It's been SEVERAL YEARS NOW and Volvo leadership still refuses to discuss. |
I continue to received a
lot of emails from Volvo enthusiasts and dealers all
over the world asking why I can no longer
offer labels with a Volvo
logo. Hopefully this notice will answer
your questions.
As
of April 2018
Volvo Trademark Holdings hired an attorney in the U.S. to send me a desist notice. This notice demanded the REMOVAL OF ALL PRODUCTS
available for sale with any Volvo trademark logo. |
Is VOLVO Leadership causing VOLVO to Lose it's Soul?
Is it JUST about selling NEW CARS NOW?
I have been a Volvo enthusiast and supporter of Volvo Cars for over 35 years. I served as the
president of the Southern California chapter
of Volvo
Club of America (VCOA) for over 12 years. I organized a lot of
Volvo-related meets, events and shows during this time, many
of them involving or coordinating with Volvo Corporate Public
Relations from Volvo's
offices in Irvine, California, along with a
number of events at Volvo dealerships all over Southern California.
Our VCOA chapter had a very good relationship with Volvo. There were a
number of times we provided beautiful vintage Volvos for display at
their headquarters or other places for special events. They would
offered to pay "rent" for cars, but we always provided cars free of
charge, because we loved the brand and we were happy to show our
appreciation. They even borrowed and
trucked my 245 Turbo (and other cars) for a display at the S60R and V70R
press debut at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I refused to take any
money for that too.
For 13 YEARS, the Volvo
Prancing Moose (using "VOLVO" on it) had been a very public thing at many events. Volvo Cars was aware of it's scope and
popularity among many Volvo
enthusiasts. Volvo Cars PR execs and staff were even supportive of it, although not in any
"official" way.
Since these stickers helped to foster positive
relations between Volvo, Volvo dealers and Volvo car
owners, there was never a hint of an
objection from anyone at Volvo, until NOW.
A
number of VOLVO dealers have revealed to me that VOLVO Corporate
representatives used to (unofficially) refer them and other callers to MY PAGES if they called
about old Volvo body labels that Volvo had stopped offering.
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I'm certainly not getting rich making enthusiast labels for old Volvos, but it has been
something I've become very good at and I have really enjoyed
being able to help support old Volvo owners
and
enthusiasts all over the world.
After
more than 13 YEARS of Volvo offering
silent support,
Volvo Trademark Holdings in Sweden hired attorneys in the USA to ORDER ME TO STOP!
Volvo has DECLARED that my use of their trademark on a
sticker
is a
"THREAT" to their BRAND.
Many, many
attempts have been made by me and others to
contact ANYONE at Volvo Trademark Holdings AND Volvo Cars in the USA and Sweden for a
discussion about this, but Volvo has
made it known that 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 page. I
know this ban will bring frustration to many Volvo owners and
enthusiasts.
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 their reputation,
I can only conclude they DO NOT CARE. It
now seems that Volvo has only ONE concern; to sell you a new Volvo.
The days of Volvo supporting their HERITAGE OWNERS or actively cultivating BRAND LOYALTY is definitely not what it once was. |
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.
When I discussed this at length with the trademark attorney who Volvo hired in April
2018 (the only person so far who would listen), I made a formal request
to be contacted by Volvo regarding
my wish to discuss licensing,
permissions, etc. Their 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!" |
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 every day 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 last 5 years. Since this situation began on
April 2, 2018, page views have 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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