSport — Volvo’s Turbo Powered 1977 Show Car
Posted on June 16, 2024 | 8 CommentsThe RoadSport was another special project I was fortunate enough to be involved in during my early years at Volvo. To set the stage a bit, we’ll first take a […] -
![(posted at the Cohort by Staxman) (first posted 6/13/2018) Maybe I should start a series of the cars of my Boy Scout troop leaders. The memories made riding […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CC-359-001.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography Capsule: 1965 Ford Falcon Futura Hardtop – The O’Neill-Mobile")
Auto-Biography Capsule: 1965 Ford Falcon Futura Hardtop – The O’Neill-Mobile
Posted on June 15, 2024 | 40 Comments(posted at the Cohort by Staxman) (first posted 6/13/2018) Maybe I should start a series of the cars of my Boy Scout troop leaders. The memories made riding […] -
![“Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is, and must remain, safety.” This sentiment was originally attributed to the Swedish automaker’s co-founders, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Untitled-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: The Volvo Safety Concept Car Of 1978")
Auto-Biography: The Volvo Safety Concept Car Of 1978
Posted on June 9, 2024 | 16 Comments“Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is, and must remain, safety.” This sentiment was originally attributed to the Swedish automaker’s co-founders, […] -
![(all photos by the author) (first posted 8/25/12) My first real job was in the summer of 1964 when I worked for a taxi company in San Juan, Puerto Rico. […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/07-Dodges.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Memoir: My Checkered Career With Checker Cabs")
CC Memoir: My Checkered Career With Checker Cabs
Posted on June 4, 2024 | 94 Comments(all photos by the author) (first posted 8/25/12) My first real job was in the summer of 1964 when I worked for a taxi company in San Juan, Puerto Rico. […] -
![One of the parking-lot curiosities I noticed after joining Volvo of America Corporation in mid-1976 was a diminutive, boxy two-door sedan that bore absolutely no resemblance to any of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/343-GT-Interior.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: The Volvo 343 GT Project")
Auto-Biography: The Volvo 343 GT Project
Posted on June 2, 2024 | 28 CommentsOne of the parking-lot curiosities I noticed after joining Volvo of America Corporation in mid-1976 was a diminutive, boxy two-door sedan that bore absolutely no resemblance to any of […] -
![All was well for the first several months of my ownership of my first “fun car”, the ’67 Sunbeam Alpine. I drove it to work a few times, braving […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Alpine-brochure-illustration.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "COAL: The ’67 Alpine — A “Failure to Proceed”")
COAL: The ’67 Alpine — A “Failure to Proceed”
Posted on May 26, 2024 | 7 CommentsAll was well for the first several months of my ownership of my first “fun car”, the ’67 Sunbeam Alpine. I drove it to work a few times, braving […] -
![One of the significant contributors to what is sometimes referred to as the “Malaise Era” in automotive history was the industry’s need to comply with increasingly strict exhaust emissions […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lambda-Sond-Emblem-rotated-e1715889533148.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Auto-Biography: Emblematic of Emissions")
Auto-Biography: Emblematic of Emissions
Posted on May 19, 2024 | 29 CommentsOne of the significant contributors to what is sometimes referred to as the “Malaise Era” in automotive history was the industry’s need to comply with increasingly strict exhaust emissions […]
