The Futuristic Country Roads; Volvo Vision 2020 System Development Program.

Right after Merdeka, around 1959 a few Penang merchants and traders had visited Europe and saw Volvo cars for the first time. Then later on, they actually organized a working visit to the Volvo HQ in Gothenburg Sweden and then floated the idea of actually selling Volvo cars in Malaysia and Singapore. A couple of years later and with a paid up capital of around half a million Ringgit, they quickly set up Federal Auto Cars Limited and it was based in Jalan Sungei Pinang, nearby to the intersection of Jalan Trusan. In those days, they were mainly importing the Volvo 122 (Amazon) and with its attractive built and smart pricing, it had very quickly become a popular brand with the senior government officials. Most Malay nobles would buy one as a symbol of their success while those higher up the ranking would go for the Borgward Big-Six P 100.

In fact, in the 1962 P. Ramlee movie "Ibu Mertua Ku" evergreen leading actor, Haji Ahmad Nisfu who played the role of "Mamak"; Kassim Selamat manager, drove a white 1961 Volvo 122S. It was a very good brand marketing move for Volvo in Malaysia and Singapore really.

Federal Auto would later find good fortune supplying their cars (along with the Volvo Penta-Marine Engines and Volvo trucks) to the Malaysian government and the Malaysian military; the Angkatan Tentera Melayu DiRaja Malaysia. Later in its successful presence, Federal Auto Cars Limited would be listed publicly on the Malaysian and Singapore bourse and would ultimately turn into Federal Auto Holdings Berhad and be absorbed by the government via the Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (LTAT).

Recently I read that Volvo would be championing animal protection in the design of their vehicles. But this is really nothing new at all. You see, even back in the early 70’s some of the imported Volvo 144S that was originally meant for the Australian market, came equipped with the Kuryakyn kangaroo/deer whistle. This whistle was designed to sing along with the car at speeds above 10 MPH and it could only be heard by the animals intended for. But as the car picked up speed, it would also eventually be received by the human decibels range too. So you could hear the whistle in advance of the approaching Volvo and you make way.

Driving along the “kampong roads” in those days seriously requires that device to function well. You see, in those days, you may still have to brake for stray wild water buffaloes and some occasion, even elephant herds. And yes, occasionally even the communist bandits too would know when to expect or ambush a Volvo with wealthy occupants for ransom as well.

A vintage Kuryakyn deer whistle next to a modern one.

The next futuristic step along this line for Volvo Cars is the Radar Sensor Collision Avoidance System (RSCA). It is an active system that would detect animal presence within the driving range of the moving Volvo, using GPS sensors and satellite computations, calculates their movements and speed of movements and readies the car throttle inputs and braking systems for emergency deployment if needed. It would at first issue a clear audible warnings and information to the driver via infra-red cameras and display on what is happening ahead of the car even in darkness of night or blanketing fogs. If the driver fails to react to this emergency inputs, then the Volvo car would automatically takes over.

All this is part of the “Volvo Vision 2020” System Development program that’s taking shape with them today. I have to say that when we talk about such technological advancements for Volvo automobiles, we must keep in mind that Volvo is owned by the Geely Automobile of China in present day economic reality. And it is natural for us to expect that someday soon and any day now, all these futuristic technologies would eventually trickle into automobiles that are made in China.

And when such day arrives, the Japanese and Koreans best buck up on quality and technologies in addition to being extremely competitive indeed to stay alive. Yes, the competition would be fierce. Someday, our future generations would read with bewilderment our arguments and reasoning’s on the Malaysian Automotive Protectionism policies of today and past. But till that day come, let them have their days still.

Proton? Your guess is as good as mine.

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