About Volvo

Glady Reign asked:


Volvo Cars has turned 80 on April 14. In connection to this remarkable milestone, the Swedish automaker rolled off a production consists of antique and modern product lines. As part of its 80th anniversary, Volvo showcased a parade of cars through the Gothenburg city which is its very own hometown.

The parade of cars includes the Volvo OV4 - the automaker’s very first car. The parade flaunted eighty years of history which has rolled from the Volvo museum in the outskirts of the city to downtown Gothenburg where the public was invited to gaze at Volvo’s engineering and vehicle know-how.

To highlight the event, Carl-Magnus Skogh, 82, a veteran Swedish rally legend, drove a 1927 convertible, the first car that Volvo mass-produced. Skogh was one of the renowned names who have helped the company to become popular on the world map. In the 1960s, along with racing legends like Joginder “Flying Sikh” Singh and Tom Trana, Skogh earned Volvo headlines worldwide with his achievements on the international rally circuit from the Saharan Africa to Greek Acropolis.

Skogh joined Volvo in 1963 after a successful stint as a rally driver for Swedish competitor Saab. He won the Swedish championship in 1960 and 1961, driving a SAAB 96. In 1965, he won the Acropolis Rally in a Volvo Amazon. Skogh’s automotive expertise was essential to the automaker not only on race courses around the world, but also in product research and development. In 1978, Skogh set the world speed record for diesel cars with 209 kph in a Volvo 340 that he had modified. The rally legend has also contributed to improving driveability and stability features of the cars.

“I designed the chassis features of the 850,” stressed Skogh. The rally legend intimated that he was happy about driving the most important car in the parade. The CEO of Volvo Trucks, Leif Johansson and the CEO of Volvo Cars, Fredrik Arp, were his passengers. “I feel good today. It’s an experience to have Leif Johansson and Fredrik Arp in the backseat,” said Skogh.

It can be recalled that in 1999, the Swedish premium cars and trucks manufacturer was split into two companies, the Ford Motor Company bought the automobile division. Through the years, Volvo has established a good standing when it comes to both durability and safety. At present, the company is striving to wipe away the boxy image to complete an excellent package.

The Swedish automaker founded in 1997 has eventually become a leading global manufacturer of commercial vehicles. To grab a bigger slice of the automotive market, the founders entertained several upgrades and modifications. The ordinary Volvo brake dust shields and other auto parts and equipment from the automaker were enhanced to offer superb efficiency, ergonomics and safety.



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Glady Reign asked:


Volvo Car Corporation calls all pirates, scallywags and treasure fanatics to join The Hunt!, a competition is in connection with the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which opens in theatres on May 25. The company earlier announced the online search for a sunken treasure chest containing $50,000 in gold pieces and the keys to a new Volvo XC90 luxury SUV will begin May 4 and the company is challenging Canadians and registrants from 21 other countries to find it.

The online hunt is the second in Volvo’s partnership with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise and it’s the first time the competition has been open to Canadians. Last year’s program was limited to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Spain and Austria. In addition to the US, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom are participating in The Hunt.

To join Volvo’s The Hunt, participants 18 years of age and older must visit a Volvo retailer to pick up a special pirate chart and register at www.volvocanada.com/thehunt any time between May 4 and May 29. Once registered, participants set sail on a virtual high seas adventure and receive clues as they solve a series of challenging and fun online puzzles. People can join The Hunt at any time through May 29, and can catch up with other participants if they correctly answer the puzzles posted online. As the contest progresses, the puzzles will become increasingly harder to solve.

On June 2, the first person from each of the 22 participating countries to finish the online hunt will compete against one another in one final online challenge. To participate in the global head to head, players will be required to present an original pirate chart upon conclusion of The Hunt. Winners will only be eligible if they can produce the pirate chart.

The first of those 22 individuals to solve the final puzzle will be named the winner and will receive a trip to the burial location to retrieve the chest filled with $50,000 in pirate gold and a key to a brand new Volvo XC90.

“Last summer, we held a treasure hunt to find a buried Volvo XC90 V8 to tie in with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and were blown away by the success - more than 100,000 participants from around the world joined in,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “This year, with more countries, more booty and all the early interest, we’re really excited to set sail.’ So, come join The Hunt!”

The Volvo brand has already established a reputation for comfort, safety and longevity. And such qualities are imbibed in the XC90, a mid-size luxury crossover SUV. It is based on the Volvo P2 platform, shared with the S80 and other larger Volvos. For this model year, the XC90 was updated to cover refined parts accessories like the Volvo fog light, subtly-restyled front and rear, and a more comfy interior.

According to Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, US study showed that Volvo’s safety has been slipping. Additionally, Finland’s Safety Technology Authority (TUKES) stressed that of Volvo 440 and 460’s structure manufactured between 1993 and 1995 had caused several cases of flare-ups during refueling. Dan Johnston, Volvo’s spokesman, denied that the company’s vehicles are any less safe than the Institute’s top-rated vehicles. He said, “It’s just a philosophy on safety that is different from building cars to pass these kinds of tests.”

In a review, Edmunds.com stated, “The XC90 is well-stocked with standard features. Among them are dual-zone climate control, a power driver seat, steering wheel-mounted stereo controls, one-touch up and down front windows and a roof rack (cross bars are optional).” However, it added, “While around-town driving poses few problems, we found the engine tended to get out of breath while climbing grades, even though altitude doesn’t affect for turbocharged motors nearly as much as naturally-aspirated ones.”

What reviewers liked most about the vehicle is the fact that “ride motions are tidily controlled, the ZF rack-and-pinion steering reacts and reads back faithfully, and the chassis feels stable and predictable.”

But the best one liner about the XC90 was uttered by the Car and Driver. It said, “When a car company whose name means ‘I roll’ in Latin plans a foray into the world of sport-utility vehicles, you can bet there’s some serious review of the issues.” AutoWeek further noted, “Like gazillions of soccer moms nationwide, we’ve succumbed to crossoveritis. So much so we’ve added Volvo’s new upmarket SUV, the XC90, to the AutoWeek long-term fleet”



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