Pelle 2005
Soapbox
Volvo, Sweden
The aim of a comprehensive study commissioned by Volvo involved developing new ideas for merchandising products. I searched for ideas that had to do with Volvo (family, sport, ecology, safety, etc.) and were in line with the Scandinavian philosophy. I found more than a dozen. My favourite was the building kit for a soapbox. During the course of my research, I came across a picture with Pelle Petterson in a soapbox cart, built by his father in 1943. Pelle Petterson was the designer of the legendary S1800, also called the Snow White Coffin, and so I christened the project Pelle. I though to myself, a soapbox is like the first car, above all, when it can be steered and braked. Naturally, we placed great emphasis on safety and also on ease of assembly. It was intended for the age group of 8 to 16 year-olds and, as the test drives revealed, not only boys were enthusiastic about it. The assembled soapbox fitted into all Volvo car models. Unfortunately, this project was four times more expensive than planned and never made it to serial production. I still mourn for Pelle, as our son Luc was exactly the right age for this soapbox.
