![Pilt](http://cll.hemmings.com/story_image/43430-500-0.jpg)
Owner's View
Lincoln Morehead
"I was looking to pick up an import line, and met with the man who held the Volvo franchises in November 1957. He came up to see my dealership, and the very next day I had a load of cars! For $794, I got Volvo's special tools, spare parts and a dealer sign," recalls Lincoln Morehead, owner of our feature car and founder of Morehead Auto Sales in Newburgh, New York, one of the first family-owned Volvo dealerships in America. "The first cars I received were PV444 Deluxe models, which cost $2,140 without a radio. At that time, this cost more than a Chevrolet Super Deluxe with all kinds of trim. I had to do a lot of demonstrating before I sold my first one. I remember a customer telling me about going to his bank for a loan on a new Volvo; he said that the bank officer asked him why he'd buy a Swedish car. They may ship a few over here and then stop, or parts may be hard to find. The banker told him that if he were looking for a small car, he should buy a Rambler!
"We took on the Honda franchise in 1974 because we were looking for a less-expensive car-at the time, Volvo was raising their prices. They said they would import the DAF from Holland after they bought that company, but it never happened," he says. Morehead Auto Sales began selling Hondas exclusively in the late 1990s, but Lincoln's automobile collection includes three showroom-new Volvos, including this 36-mile original 1981 Bertone Coupé.
"This car was something different when it was new, pretty hot at the time. I thought the design was really nice, and it was still ruggedly built, solid and safe. We sold all the Bertones we could get," he says. "It was right in there with real luxury cars, one of the most expensive cars Volvo made. We learned that Volvo was stopping production on the car, and that was how I came to keep it-this was the last one we got in. I could have sold it a number of times, but I guess I've kept it too long," he laughs.