Posts by Anna Kruchowski:
Cactus League in a convertible
There is nothing better than springtime. It’s the perfect time to drop the top and head to Arizona for some Cactus League baseball. Now, I’ll get right out in front with this and let you all know I’m an Angels fan. I love the Halos, despise the Orioles and the A’s, but get excited for the games when Boston and the Yankees are in our house in Anaheim.
With that out of the way, I managed to put together a weekend getaway that included some work and a whole lot of baseball. My media friends in Phoenix have been anxious to get into the 2011 C70 so I woke at the crack of dawn last Thursday and headed east. As the sun was coming up over Palm Springs I was sipping my Starbucks and thinking how great it is to take a road trip. I made a stop in Cabazon to shoot the C70 next to the famous dinosaur sculptures then put the pedal down until I reached Tempe.
The car was great on the open road. Quiet with the top up, breezy with it down, the 950-watt stereo system on level eleventy the entire time. I managed to catch a Giants/Mariners game Thursday afternoon. The Mariners walked away with it easily. By 6:30, I was at Olive & Ivy, a very cool restaurant in Scottsdale, shooting the breeze with some of the top journalists in the region. It was an early night, which was fine since I had to watch the Halos Friday afternoon. The White Sox knocked the Angels’ wings off, but it was still great; beautiful weather, very laid back, an awesome way to spend a Friday afternoon. Upon my return to the hotel, I spied the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. So cool!
Saturday, I watched the Padres get spanked by the A’s (booooo!), but it was still a great afternoon.
If you’ve never done spring training and you even remotely care about baseball, I highly recommend you find a convertible, drop the top and head to Phoenix. It’s a great way to welcome the coming summer.
James
Volvo’s safe driving policy
It’s no surprise that we’ve had safe driving policies for our employees in place for some time. In fact, about 20 years ago, about every six months, our head of Government Regulations and Compliance would stand out front and see who was wearing their seat belt. Those caught not using one were called into HR and [...]
Importance of wearing seat belts
This came over our news desk recently. Amazing that some people, even a Volvo driver, believe they will never get in an accident. A couple of years ago, while talking with the head of PR at State Farm, he said that a driver can expect an accident once every 12 years. Granted, probably not life [...]
New S60 Hub
Here, check this out. Aside from all the snow at our Swedish test track in Hällered, (it’s been a long, cold winter over there) there’s some nice driving. Torque Vectoring is what we had in S60 R and V70 R a few years ago. Awesome technology for us lead foots. Good subject to explore more [...]
Hot from Geneva, Switzerland International Motor Show – S60 Debut
This just in from James: March 2: It was standing room only in the Volvo stand at the Geneva Motor Show this morning. It was so packed, you almost couldn’t move. Like almost all the other brands, Volvo’s press conference, while filled with flashy images and big music, was subdued and to the point. Stephen [...]
Our future is about Prevention
Some cool news about XC60 via the below press release. dan — Volvo Cars’ active safety system German ADAC test winner The largest automotive organization in the world, German ADAC, has carried out an extensive comparison test of different automatic speed and distance control systems. Volvo XC60 clearly won the test in which six different [...]
Is this your mother’s Volvo? Part 1
We just released a couple of very good videos on our new S60. We are doing our global debut in a few weeks over in Geneva, Switzerland. What a cold place this time of year. Down by the lake is a public beach with hot food stands. Good local food and you’ll sit amongst all [...]
Volvo Electric C30 Battery Production
A few weeks ago in Indianapolis, Ind., we helped EnerDel put on a press event for its new factory. Attending were about 20 automotive media and 30 financial analysts. The first half of the day was about battery chemistry and structure, while our afternoon covered cell pack assembly. Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels, was on hand [...]
Electric C30
We just got back from Detroit, our first auto show of 2010. Boy was it cold, wet, damp and gray. Last year, manufactures were talking about new products and bright futures. Seems the tone is down a bit this year. Chrysler and GM were there, but the grandness of their displays was not typical for [...]
Told You We Build Tough Wagons
In Sweden, handgun ownership is much different than here. Very strict rules. Oh, I’m certain the police have handguns, but heck, why bother trying to hit some rubber tires. I doubt any police officer in a Dodge Charger would try this method of, ‘if you don’t stop, I’ll turn you into scrap metal.’ Here is [...]
