Volvo Show and Rally Coming to Tulsa

Chris Howell, NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Jack Connolly loves to drive down Route 66 in his '66 Volvo.  He has restored it meticulously over the years and thinks it is one of the most beautiful Volvos ever made.

"My car is a 1966 1800S.  It's a fun little car.  It's a two-seater sports car with a small seat in the back.  It's got a four cylinder engine with dual-SU carburetors.  It's very classic, it almost looks like a Jaguar in the front. It was designed by an Italian designer."

Jack is planning the 2009 Volvo Club of America's Midsommar Volvo Show, "Volvo Kicks on Route 66."  The show, to be held June 20th and 21st, will feature both new and older Volvos, a brand that has beendevoted to safety from its inception.

"You can tell just by looking at these two the evolution that Volvo has gone through," said Andy Truman of Jackie Cooper Imports, a sponsor of the event, as he compared Jack's 1966 Volvo to a new Volvo XC60.

"Over 75% of all the safety features we have on our modern cars today, no matter what manufacturer they're made by, over 75% of that technology was engineered and developed by Volvo."

The new XC60 will even brake the car to a stop by itself if its forward-looking radar system senses an obstacle in the road, such as a stopped car.  The design has evolved as well, wth the familiar boxy Volvos of yesteryear giving way to more curvaceous and even safer models.

Jack's '66 Volvo doesn't have all the modern safety features.  Based on that, and the love he feels for his little classic, he tries very hard to stay out of accidents.