Made To Drive | S05 E12

This Volvo P1800 Is A Watchmaker’s Design Cue

John Patterson doesn't live in a typical city, in a typical state…and he certainly doesn't drive the typical car. On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, 105 miles northwest of O'ahu, Patterson designs and builds watches. He also owns a Volvo P1800.

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Damien Bonnet

3 years ago

C.cg2ez c f

Mark

6 years ago

Thanx for your story about this wonderful machine. I was fortunate to have one for 6yrs when I was 16-22yrs old. Now 68 it would be nice relive some of the great rides I took. I never wanted to get out of it. Is that a ’64? Beautiful, mine was a ’63. I was impressed with your passion for the time when people put themselves into things that they had a hand in producing as you expressed in describing your watchmaking. I am fascinated with all things mechanical. Engines, wheels, wings including sails. I had also been involved with collecting, lite repairs, and selling vintage watches. Good thoughts and smiles

CANYON

bet you many viewer’s went from this story right to Bring A Trailer looking for a P series they could afford . I recall back to the early days of Laguna Seca , watching a white P series clobber Morgans, Lotus,Porsche,MGB,Healy’s etc. driven gallantly by Volvo salesman Ole Anderson> Ole are you still with us ?

8 years ago

Very attractive car. What year are we looking at here? Not mentioned in the article.

Thank you for Spotlighting this one. New appreciation for vintage Volvo.

Mirko Cocco

9 years ago

very nice! Another nice story about the P1800 but in Northern Europe here! http://www.cinecars.nl/elegantie-uit-zweden-2/

Vincent P

Thanks for getting my back, Ian.

Nick

Good on you John, I couldn’t agree with you more. I hate to imagine what kind of a non-artisan life we will be living 20 years from now. I like your comment on the iphone…..and What a beautiful car. One of my old favourites. The Saint’s Volvo.

Emanuel Costa

I was talking about the comment, not the watchmaking segment of the video. I googled the watches after the video, didn’t need a link in the comment section to ‘check it out’. But that’s going to happen more times, unfortunately… We see a video or article about some car and then somebody will ask us to ‘check out’ something else.

I agree and its why my comment was relevant. It isn’t like the guys last name is Casio. The passion to which he puts into making his watches is just as much, if not more so, a part of this story.

Love the story and even more so the watches. Check it out. These are great looking timepieces at very reasonable prices.
http://www.bathyswatch.com/main.php

Reply to Vincent P

Free advertising? I like the watches, but we are here to see the stories of cars and drivers, the rest is more like a ‘bonus’, not the main issue…

Frank Anigbo

One of the most beautiful cars to my eyes. I’ve owned two, the second one for barely two months as I had to get rid of it to make room for something I wanted more. Now I want another one. I wonder if I can fit an Alfa 1750 engine in it.

Sean Whelan

Another great car and a great story. I friend of mine was just talking about retiring to Hawaii and my gut reaction was to feel sorry for him. This is how car afflicted I am, I think of Hawaii as the world’s most beautiful prison. There are just not enough roads and therefore the thought of living there seemed terrible to me, the epitome of nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there; I think I need help.

JB21

That’s good, I like what he said about the “hands-on” stuff, I teach metalsmithing, and yes, it’s a slowly but surely dying trade, though I believe it will never completely disappear. The car, by the way, I have one weird memory of P1800, and it’s not a good one. I was driving on I-195, and saw a green P1800 Coupe merged in from the on-ramp. Because I love those cars so much, I slowed down, went side by side, and gave the driver the thumb up. He grinned, and put the pedal to the metal, and that’s when his front left wheel came flying off the car…

Christopher Gay

Reply to JB21

I teach, as well. People like to argue with me about it, but I do agree that these trades are dying off. I think that what most do not understand, is that the knowledge and skills are cumulative and are cultivated through dedication, time, and hard work. While the technologies might not be “rocket science”, a YouTube video ain’t gonna get you there, and the old-timers are sadly going away before our eyes.

Thanks for sharing.

Thumbs up for John! Great island, great life (I think) and great car to cruise around. Reminds me of a TV report I saw once about a small island in the Azores archipelago. A guy loved motorbikes and speed, and had a powerful Suzuki even though he would be risking is life by going as much as 60mph. Not quite the same story, but it takes courage, skills and an easygoing spirit to ignore the fact that one lives in a very a small and limited island.

Dennis White

God, do I hate these guys who can work on their cars, manufacture intricate timepieces, and what, build a rocket ship to the moon?! Insult to injury, he lives on the most beautiful island in the world. Missed my chance in ’72 to buy a great looking 1800 and always regretted it. Something about that styling that makes it look like it’s swooping ahead even while standing.

This Volvo P1800 Is A Watchmaker’s Design Cue

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