| It's been SEVERAL YEARS NOW and Volvo leadership still refuses to just have a discussion. |
I continue to emails from Volvo enthusiasts and Volvo dealers all
over the world asking why I can no longer
offer obsolete labels with a Volvo
logo. THIS this will answer
your questions.
In April 2018
Volvo Trademark Holdings hired an attorney in the U.S. to send me a desist notice. This notice demanded that I no longer offer PRODUCTS with a Volvo logo. |
I have been a Volvo enthusiast and supporter of Volvo Cars for over 40 years. I served as the
president of the Southern California chapter
of Volvo
Club of America (VCOA) for over 12 years. I organized a very large number of
Volvo-related meets, events and car shows during this time. Many
of those events were coordinated with Volvo Corporate Public
Relations from Volvo's
offices in Southern California, along with a
number of events at Volvo car dealerships at their requests.
In my
opinion Volvo Cars has received a great
benefit for many years by having an
enthusiastic community of passionate Volvo
owners. Such a fan base provides for a lot of inexpensive advertising and it keeps a new car
maker relevant to older car owners.
Without such a fan base, a car company can only
survive by finding new customers who have
never considered a Volvo before. It is my
sincere belief that Volvo will suffer by alienating this loyal fan base.
Our VCOA chapter had an exceptional relationship with Volvo Execs in Southern California. There were a
number of times we provided beautiful vintage Volvos for display at
their headquarters or other places for special events. They always
offered to pay "rent" for the use of classic Volvos, but we always provided cars free of
charge, because we loved the brand and we were happy to show our
support and appreciation. They even borrowed my 245 Turbo and
trucked it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a display at the S60R and V70R
press debut in 2003. They offered money, but I declined to take anything for that too.
For 13 YEARS (until 2018), the Volvo
Prancing Moose (using "VOLVO" text
on it) had been a very public thing at many events. Volvo Cars USA was
aware of it's scope and
popularity among many Volvo
enthusiasts and they understood the humor aspect of it. Volvo Cars
Public Relations execs and staff were even supportive of it, although
not in any
"official" way.
Since stickers like this helped to foster positive
relations between Volvo, Volvo retail dealers and Volvo car
owners, there was never a hint of an
objection from anyone at Volvo, until NOW. What changed?
Is VOLVO Leadership causing the VOLVO brand to Lose it's Soul?
Is it ONLY about selling CARS NOW?
A
number of VOLVO dealers have revealed to me over the years that VOLVO Corporate
representatives often (unofficially) refer them and other callers to MY VOLVO PAGES if they were calling
about some of the many old body labels that Volvo had stopped supplying.
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I'm certainly not getting rich making a few enthusiast labels for old Volvos, but it has been
something I've become very good at and I have enjoyed
being able to help support old Volvo owners
and
enthusiasts all over the world.
So, after
more than 13 YEARS of Volvo USA offering
silent support,
Volvo Trademark Holdings in Sweden hired trademark attorneys in the USA to ORDER ME TO STOP!
Volvo DECLARED that my use of their trademark on a
label is a
"THREAT" to their BRAND. Seriously?
| I have made MANY, MANY
attempts to
contact ANYONE at Volvo
Trademark Holdings AND at Volvo Cars Corporate in the USA and in Sweden for a
discussion about this, but
Volvo made it known through their attorney they REFUSE
to discuss this. |
I agree that Volvo may protect and
prohibit the use of their trademark on any
unauthorized product. It's their brand and
they can do anything they want with it, including RUNNING it into the GROUND and rejecting Volvo enthusiasts. As a result, all such products are no longer
available from my web pages. I
know this ban will bring frustration to many Volvo owners and
enthusiasts.
Volvo doesn't care.
IS BRAND LOYALTY NO LONGER A GOAL FOR VOLVO?
Since the leadership at Volvo Cars is aware that
this action will bring HARM to their
customer base and to Volvo's reputation,
I can only conclude they DON'T CARE. It
now seems that Volvo has only ONE concern; to sell you a new Volvo. Nothing else.
The days of Volvo supporting their HERITAGE OWNERS or actively cultivating BRAND LOYALTY is definitely not what it once was.
When I discussed this at length with the trademark attorney who Volvo hired in April
2018 (the only person so far who would willingly listen), I made a formal request
to be contacted by Volvo regarding
my wish to discuss licensing,
permissions, etc. The attorney honored my request and forwarded my request to Volvo to discuss this.
On April 18, 2018, I
received a response from the
attorney, who made it clear that Volvo had stated:
"VOLVO
IS NOT INTERESTED IN ANY
DISCUSSION!"
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What do long-time Volvo enthusiasts think about this?
One insightful comment read as follows:
". . .to hell with your enthusiasm is the way I read into it."
Clearly from the numerous
emails I have received and continue to
receive almost daily from Volvo owners and enthusiasts and Volvo dealers all over the world, I know many will miss the
products that I can no longer
offer. If this
concerns you then you may want to mention
it to a Volvo retailer or to someone in Volvo
corporate if you can actually make contact
with anyone there.
I know this
situation has impacted a lot of people?
Google
Analytics tells me this page has
historically averaged 40,000 page views
per month over the 5 years before this happened. Since this situation began on
April 2, 2018, page views jumped
over 140% to 100,000 page views per
month. I appreciate the concern, support
and attention Volvo enthusiasts around
the world have communicated. Your support is
certainly heartfelt and very
appreciated.
Thank
You!
- Dave
Barton - |
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