Volvo, the Koopman family and my latest addition

The Fasten your Seatbelt light flashed and clicked in the Volvo 244. Just before this, I closed a heavy door. It was comfortable on board. Neighbor Koopman picked me up. She and her husband ran a farm on a country road near Ens. And that's the road where I was born. She and one of my childhood friends took me to school, two kilometers away. Like my mother, she did that more often when the weather gods had bad intentions on us. Yes, we often cycled. But when we were really bad, we were granted some comfort. And I certainly found that in the Volvo's of the Koopman family.

It was all a bit bigger than what we drove at home, a Volvo was in its own, higher class. The Koopman family introduced me to the phenomenon from Sweden via a 142, a 242 DL and a 244 GL. For years it has been able to steer its own Scandinavian course. Safety and modest luxury have always given the Volvos their own and somewhat higher position in the car world. Such a car was a conscious choice, which by the way was not for everyone, but which you could use for decades. And it offered starting points with which Gothenburg could move forward for years to come.

The Volvo copies of the Koopman family were proof of this. Without any kind of fancy, these cars unfolded their unusual secrets. Tough, heavy, massive, safe and sober they made an impression. In the run-up to the mid-XNUMXs, the perspective changed. Farmers were having a harder time, regulations forced many farmers to invest and, moreover, there was an unprecedented economic crisis, certainly during the early XNUMXs.

Many people lived in our vicinity with an agricultural enterprise. Beautiful people, hard workers too, some of whom certainly rewarded themselves with bigger cars during the sixties and seventies. The Sturm family drove Mercedes-Benz, the Schra family had an Opel Rekord D, the Arendse family drove around the polder world with a Toyota Crown. And the Koopman family was Volvo-minded. But during the first half, the agricultural establishment around us started to shrink. Also at the Koopman family, the robust history of 140 and 240 models was finally concluded. Yes, they remained Volvo drivers, but a luxury 360 Sedan replaced the Swedish Volvos.

The Volvos all impressed me, as I already said. And because the noble Koopman family drove them, I always looked a bit against it. My parents were certainly not without means, but many investments in my first parental home (a working-class house, which became a beautiful place thanks to my father) and absurd rises in interest rates (started during the second half of the seventies) required some caution. Although: precisely the purchase of the technically sensitive Citroën In that case GSX was somewhat difficult to explain, but that also said a lot about my father. His own niceness (as he always says) would have fit well with a Volvo (or a SAAB). It never happened.

After our winter sports in March, I quietly went looking for a replacement for the old faithful and sometimes technically complicated Astra H Station. Many candidates passed by. And I also regularly visited the Gerard Kramer Classics website. That was not for nothing. I've known the Kramer family for quite some time, and they also have a Volvo heart. And Gerard and Anne had already helped me off the Lancia in a nice way, I don't forget such things. And Anne had already told me that 'a nice V50 2.0 from Switzerland would come in'.

“Have another look at Gerard's site”, I thought on a Saturday morning and damn: suddenly my next car drove straight into the living room. This was the car Anne had already told me about. You understand: I was in Wolvega in no time. Heidi, our youngest daughter and fond of beautiful things, went with me. A cup of coffee, catch up, test drive. I knew within 10 seconds. This Volvo V50 2.0 Kinetic, equipped with a number of Edition II options, will be mine. Moreover, I liked his Swiss history more than you know. Spitz Wartung insured. The deal was quickly closed, Gerard and I quickly agreed.

I've had the Volvo for a few weeks now. I almost feel privileged in humility. And that has everything to do with the old days, when I was sometimes picked up with a Volvo as a kid. That was special, I always looked up to the brand a bit. Of course the Volvo of then was slightly different from the Volvo of today. But the memories of the cars of the Koopman family also ensure that I have been a proud Volvo driver for the past two weeks. My God, how does this V50 fit me like a jacket. And yes, more than I could have ever imagined. And that's a thought that I can get used to very well.