VOLVO PARTNERS WITH THE WYLAND FOUNDATION TO HOST A FUNDRAISER AT THE JON LOVITZ COMEDY CLUB

VOLVO PARTNERS WITH THE WYLAND FOUNDATION TO HOST A FUNDRAISER AT THE JON LOVITZ COMEDY CLUB

All Proceeds from the Sept. 8 Show Will Support the Wyland Foundation's

Children's Environmental Education Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif. (September 2, 2009) - Volvo Cars of North America, LLC, (VCNA) will be the title sponsor of a Wyland Foundation fundraiser at L.A.'s newest comedy venue, The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal Studios Citywalk.  The show, which will feature appearances by "Saturday Night Live" alum Lovitz, actress and Grammy Award winning singer Tia Carrere and marine life artist Wyland, among others, will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Tues., Sept. 8.  Funds raised by the event will benefit the Wyland Foundation's children's environmental education program, which includes the Clean Water Challenge, an art and science program to instruct young people about marine science and the conservation of water quality on the planet, and a 1,000-square-foot bio-diesel powered mobile learning center.

"Throughout our history, Volvo has been committed to making sure our products and operations have the lowest possible adverse impact on the environment," said Greg Hembrough, VCNA Sales and Marketing manager in the Western Region.  "Our factories are some of the cleanest around, our cars eliminate between 95 and 99 percent of the carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon emissions produced by gasoline engines, and our cars are also designed to be 85 percent recyclable.  Supporting organizations like the Wyland Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public about how to care for our environment, is extremely important to Volvo."

The Wyland Foundation (www.wylandfoundation.org) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded by marine life artist Wyland in 1993 to promote, protect and preserve the world's oceans, waterways and marine life.  The foundation encourages environmental awareness through education programs, life-size public arts projects and community events around the world. Among the foundation's education and outreach partners are the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD), and the Ocean Institute.

Dating from the early 1970s, Volvo Cars' commitment to the environment covers the entire lifecycle of the car, from design, engineering and production to useful life, service and recycling.  Some notable milestones include:

• 1976 - Volvo set the standard for vehicle emissions control by inventing the revolutionary LambdaSond, three-way catalytic converter with oxygen sensor to remove 90 percent of the harmful hydrocarbons.
• 1998 - Volvo introduces the world's first Environmental Product Information (EPI) for cars.
• 2002 - PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) engine introduced in California. PZEV-certified vehicles are the cleanest mass-produced vehicles available.
• 2003 - Volvo Cars became one of the first carmakers in the world to be awarded global certification under the international environmental standard, ISO 14001.
• 2008 - Volvo recycles 95 to 98 percent of the metals used in its vehicles and the cars are designed to be 85 percent recyclable overall.
• 2009 - The Volvo XC60 is RRR-certified (Reuse, Recycling, Recovery) to 85 percent.

Volvo Cars of North America, LLC, (www.volvocars.com/us) is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden.  VCNA provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada. 

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Contacts:

James Hope, 949-242-6654, jhope10@volvocars.com

Wendi McAden, 310-224-4960, wmcaden@volvocars.com