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A few pictures from our OSD trip...

2K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  flybynight 
#1 ·
A big thank you to Bob Kennedy from University Volvo -- got us a fantastic deal on our XC90, and was so simple to work with throughout the process. Great customer service and follow-up all the way from December through today when we picked the car up in Seattle at the courtesy dealer here.

We did a 10 day tour in Sweden and Denmark. Stockholm first for 3 nights, then onto Goteborg to pick up the car, and stayed there for a couple of nights, then we drove south to Malmo and Copenhagen (across the Ostersund Bridge), then up the coast of Denmark to Helsingor, and across on a ferry to Helsingborg, and back to Goteborg to drop the car off and fly home. A fantastic trip overall, and even though it was late January, we had sunny skies 9 out of 10 days, and temperatures around 30 degrees.

Cannot say enough good things about the OSD program. What an enjoyable way to purchase a new car.

Just thought I would post a few pics of interest as I ran through them tonight...took several hundred, but here are a few fun ones.


















 
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#2 ·
Re: A few pictures from our OSD trip... (Northwest European)

NW................Thanks for the kind words
I have to say.....I think I had as much fun with the "surprise" as you did!
GREAT PICS http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif Looks like you guys had a good trip.
Now that the "baby" is home....I have a feeling that you will only get to drive it when it is empty or dirty!
Tell Jen to "share a little"!
 
#5 ·
OSD is pretty cool, isn't it. We're likely doing a second in about three years when the lease on my truck is up.
Next time do a summer trip!!!
I'll have to keep my eyes open for a black V8 XC90 with the S sticker on the back. I still have my Swedish plates on underneath my WA plates.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the comments. I have to say I would rate the safety center experience tour as a 7 out of 10 for me. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty neat display, and a lot to see, but as a true car enthusiast, I would rather have seen the factory tour, even if it was limited. My wife thought the safety tour was a 10 out of 10, she learned a lot, and found it to be very well put together. The other couple that was there (yeah, a real busy day at the factory delivery center!) felt about the same -- good, impressive, etc. - but as a car enthusiast, you want to see more. You are at the factory, you want to see the factory, you know?


If I did not know that I was "missing" the factory tour during this time window that it was closed to the public, I probably would have had a different mindset. Volvo did a very good job with the tour they had us on.
 
#7 ·
Re: (Northwest European)

That helps. Thanks! That's the decision we need to make too. We will be short on time as we plan to drive to Stockholm the day of the pickup. We would prefer leaving early and spending time in Stockholm over taking the not so impressive brand experience tour which ends at 3 PM.

Now, if Volvo shows us the factory, that would completely tilt the equation.
 
#8 ·
Re: A few pictures from our OSD trip... (Northwest European)

Great pictures! I haven't seen too many winter/snow pics posted on the forum- I guess most OSD's are in the summer. The factory tour typically ramps up in August- that's why we waited until last August for our trip. Stockholm and Goteborg still look beautiful- rain, snow or shine.

Congrats on the XC90 via OSD! http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#10 ·
How do you mount the red Swedish plates under the US plate? My red plates are mounted in a long frame but these don't use the same holes as the US plate. For now, I am using tape underneath the US plate and also string.

Is there a frame that holds both plates? Perhaps a frame that holds the Swedish style plates but uses the mounting holes of a US plate, to which you can use to fasten the US plates?
 
#11 ·
Re: A few pictures from our OSD trip... (Northwest European)

Great Pictures. Sure looks cold.
 
#12 ·
Re: (flybynight)

Quote, originally posted by flybynight »

I'll have to keep my eyes open for a black V8 XC90 with the S sticker on the back. I still have my Swedish plates on underneath my WA plates.
What is the "S sticker" on the back window for?
 
#14 ·
Re: (cmy4x4)

Quote, originally posted by cmy4x4 »

What is the "S sticker" on the back window for?
It is the symbol for Sweden. Every country gets one. CAN for Canada, USA for US, GR for Greece, F for France, D for Germany, etc., etc.

The car does have Swedish plates after all!


Yannis
 
#15 ·
Re: (GrecianVolvo)

Quote, originally posted by GrecianVolvo »
It is the symbol for Sweden. Every country gets one. CAN for Canada, USA for US, GR for Greece, F for France, D for Germany, etc., etc.

The car does have Swedish plates after all!


Yannis

Does that mean all Volvo's in Sweden have the "S" sticker? I think it is limited to OSD Volvos but I may be wrong.
 
#17 ·
Re: (cmy4x4)

every country (in the world), has an official letter idenitifier for road vehicles; they're 1-3 letters (there may be a few that are more than 3, I've seen such but not sure if there "official") and, once upon a time at least, they were required along with your national (or state) number plate when operating your vehicle outside of your home national boundaries;

I believe they were assigned originally by the FIA, which nowadays is thought of more in connection with racing, but was once the kind of international AAA or super-organization of auto associations; there is also an official list of national "colors" for racing cars assigned by the FIA:(blue=France, dk. grn.=GB [thus "British racing green"], white=Germany, white with blue stripes/trim=USA);

my first ever OSD Volvo, a 1966 122S, was picked up in Brussels and was delivered with a "B" plate along with a Belgian tourist plate; nowadays in the EU it appears they have standardized the number plates and they include a national identifier, thus the familiar white national letter plates seem to be fading away, but in the '60's, when I lived in Sweden briefly, virtually every Swedish car had one; if you didn't, it meant you never drove outside Sweden (a hopeless rustic!); of course, then that was a little bigger deal than now because you had to switch sides of the road when you left Sweden!!!

btw, about the "colors" thing: white was always the "official" color of Germany, but there's a great story about how Daimler Benz had to strip the paint off their F1 cars to just squeak through a close weigh-in for a critical GP race in the '30's, and thus the tradition of the Germans racing silver cars instead of white!
 
#19 ·
Re: (Kodabear)

Quote, originally posted by Kodabear »
The "S" was placed on our car AFTER the FDC rep went over the paperwork with us. Another couple did not want the S on their car so the FDC did not place it on the car.

We were asked if we wanted the "S" and where.
 
#20 ·
Re: (ig_mb)

Quote, originally posted by ig_mb »


We were asked if we wanted the "S" and where.

Same here. I didn't put mine on right away, but it was a requirement for entering countries like Austria and Switzerland. We were pulled over at the border of each of the 2 countries and searched for the proper requirements.
 
#21 ·
In Europe if you travel a lot from country to country you'll usually have a letter (or two or three) to designate what country you are from. For me, for example, being from Norway, I'd have an N on the car. The S on your OSD just designates Sweden. Of course, it isn't a typical S since it also says See Europe By Volvo on it!! It's a little advertisment for Volvo. Which is fine. I took mine off since I am Norwegian. It is a little strange for me to drive around with an S on the back of my car!

As for the Euro plates, they use the same screw holes as a North American plate. You can just mount your state plate right on top of the red Swedish plate.
Here is the picture of mine.

 
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