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January TRAVEL<br />
VOLVO MUSEUM.<br />
A JOURNEY THROUGH<br />
VOLVO’S HISTORY<br />
Fly to<br />
Gothenburg<br />
with airBaltic<br />
from<br />
€49<br />
one way<br />
Every car brand has its own distinguishing features,<br />
and Volvo is no exception. Aside from technological<br />
advancements and design innovations, the Swedish<br />
company also propounds such values as passenger safety<br />
and concern for the environment.<br />
In 1959, Volvo company engineer Nils Bohlin<br />
(1920-2002) invented the three-point safety belt,<br />
which is now a standard feature of practically all motor<br />
vehicles. Since then, the enterprise has devoted a great<br />
deal of resources to create the safest cars in the world.<br />
Volvo has a team that analyses traffic accidents, a crash<br />
test centre, and various groups of specialists involved in<br />
the introduction of increasingly modern safety features.<br />
The car manufacturer hopes that under its Vision 2020<br />
programme, no one will be killed or seriously injured in a<br />
new Volvo car by 2020.<br />
Volvo cars have a peculiar Scandinavian feel to them,<br />
incorporating a reserved sense of aesthetics with evernew<br />
practical devices to make driving a more pleasant<br />
and safer experience. The history of the company’s<br />
innovations is colourfully illustrated at the Volvo<br />
Museum in Gothenburg with products from the whole<br />
Volvo range, including cars, trucks, buses, construction<br />
equipment and marine engines.<br />
Opened in 1995, the vast museum houses 8,000 m 2 of<br />
exhibition space and is open every day from 10 AM to<br />
5 PM. Special features include a desk shared by the<br />
founding partners, a children’s play car, and a full-sized<br />
version of a Volvo XC90 car constructed in Lego blocks.<br />
The cars made by Volvo are displayed in chronologically<br />
themed galleries, while the museum shop specialises<br />
in models of Volvo vehicles. The museum can be visited<br />
during three-hour boat trips around the harbour. The<br />
tour boats also make a call at the Maritiman, a museum<br />
that showcases a large collection of historical ships.<br />
Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927 by Assar<br />
Gabrielsson (1891-1962) and Gustaf Larson (1887-1968).<br />
The company produced its first car, the OV4, at its first<br />
factory in the Hisingen area of the city. The Volvo Car<br />
Corporation is now Chinese-owned and has been run<br />
separately from the Volvo Group since 1999.<br />
volvomuseum.com<br />
66 | AIRBALTIC.COM
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