Fifty years ago today my Pagoda was delivered at the Sindelfingen plant. My bride of six months and I had arrived from Genova, Italy the evening before in my 1965, Volvo Amazon. After delivery of the new car, the Volvo was turned over to a shipping agent adjacent to the plant for return to the USA and after a bit of shopping we headed south in the new car. Before dark, in light snow, we drove the car onto a rail car at Göschenen, Switzerland, at the north end of the original St. Gotthard rail tunnel. A short time later we arrived in Airolo, in Ticino in light rain and drove on to Lugano were we spent the night. The next morning we had the car washed and drove to Arenzano, Italy where I was working at the time.
Over the next three months we enjoyed weekend driving trips in Northern Italy, Southern France and Switzerland. On transfer to London for work in June we drove across France via Paris and crossed to Dover on a car ferry. After a year in London my temporary import permit expired and the car was shipped to the States via the Port of New Orleans. Since import in 1970, the car has been at home in Alabama and Illinois depending on where I was working or where I departed from for other overseas work assignments.
To celebrate 50 years of ownership, my wife Flora and I drove the Pagoda to Pensacola, Florida last weekend to participate in the 14th annual Pensacola to Atmore Road Rally open to all Marks and sponsored by the Panhandle Cruisers Car Club and the Pensacola Austin-Healey Club. The 56 mile morning run meanders thru the scenic Florida/Alabama countryside crossing the state line three times and ending up with lunch at David’s Catfish House in Atmore, Alabama, an establishment well known locally for the delicacy.
With the run back to Birmingham after lunch we completed a delightful 550 mile drive over two days. The Pagoda odometer turned over 52,000 miles during the rally. As I typed above, 50 year and counting……
