P R A N C I N G M O O S E . C O M
D A V E ' S   V O L V O   P A G E

UPDATED: August 4, 2024       CONTACT

Prancing Moose Stickers and Labels CLICK HERE

Items in these pages displaying the VOLVO SAD FACE are NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

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.  Volvo Cars Public Relations 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.  Did something change? Is VOLVO Leadership causing the VOLVO brand to Lose it's Soul? Is it ONLY about selling NEW 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 the many old body labels that Volvo had stopped supplying. 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 has 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 in the USA and in 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 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!" 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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Understanding how the Prancing Moose came into being. Prancing Moose History 101:  When the XC90 debuted in 2003, Volvo was busy organizing a number of test drive events, where quite a few Volvo fans (including me) came out to see and test-drive the new SUVs on fast cone slalom courses.  Volvo was showing off their new and advanced Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC), a first of its kind for an SUV.  Most courses allowed us to drive the cars by ourselves as many times as we wanted. Lots of good fun. One of the courses was a special slalom, where a professional driver would take a carload of folks in the new SUV, accelerate quickly to about 60 mph, and while keeping his foot firmly planted on the gas... to the floor, he would then crank the wheel as fast as he could one direction, then the other through a tight set of cones.  This maneuver simulated the sudden high-speed avoidance of an obstacle in the road, such as a moose (of course). Volvo was calling this course the "Moose Avoidance Test."  The DSTC was truly an amazing feature in this test.  Many other tall vehicles would have certainly become unstable and possibly lost control, spun out or even rolled over during such an extreme maneuver, but Volvo's DSTC took over the throttle and brakes and kept the big SUV in perfect form without a hint of trouble. Even with the driver's foot to the floor, we could feel how the DSTC aggressively controlled the throttle and all four brakes, each brake independently, to keep the vehicle straight and stable.  The result was the vehicle exiting the course, still at 60 mph plus, with perfect composure. This stuck in my mind as a remarkable event and something no other SUV at the time would dare try without a full roll cage and everyone in helmets.   Then in January 2005, when Volvo began showing their special concept XC90 at car expos, I spotted one of them at the Los Angeles Car Expo. It was sporting a shield sticker with a moose profile on its fender. That sticker got a lot of smiles from the crowd.  I instantly thought of designing the Prancing Moose as a parody of the Ferrari prancing horse and it then found its way onto my Volvo wagon for the next show I attended. <<<  I first designed these Volvo Prancing Moose stickers in January 2005, which immediately went on the fenders and tailgate of my 245. I then attended the 2005 SoCalEuro Meet in Anaheim, California. The response to those stickers from attendees was a big surprise. Photos were turning up in web pages and magazines all over.  People tracked me down and I began receiving many requests for that sticker, so I began making a few. I never expected it would become so popular or something others would want, but it did.  Now I have more styles than I can count, many based on suggestions or requests.  So if you have a sense of humor, I think these stickers are a requirement.  If you no longer smile as much while driving, adding one to your car will fix that.  And as you can see, they're also available for many other makes of cars in this page HERE.  Prancing Moose stickers are turning up on many cars, trucks, motorcycles, helmets, and even buses! Thank you for visiting.

COPYRIGHT and TRADEMARK NOTICE Prancing Moose designs and images are Copyrighted and owned by Dave Barton. These images may not be used without permission. This copyright is registered with the US Copyright Office under Registration Number VA0001423751, Dated 2007-05-23.  <<< The protected design/image is represented by the image SHOWN AT LEFT. "Prancing Moose" trademark is owned by Dave Barton and may not be used without permission.

Prancing Moose Stickers and Labels CLICK HERE