Word: volvo
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...campaign, she admits, was "amateurish, naive and trial by error." Starting far back, she bustled around the state in a Volvo station wagon, stressing the need for economic development and nuclear power, and backing the construction of a Trident submarine base?opposed by the environmentalists?on Puget Sound. She had plenty of energy, an air of bluff honesty that appealed to independents, and a new face. Startling the experts, she defeated Seattle's popular but overconfident Mayor Wes Uhlman, 42, in the primary and then beat Republican John Spellman, 50, the top official in Seattle's King County...
Volkswagen late last week suddenly gained a potent new rival. In a surprise move, Sweden's two automakers-Volvo and Saab-Scania-announced their decision to unite in a new company, to be called Volvo-Saab-Scania. By any measure, the triple-hyphenated outfit will be a giant: with sales of $5.8 billion, it will rank as Europe's fourth largest automaker (after Daimler-Benz, Renault and Volkswagen), turn out a line of vehicles ranging from compacts to huge Scania rigs, and employ nearly 104,000 workers...
...sense. Because of rocketing wage costs (up 40% in two years to $6.33 per hour) and excessive absenteeism rates (as high as 20% on any given day), Sweden's cars are being priced out of the world market. The merger will strengthen the Swedish auto industry by combining Volvo and Saab sales forces, distribution setups and parts supplies abroad. It will also enable Saab and Volvo to bring out a hew line of models, presumably based on a synthesis of Saab's sporty front-wheel drive design and Volvo's vaunted safety features...
...larger company (1976 sales: $3.6 billion), Volvo will be the main partner, with 66% of the voting shares. Volvo's dynamic Pehr Gyllenhammar will be president, and Saab-Scania's Curt Mileikowsky will be executive vice chairman. Saabs aircraft division, which makes the Viggen jetfighter, will be part of the new company...
Ironically, opening the U.S. plant could have helped. American workers presumably would have been absent less often than Swedes, and the labor cost of Volvos sold in the U.S. would have been reduced. "The advantages of manufacturing in the States are still there," says Volvo Senior Vice President Robert Dethorey, "but first it is a matter of utilizing the capacity we have." So long as the government insists that employees be paid for not working, Volvo's prospects are anything but bright...