Carl Drennen of Ravenna, Ohio is known far and wide for his love of Volvos. Drennen’s history with Volvos goes back to the 70s. One day in 1972, while reading a road and track magazine, he came to be interested in Volvos due to their great reviews. He had read only good things, which had lead to him eventually wanting to purchase one. He bought his first volvo in 1973. They still hold the original title.

When Carl bought the car, it was not in working condition, and required some parts. He decided to buy a second car for parts, and do the repairs himself. He eventually got it running, and drove it back and forth from Ravenna to Cleveland for work. The work on this car didn’t stop there however, as he had eventually ended up buying a third car for more parts just to keep the first car going. Carl enjoyed working on the cars so much, that he continued to buy Volvos to fix up and sell, or simply use as parts cars.

Over time, people got to know Carl for owning and working on so many Volvos, and word spread quickly. He gained a reputation as the guy who knew and loved working on Volvos. As talk got around more and more, people began coming from all over to Carl for their Volvo repair needs, or even to buy parts from him.

The lot had formerly held many Volvos (among other various makes and models of cars, but mostly Volvos) spanning many years from the 50s to 2008 and even more current, with the oldest being a 1950 P210. Unfortunately, his collection would not last like this forever, as they would eventually have to clean up the lot.

Drennen Service has now been in business for over 40 years, and for 15 of those years, Carl fought zoning because they did not want him to have a business in this location with so many cars, but since his father and grand father both owned and operated a business on the property before zoning had started, he was allowed to continue with his. However, the disagreement about how many cars he was allowed to have continued for years. They eventually half-heartedly agreed to him having as many cars as he wanted as long as they were within a confined area. For those 15 years, they had left them alone until 2014 after the passing of Carl’s wife. As they tried to do new things with the business, zoning once again stepped in and said that the cars must be moved. From 2014 to now (2019) there has been much work carried out to clear cars from the lot. By July of 2018, most of what was there when I first visited in 2014 had been removed. Carl’s two sons have since taken over the business, mostly sticking to working with Volvos since that was their father’s passion, and their customer base of course consists of mainly Volvo owners.

Years back, Carl had sold his first Volvo, but soon after had regretted his decision. He decided to try and keep track of it as closely as he could from owner to owner. Eventually he had lost track of where it was. One day some years later, someone called about a Volvo in their backyard asking if he was interested in looking at it. He agreed, and upon arrival was greeted by a broken down, rusted out Volvo. There was something very familiar about this car, and he knew almost right away; this very Volvo was his own from years ago. The car actually turned out to be Carl’s very first Volvo. He could tell by certain markings, and eventually matched the VIN to be 100% sure. Many years after losing track of it, Carl had been reunited with his first Volvo. The side of the car remains at the shop. They still have the fender, door and front fender. They hope to eventually turn these pieces into a sign, hang it on the wall and display it as the car that started it all.

OHIO’S FORGOTTEN HISTORY PART 1:

My 6th book, and first in a series of abandoned Ohio was released this year. This first book will be the start to a 3-part series of books showcasing Ohio’s abandoned and forgotten history. Orders are currently open, and you can find more info about the book HERE.