"Goteborg....Where My Car Was Born " a Göteborg Travel Page by goingplaces

Goteborg was one of those trips we didn't intend on taking. We'd already been to Sweden once and figured that was enough, but quickly changed our minds. See, we bought a new Volvo and had the option to pick it up at the Volvo factory in Goteborg. After about, oh, five seconds, we decided to go ahead and go. And so, after our first train and ferry rides, we debarked in Goteborg to meet our new car.

The Factory Delivery Program, as far as I know, is only offered to Americans purchasing Volvos. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget. It is also my only experience in Goteborg, aside from getting gas at the gas station across the street from the port. After the day we spent in 'Volvo City,' we high-tailed it out of town and went to Oslo for the night.

Our day at Volvo City started off nicely...we were greeted by a 7-foot-tall Scandinavian princess as we got off the ferry, and shuttled to the factory in a Volvo limousine. They provided us with a place to stow our bags, fresh coffee, internet, and a bed if we needed it (since most of the people come over from the States instead of up from Germany). Then we met the car, went for a quick spin, were treated to lunch, toured the safety center, hit the gift shop, and left. I couldn't believe they let us drive out of there with the car...but, oh yeah, I bought it!

We named the car Moose. Why? Well, spend any time driving around in Scandinavia (Sweden and Norway in particular), and you'll see signs warning you to be on the lookout for moose. And so, in honor of my car's Swedish birth, we named her Moose (or Ålg, the Swedish word for moose, pronounced 'Ailzh').