Introduction to the Volvo Club of America

Looking for another way to interact with fellow Volvo enthusiasts? Want to get discounts on parts and accessories for your Cross Country? Want to keep up to date with concerns and information relevant to Volvo owners? If you answered yes to just one of the above questions, then you might want to try the Volvo Club of America on for size!

Founded in 1982 by a group of seven avid Volvo drivers, today the club has grown to over 3450 members throughout North America, making the VCOA the largest Volvo club in the world!

Plus, with yearly membership dues at just $30 (for US based members) it's probably the smartest $30 you'll ever spend on your car!

Now this isn't just a club for the classic Volvo collector. Member cars include everything from intricately restored vintage Volvos, to performance tuned racers, to trusty daily drivers. Hence, the club truly is open to Volvo cars of every shape and size! Though I wasn't able to find out how many Cross Country owners are members, I can say that there's at least two, Lydds and pico de luuks whom you'll likely know from our forums here at v70xc.com!

Lydds is an active member of the VCOA's Southern California Chapter, shown here with her Volvo P1800E coupe and trophy from the Westside Volvo Car Show which took place earlier this year (2002) on June 15 in Culver City, CA.

Irv Gordon is another name you'll probably recognize. He's the fellow who recently achieved two million miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800 and continues to rack them up! Yes, you read that correctly, TWO MILLION MILES! If I get to just 200,000 in my Cross Country I'll be a happy camper!

Irv's an enthusiastic member of the club, sometimes driving cross country to attend VCOA events. We're not making any promises, but keep an eye out for him at the next club show in your area!

If you'd like to meet up with Lydds, Irv and hundreds of other VCOA members, be sure to swing by Solvang California from September 6 through 8, 2002. This is when the VCOA will be holding their West Coast National Meet in conjunction with Volvo Sports America, another Volvo club but whose focus is on the P1800.

The Volvo clubs have seen a large increase in activity on the West Coast and they're expecting this meet to equal or exceed the huge meet held in Sacramento in 2000 in size and the number and quality of cars. Again, all Volvo enthusiasts are welcome so if you'll be in the neighborhood, be sure to stop in and check out the action!

Solvang California is a historic Danish settlement in Southern California. It's located within an hour's drive of beautiful Santa Barbara, around two hour's drive from Los Angeles, and about five hours south of San Francisco. This location makes it quite a reasonable weekend trip from a number of locations in California. For more information on the Solvang meet, check out this link on the VCOA.org website.

Though the club is not affiliated with Volvo Cars of North America, once in a while Volvo does get involved. On occasion, you may see one of Volvo's latest offerings, because what better way for Volvo to get better feedback than to show their latest to their most loyal customers?! For example, at the Monterey Historic Races last year in California, Volvo brought along a Cross Country decked out in Volvo Ocean Race colours and accessories. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be a precursor to the VOR Special Edition, but you can be sure there's always something interesting to see at a VCOA gathering!

Rolling Magazine
Another great benefit is your membership includes a subscription to Rolling Magazine, the official publication of the Volvo Club of America. Here you'll find valuable ownership and technical articles, updates on happenings around the clubs and the latest news from Volvo.

In researching for this article Gretchen Adams, one of the VCOA's board members, sent me a few back issues of their publication. Included was their May/June 2002 issue with an in-depth owner's review of their new Cross Country, and a tech article on how to change your side view mirrors to wide view format

As of press time (August 22, 2002), their latest issue takes a look at the ACC2, more information on the upcoming XC90 and a number of valuable technical topics likely pertinent to the Cross Country.

Club Discounts
Members also benefit from varying discounts (typically between 10-15% off retail prices for parts and accessories) at a number of Volvo dealers and aftermarket suppliers throughout the US, and even a few in Canada.

So, if you're eyeing that new Volvo roof box or a center console fridge, be sure to join prior to buying and your membership dues will likely be more than covered in the discount... How's that for a deal?! Just remember that not all dealers participate in the program so check with this page just to make sure.

The club also stocks a variety of Volvo specific publications available to its members at a substantial discount.

Thanks for reading and hopefully this article has given you a better idea of what the Volvo Club of America is all about!

For more information, click on over to their website at www.VCOA.org.

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Feedback on this article would be much appreciated, please email me at editor@volvoxc.com!