Hi Folks - I´m new here

I live in the western part of Germany. Born in 1964 it seems like the first positive sound I must have heard was a V8 engine. Even though I really love a lot of different styles of music, I keep turning down the stereo, whenever I pass an old V8. I have always liked Station Wagons, even when I was young and had to argue with all of my friends which all preferred Coupes and Convertibles. Station Wagons were regarded boring. When I turned 18 I got my drivers licence. In Germany this is the earliest you can drive around in a car on your own and it´s not just go somewhere, pay a couple of bucks, drive around the block and you´re done! It´s rather go to a driving school study most of the rules needed, take a minimum of (then) I think 14 hours of driving lessons at (then) approximately 45 bucks each, pass a theoretical test(45 minutes) with no more than seven mistakes, pass a practical test of approximately 30 minutes of driving including parking the car no more than 7.5 inches from the curve but without contact to the curve and a lot of other silly things. All together my drivers licence was cheap at approximately 900 US Dollars (then!) .
Living in a European State in the early 80s, the average car for a beginner was something like Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit), Renault 4, an Opel Kadett, a Peugeot 204, a Fiat 127 or an Austin Allegro. Not for me though! I needed this sound, I needed eight rather than four cylinders. I was ready to give away my last shirt for a "real" car. US cars were rare in Germany and mostly driven by either GI´s or (sorry, but thats the truth) pimps! There was I, a teenager with a lot of dreams but very little money in my pocket. At that time I was an apprentice car mechanic at a British Leyland dealership. Yes, British Leyland. At technical college all of the other students in my class worked at Volkswagen-Audi (at that time called VAG) dealerships, Opel, or one of the other European brands, few at one of the rare Japanese brands which have only been sold in Germany since the 70s, but British Leyland was bizzare to anyone involved with motoring in the late 70s, early 80s. It didn´t take long until the dealership had to close down and I lost my job. Just as I was unemployed I spotted this green 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sedan with a bright white vinyl roof for sale in a town nearby. Within the last few months I dug in a pile of stones and found a gold nugget just at the moment my hands were tied behind my back! Sure even then I rather have had a Wagon, but this Satellite really looked good and was going at a price for a Rabbit! It was all original with a 318 and automatic transmission, it had a working AC, an option which most mid-size Audi, BMW or Mercedes didn´t even have in the early 80´s over here. To cut it short, I borrowed some of the money and bought this Satellite. Here I was cruising in this lovely old American V8 and if I ever decided to listen to anything else but the engine it was Planet Claire by the B 52´s and even if my Plymouth wasn´t faster than the speed of light, it was faster in acceleration than any of my friends sporty looking coupes – a lot faster!
However the V8 needed about 2.5 times as much gasoline as the other “beginners” cars, the adults who liked my felt sorry for me as they saw I spent ALL of my money on the car, the adults that didn´t like me accused me of doing something secret and illegal and my parents said they would assist me in subsidize the multinational oil companies. A year later I sold my beloved Plymouth under external pressure of about every person I knew. It took the buyer only a month to destroy my first car in an accident.
More “acceptable” and economical European Wagons followed, but remained to European standards “full size”. I had many Ford Granada (no, not the US model Granada, but the Cologne, Germany and Dagenham, England built models) Wagons, a Mercedes 230 Wagon and my first Volvo 240. Next was a small US revival in shape of a 1976 Mercury Monterey MX Wagon in 1990, but that wasn´t in a good shape and I couldn´t be bothered in restoring it.
Many other cars followed some were Wagons some not. At one stage I noticed (for you guys in the States this must sound abstruse) a relative similarity in rear wheel drive Volvos like the 940 and 960 Wagons with US wagons. The similarity regarded mainly that like American cars, Volvos can last forever if treated right. A characteristic which impressed me ever since I was confronted with the late 60´s, early 70´s slogan “REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE”.
I found nothing wrong about a car which does 10 miles per gallon when the car is 30, 40 or 50 years old. An age that has seen many cars built and wrecked of which the production alone has harmed nature more than driving an old V8 for many decades.
As good rear wheel drive Volvo Station Wagons with low mileages are wanted cars for both every day use and individualists who just want something other than the mainstream Audi, BMW or Mercedes and are on the edge of becoming enthusiasts cars, I decided to buy and sell them and make this my profession. I love these cars for every day use and they are the right cars for anybody wanting a fairly large Wagon in Europe. However, my love for full size V8 US-Wagons of the 50´s, 60´s and 70´s has never died and I am now looking for a nice example again for my own use. So far I have not decided on year, brand or model yet, but I love a lot of options and electrical equipment and I like it big in respect of the size of the car and the size of the engine, so it´s more likely going to be 70´s, than 50´s.
We´ll see, I have enough time to find the right car.

How is that, for just wanting to say “HELLO!”

 

Welcome Koett! That's quite an intro, this is a great forum hope you have fun we have several other German members.

 

Welcome to the madness!

 

Welcome from Weeki Wachee, Florida....

David

 

to the wagon train, ko. Great intro! I hope you settle on a few choices and find the wagon you want. As Dewey mentioned, we have many European members and a lot of them from Germany. So, feel at home and, as you join in, make some wagon choices so we can help you find the "one".

 

Welcome, koett!
Great introduction; thanks for sharing!

 

Wow That is one great Introduction

 

Koettbullarkiller , next time you post don't be bashful. Write more information. Good luck finding a suitable wagon and having fun with it.

 

Welcome aboard K!

 

Welcome to the site. Good luck in your search for your wagon.

 

Welcome K, glad to have you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck, you have come to the right place.

 

to all things wagoon Koett

nice lil intro pal

 

Thank yall for the friendly welcome!

Are there any Aussie members around here, too? Regarding the other Germans, I would have been surprised, if I´d be the only one here. Wherever you are in the world, there is always someone else from good old Krautland .

Moin auch

 

Yup....lots of Aussie members, too, Ko!