New Volvo Boss Wants A Bentley

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt
Stefan Jacoby, formerly chief of Volkswagen of America, took over the wheel at now Geely-owned Volvo. That answers the question raised a few weeks ago whether he still has the job. He does.Jacoby moved with his whole family to the Hissingen district of Göteborg, Sweden. close to Volvo’s headquarters. That answers the lingering question whether Volvo will be dismantled and moved to some city in China nobody has ever heard of and nobody can spell. Not going to happen. At least not for the moment. Volvo will be managed from Sweden by a German who answers to Chinese owners. And who daydreams of a Bentley …Barely arrived in Sweden, the usually very careful Jacoby already caused the first scandal. He was asked what his favorite cars are.Jacoby’s most favorite car is a Bentley, reports Das Handelsblatt. He said that his biggest wish was to own a Bentley not later than by his 50th birthday. He’s 52 now, and (hint, hint) he still doesn’t own a Bentley.Favorite car #2 is the BMW M5, a “fantastic” car.Jacoby favorite #3 is the whole Prius range of Toyota.Favorite car he personally owns? A 1976 vintage VW Beetle rag-top (the original, not the New Beetle.)At the end of the reverie, Jacoby recalled that he now works for Volvo. He quickly mentioned that the Volvo Amazon could also be ranked amongst his most favorite cars. Remarks a snide Handelsblatt: “The car was discontinued in 1970.”
Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • SomeDude SomeDude on Aug 22, 2010

    "Jacoby favorite #3 is the whole Prius range of Toyota..." I'm not quite sure I understand this sentence. There's only one Prius, or does the Lexus HS 250h also qualify as a Prius? Then again, the HS 250h is not sold in Europe, or is it?

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    • SomeDude SomeDude on Aug 22, 2010

      @Steve65 Yeah, but the M5 is also in its 4th or 5th generation now. Though, on second thought, he probably excluded the Bangle era M5, hence no mentioning of the whole M5 range of BMW...

  • Waftable Torque Waftable Torque on Aug 23, 2010

    Good for him. The last person I'd want to lead a company is someone who isn't aware of what the competition is doing. A Bentley isn't out of reach for even a Volvo salesman, a quick Autotrader search for a 2004 Continental GT shows they're around $60,000, and used Arnage Red Labels seem to hover around $40,000. Not that you should (the upkeep over just 3-5 years would match the purchase price), but you could.

  • CRConrad CRConrad on Aug 23, 2010

    Bertel, just FYI: "Hisingen" schreibt sich mit nur einem 's'. HTH!

  • Lokki Lokki on Aug 23, 2010

    I think the bottom line here is that he's a CAR GUY, not an accountant, safety geek, or green freak.

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