The first Volvo compliment today was a restful night followed by a sumptuous breakfast buffet.
We were ready at 8:00 a.m. for our drive to the Volvo Corporate Campus. We were entering the world of Volvo, and a mighty impressive world it is!
Our destination was the Volvo Factory Delivery Center, where we were warmly greeted by all, and treated like real VIPs!
Our personal representative took us through a little bit of paperwork, and then rolled back the doors to reveal to us our sparkling new white Volvo XC90. Wow! Excitement!!
The moment had arrived! The ceremonial handing over of the keys!
Ever smelled the inside of a brand-new Volvo? It smelled good! While we were still in the showroom we learned about all the wonderful features (he called them "gadgets") of the XC90.
Then we took it out for a spin on their quarter mile test track, with only 6.2 miles on the odometer!
We were next treated to Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingon berries in the dining room, where we mingled with other Factory Delivery customers from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and California. Some were old hands, having purchased one or more other Volvos prior to this one.
The much-anticipated plant tour came next, with the "Blue Train" loaded with folks who, like ourselves, were about to get their first look at the inside of a computer-driven automobile manufacturing operation. The main building is over a mile long, and employs 3,300 workers (23% of them women), and around 300 robots (probably all of them women). Photography inside the plant was prohibited - you'll have to use your imagination.
Of all the stats we heard - and we heard a lot - the most impressive one was the statement that Volvos are currently produced by the plant at the rate of 55 completed cars per hour, or almost one every minute! And this is done with almost unimaginable flexibility. Each car coming down the line is built to custom specifications, so no two consecutive cars are identical. And this level of flexible production is accomplished while maintaining Volvo standards of product quality. The plant tour was, in two words, mind-blowing!
Here's a bit of Volvo trivia we learned. Want to know what Volvo means in Latin? It means "I roll".
So now you know.
We were encouraged not to miss the Volvo Museum, some ten minutes away from the plant. We said goodbye to our hosts and made the short drive to the Museum, where photography is not prohibited. These are some of Betty's pictures.
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| c. 1927 |
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| 1947 model year, same as Betty |
Car seat safety has come a long way!
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| 1964 |
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| 2012 |
We're posting tonight from the 8th floor of a tall hotel in Oslo, Norway. Goodnight, all.
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