Posts by danjohnston:
What is Ratten?
We have achieved many unique firsts (guess that’s redundant). Whether they were in safety, like the first side impact air bag and three-point seat belts, or environmental systems, like Lambda Sond sensor/3-way cat converter and the Premier radiator coating for cleaning ozone. In 1930, we were the first to send a corporate magazine to customers and offer it for sale – Swedes like to sell things. 
In that year Ratten was born. Today it lives on as Volvo Life. Here is a short history of Ratten.
dan
Wonder if Buzz wants one in “Moon Dust” color?
I once owned a Sony 4-track reel-to-reel tape deck. I picked it up in Japan during one of my tours of SE Asia. When I returned home, I wired it up to our TV and taped the whole lunar landing event. Because it was a 4-track deck, I could only record onetrack at at time on [...]
Where is the assembly line?
In 1974, that question was often asked by visitors to our assembly plant in Kalmar, Sweden. The short answer was there was no assembly line….as such. An interesting point about the Swedes is their adoption of technology. No, not the way most of us adopt something, because it’s new/cool/fun to own but because their idea [...]
Detroit Auto Show 2012
This year at the Detroit Auto Show, we showed our XC60 Plug-In Hybrid to North American Journalists, then took it to Washington, D.C. mainly for governmental people and to show during the public days. I think what was most impressive was how this technology is like a movable feast. Since 1992 with introduction of 850, [...]
Good Interview with Our New CEO
Over the years, SwedeSpeed has been a very good forum for Volvo owners to discuss Volvo, old and new. In fact, I needed to replace an air pump on my old ’98 XC70 and found some good tips. Just recently they interviewed John Maloney, President and CEO, Volvo Cars of North America. I found this [...]
The 700 Series was our last Box Car
When our 760 first came out, the transition from box 240 to box 760 really wasn’t a surprise. What did surprise many was how well it’s interior looked and how well it drove. I think the car was more like 60/40 weight distribution which was [...]
Washington, D.C. Auto Show
Our XC60 Plug-In Hybrid in ‘Snow White’ really shines at the D.C. show. We’re downstairs with no windows, and it’s rather dark. So our Beauty almost has a halo glow to her. If you’re coming to the D.C. Auto Show, go over and say hello to my old friend Tom Leaman. Tom is our man in [...]
An interview with Hans Nilsson – 60 Series Project Manager
Hans – aka Hasse – and I worked together in our Parts group, around 1982. I forgot what he did, heck, I hardly remember what I did, but his young family was here for six months and lived close to us in NJ. Amazing how quickly time passes, he’s now a grandfather and gone from [...]
What’s it take to get 1, 2 or even 3 million miles on your car?
I’ve seen lots of pieces written about our Irv Gordon and his almost 3 million mile Volvo but this one has some really good tips about how to get to 3 million. As a side note about how not to get there, a good friend’s father died this summer. Tom took his dad’s Jeep wagon and [...]
Live from Detroit International Auto Show
This afternoon at 4:20 p.m. EST, Volvo’s press conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is scheduled to be broadcast live on the Web. This is a last-minute development, so if you’d like to watch what’s said about the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept, click on this link: tthttp://www.volvocars.com/intl/top/community/events/pages/default.aspx dan
