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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
In addition to filling RideLust’s daily “cool stuff” requirement, the pair of 2004 Volvo XC90’s built by LEGOLAND® California also take care of our obligatory Volvo-love too.
Full gallery after the jump
Press Release [via SeriousWheels.com]: Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA) and LEGOLAND® California are joining forces to promote driving safety and family values. As part of the recently announced partnership agreement between the subsidiaries of the two Scandinavian icons, a replica of Volvo’s award-winning SUV, the Volvo XC90, was constructed of LEGO’s famous modeling bricks.
The Volvo XC90 made of LEGO bricks was built by LEGO Master Model Builders, members of an elite team of talented artists who design, create and maintain the thousands of LEGO brick models at LEGOLAND® California. Constructed at the U.S. headquarters for LEGO Systems, Inc. in Enfield, Conn., the Master Builders began production of the Volvo XC90 in January 2004. Noted as one of the top-three most gratifying projects of its kind for the Master Builders, the intricate stages of assembly were captured with time-lapse photography.
As the recognized leader of safety in the automotive industry, Volvo is the “Official Car” of LEGOLAND® California and will work with the theme park to bring messages of driving safety to the park’s 1.3 million annual visitors. The Volvo XC90 made of LEGO bricks, although not drivable, will stand at the park entrance as a symbol of the two companies’ commitment to safety and family.
“The partnership is a perfect fit with our ‘Drive - for Life’ initiative that focuses on affecting driver behavior and safety,” said Vic Doolan, president and CEO of VCNA. “We will be working with LEGOLAND to develop innovative safety awareness activities.”
Recently, LEGOLAND®’s popular Driving School (ages 6 to 13) and its Jr. Driving School (ages 3 to 5) were reintroduced to carry Volvo’s name and reputation for safety. These popular park attractions offer children the opportunity to drive electric-powered vehicles made to look like LEGO bricks within the controlled environment of the drive course. The rules of the road are emphasized, as well as good safety habits such as buckling up seatbelts.
“By encouraging safety as a learned behavior at an early age, we all benefit - it’s never too early to learn about the rules of the road,” said Doolan.
“We specialize in family education and entertainment,” said John Jakobsen, president and GM of LEGOLAND® California. “Our partnership with Volvo brings the type of quality and reputation that our visitors expect from their experience in the park. We could almost consider our driving programs a public service, in addition to fun and adventure,” he said.
VCNA, part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
In addition to the award-winning XC90, the Volvo automobile line is comprised of: the 2004.5 all-new S40 sedan; the sporty S60 sedan – including the award-winning performance sedan – S60 R, and its performance wagon counterpart – the V70 R; the flagship S80 luxury sedan; versatile V70 wagon and rugged XC70 (Cross Country); the C70 convertible; and, the compact S40 and V40 models.
LEGOLAND California is a 128-acre theme park geared specifically towards youngsters ages two through 12. With more than 50 family rides, “hands-on” attractions and shows, LEGOLAND California provides education, adventure and fun in this first park of its kind in the United States.
In addition to LEGOLAND California, there are three other LEGOLAND parks in the world - LEGOLAND Billund in Denmark; LEGOLAND Windsor, outside of London; and LEGOLAND Deutschland in Germany.
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In Dallas, Texas, Bea Arthur [sorry, The Golden Girls was on TV at my gym this morning] has been recorded on video tape wreaking tree-hugging havoc on a burgundy HUMMER. According to the Dallas Morning News, surveillance footage captured by HUMMER’s security system recorded an unidentified man keying a large “X” into the side of a HUMMER left in the Carroll Senior High School parking lot. Detective Keith Fulgium, who is investigating the case, said that vandalism is not an isolated incident by any means. As a matter of fact, Fulgium’s department has been flooded with reports from HUMMER owners complaining of similar X’s keyed into their cars.
Thanks to the footage captured by the HUMMER, police now have a better working identity with which to actively pursue the man, and a BOLO [Be On The Lookout, come on, stay current on your COPS episodes people] has been issued for a white male in his 50 to 60’s driving a gold Honda or BMW. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of the suspect, they are urged to file the serial number off the firearm and assemble a convincing alibi before phoning the department tip line to direct them where to find the body. I mean this is Texas, there are rules…
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Earlier this month, mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which collectively own or guarantee roughly $5 trillion in mortgages, were seized by the U.S. government to prevent an even more catastrophic housing industry collapse. Last week, when global investment firm Lehman Brothers began to go belly up, the federal government wasn’t nearly as charitable and on Monday, Lehman Brothers headed into bankruptcy. Watching the events unfold from Detroit, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have begun to get nervous.
With the failure of Lehman Brothers, some auto industry analysts fear the government has drawn a line on federal intervention, just when the Detroit 3 need it most. Getting proactive, teams of lobbyists and executives representing the biggest auto manufacturers have begun to flood Washington, hoping to remind them that Detroit is not Wall Street. “[It's] a very separable issue,” said Ford. Still, lawmakers are approaching the loan requests with caution, and the foot dragging is yielding to frustration. According to Auto News, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was quoted explaining to the press, “The financial markets have worsened so much since the energy security act was passed last year, that providing the loans would seem to be the appropriate and fair thing to do right now.”
Other accounts report that auto makers are cautiously optimistic that they’ll receive the bailouts they need, and as of right now, no one is planning on shutting their doors. Said Wagoner, “I can’t really say at this point that I’ve seen specific ramifications from yesterday’s actions [referring to the Lehman Brothers failure], but we have to watch that closely.”
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