The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 29, 2009 · 12 Volvo Canada celebrates 50th anniversary Metroland Newspapers Carguide Magazine Fifty years ago in July, the Honourable Henri Courtemanche, Secretary of State of Canada, authorized the paperwork for a new corporate body operating under the name of Volvo (Canada) Ltd. In the five decades that followed, the Swedish company's iron mark logo became a well-known entity as approximately 350,000 Volvo vehicles found Canadian homes. While Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary in Canada, the Volvo story actually began a year earlier. In 1958, a company called Auto Imports (Swedish) Ltd. entered into an arrangement with Volvo AB in Sweden to import and distribute Volvo vehicles for Canadians. But, it quickly became apparent that a more official presence from Volvo would be required to serve the Canadian market. Volvo Canada Ltd. was created on July 21, 1959 and was to initially establish its head office in Montreal, but the company eventually settled in Scarborough, Ontario. In 1961, it became fully operational and responsible for the Volvo brand. By 1965 the company had outgrown its Scarborough head office, moving into a building and warehouse nearby in Don Mills. It took seven years to out-grow the Don Mills location before settling in the company's current home on Gordon Baker Road in north Toronto. In 1963, Volvo AB established its first foreign assembly plant in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia producing the PV 544 for the North American market. By 1966, the plant had reached its annual capacity of 3,700 units. In 1967, production moved to a new, larger plant in Halifax where capacity was increased to over 8,000 units per year. The plant assembled the Volvo P120, 140-series, 200series, 700-series, S70 and V70 before its closing in 1998. Since Auto Imports began ordering Volvo vehicles in the late 1950's, more than 350,000 vehicles have been sold to Canadians. Volvo vehicles have influenced the automotive industry, not just in Canada, but internationally and particularly in the field of safety. During the life of the Volvo Car Corporation, more than 80 years, many safety firsts have been developed. The company's most notable contribution was released in 1959 when it introduced the 3-point seatbelt developed by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin. Realizing the effectiveness, simplicity and significance of Bohlin's design, Volvo offered the 3point seatbelt patent to the entire automotive industry. Since then, Volvo has introduced crumple zones to its vehicles in 1966 and relocated the fuel tank for enhanced safety in 1974. Driver's airbags were added in 1987, while SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) side airbags, ROPS (RollOver Protection System) and WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System) were made available for passenger safety in 1994, 1997 and 1998 respectively. BLIS, the company's Blind Spot Information System presented in 2004 and the debut of the integrated two-stage child booster cushion in 2007, have continued the Volvo Cars quest for safety for all passengers. Today, the company's dedication to safety can be found in the XC60 crossover, its newest vehicle. While the industry has made great strides in the field of protective safety Volvo engineers have begun looking for ways to help drivers avoid a collision entirely. The XC60 is the world's first vehicle that offers City Safety, a low-speed collision avoidance and mitigation system, as standard equipment. If the driver takes no action, City Safety can avoid or reduce the severity of a rear-end collision if the XC60 is travelling at speeds less than 30 km/h. Volvo Canada is now working toward its next introduction, the next-generation S60 sedan. The S60 Concept was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2009. With the S60, the company is working to further develop the Volvo design language and deliver a unique driving experience in the European sport sedan segment. Safety innovation is never far behind and Volvo Cars will introduce a pedestrian collision detection system with the next-generation S60. The car is expected to go on-sale in 2010. Hyundai of Oakville Celebrates 25th Anniversary In light of the recent automotive industry issues, it is extremely rare to see a dealership succeeding, never mind celebrating its 25th anniversary. This is the case, however, for Hyundai of Oakville, who on Tuesday, July 21 gathered with family, friends, employees and Steve Kelleher, the CEO and President of Hyundai Auto Canada to celebrate 25 years of successful business. "This is quite a momentums occasion with Hyundai of Oakville turning 25 this year. What makes it quite special is the fact Hyundai has been in Canada only 26 years," General Manager Derek Chan said. This celebration was more than a 25th anniversary to owner Ron Chan, it was a celebration of the first time he had owned the dealership on his own. "2009 is a year to be remembered as the year that I fulfilled my dream as a complete entrepreneur," Ron said in his speech. The showroom was completely cleared to make room for the dinner, awards and the karaoke that would soon follow the evening's end. To get the evening's festivities started, guests were treated to a traditional Chinese lion dance. During the evening three new initiatives surrounding the 25th anniversary theme were announced by Derek including: store front glass coverings reading `25th Anniversary Sale' for everyone to see, a year long Oakville Transit bus campaign with the message that the dealership has proudly served Oakville for 25 years, and finally a Blue-bag initiative prompting everyone to `Keep Oakville Green ­ Blue Bag It.' "Twenty-five years is a very long time for any business to be around, Photo by Michael Ivanin Hyundai of Oakville employee and Service Award (for loyal employees who have been with company for 20 or more years) recipient Gord Browne stands between Hyundai of Oakville Dealer Principal Ronald Chan, left, and President and CEO Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Steve Kelleher during Hyundai of Oakville 25th anniversary celebration. especially in the car industry," Derek says. "With all the competition out there and for us to grow so much over the years to capture 25 per cent of the import market this year is amazing." Though the night was about celebrating 25 years of excellence, the evening was really all about the celebration of their employees. Multiple awards were handed out to recognize the loyal employees that brought them to where they are today. "Without the hard work and years of loyal service, we would not be here," Derek adds. The first award of the evening was an Award of Excellence that went to Wesley Denomme for his performance that went above and beyond by winning the prestigious number one Mechanic in Canada award, as well as earning the number two Mechanic in the World spot in Korea. Loyalty awards were also given to employees that have been with the company for more than five, 10, 15 and 20 years including Anna Do, Trung Do, Craig Fleming and Atif Shaikh in the five year category; Eddie Yau and Tanya Ventura in the 10 year category; and Maria WarrenCarson and Barrie Waterfield in the 15 year category. There was one person that had been with the company almost from the beginning, being with Hyundai of Oakville for more than 20 years, Gord Browne. For more information on Hyundai of Oakville contact them at 905-845-7791, drop by the dealership located at 1071 Speers Road, or visit their website at www.hyundaiofoakville.ca EXPERIENCE THE BEST PATRICK MAGUIRE MANAGER CHADD LOCKWOOD DEALER "The only deal we can't beat y is the one we don't see." oakvilledodge.com VIEW PHOTOS & VIDEO OF OUR ENTIRE INVENTORY ONLINE @ OAKVILLE DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP & 270 Oak Park Blvd. T R A FA L G A R D U N D A S 905-845-4211