VIRGINIA MAN DIGS UP BURIED VOLVO IN WORLDWIDE TREASURE HUNT FOR BURIED SUV

In a surprise twist, Volvo awards all seven- pirate finalists with an amazing treasure: a new Volvo vehicle of their own

(Abaco Island, Bahamas) August 10, 2006 — Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg! Hear me now, scallywags, the treasure’s done been found! David Hutz, a 30 year-old man from Herndon, Va., yesterday reached true pirate status when he uncovered a buried Volvo XC90 V8 SUV in the Islands of the Bahamas after a challenging two month global, multi-media treasure hunt for the vehicle that Volvo Car Corporation secretly hid as part of its sponsorship of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

David Hutz a computer programmer from Herndon, Va. competed in a grueling, clue-filled search conducted by foot, boat, motor vehicle and helicopter in a competition reminiscent of reality TV shows. Upon completion of the race, he announced that he will be giving the car to his wife, Sheila Hutz. He was joined by six other finalists who also reached the final leg of the search, including two others from the United States as well as from Japan, United Kingdom, Spain and Austria.

Volvo surprises each finalist with new vehicle
The treasure hunt’s biggest surprise came when Volvo announced that all seven finalists would walk away with booty even Captain Jack Sparrow would be proud of: a new Volvo vehicle.

These individuals were the first among their respective nations to complete a fun, yet challenging, online treasure hunt presented by Volvo that launched on June 12, concluded four weeks later and elicited 52,000 participants in the U.S. alone. They arrived on the Islands of the Bahamas earlier this week unaware of the location of the final leg until their aircraft landed.

The seven competed in a series of mental and physical challenges on the islands that either eliminated them from competition or advanced them to the buried vehicle. After Hutz determined the final location, assistants dug up the $82,000 Volvo and presented him with the keys. Volvo also surprised the other finalists with keys to a new Volvo at the conclusion of the hunt.

Individuals worldwide will have a view all the excitement of the historic hunt when Volvo premieres a series of Webisodes chronicling the Hunt at www.volvocars.us/thehunt on August 25.

Other finalists in the Hunt included:

•    Jenny Buckalew, 35, Newnan, Ga.
•    James Hutz, 57, Carefree, Ariz.
•    Karl Lloyd, 33, Surrey, England
•    Susanne Kalintsch, 44, Trieben, Austria
•    Akihiro Horibe, 36, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
•    Jose Luis Dominguez Monge, 31, Valladolid, Spain

 The buried one-of-a-kind, Volvo XC90 features a variety of elements inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, including menacing graphics from the film, black leather seats, custom painted 20 inch wheels and more.

“While it would have been a lot of fun to watch Captain Jack Sparrow cruise the Caribbean Islands in this summer’s Pirates of the Caribbean, it just didn’t make sense,” said Anne Bélec, president and chief executive officer of Volvo Cars of North America. “So, we sought a more creative way to celebrate our partnership with Disney, and we think it’s been a phenomenal success for Volvo and we hope a lot of fun for would-be pirates worldwide, particularly these seven finalists.”

Three U.S. Finalists and Four International Finalists Will Convene on August 6 at Secret Location for On-the-Ground Race to Uncover Buried Volvo SUV

Look what the tide’s washed in, maties! Volvo Car Corporation today announced the seven international finalists in its global, multi-media treasure hunt for a pirate-themed Volvo XC90 V8 that has been buried somewhere in the world. The seven wanna-be pirates, including two women and five men, were the first among their respective nations to complete a fun, yet challenging online treasure hunt Volvo launched on June 12 and concluding four weeks later.

Hailing from such locales as Newnan, Georgia and Trieben, Austria, the finalists –– three Americans and one each from Japan, United Kingdom, Spain and Austria –– will be flown to an undisclosed location on August 6.   Once there, they will compete in a historic race, frantically deciphering clues that will lead them closer exact location of the buried Volvo. The first to dig it up keeps it.

The wildly popular hunt, a multi-media campaign developed as a part of Volvo’s sponsorship of the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest, has elicited participation from more than 52,000 online contestants in the U.S. alone.  The finalists are:

- Jenny Buckalew, 35, Newnan, Ga.
- David Hutz, 30, Herndon, Va.
- James Hutz, 57, Carefree, Ariz.
- Karl Lloyd, 33, Surrey, England
- Susanne Kalintsch, 44, Trieben, Austria
- Akihiro Horibe, 36, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- Jose Luis Dmoniguez Monge, 31, Valladolid, Spain

The format for the final leg of the competition will be reminiscent of reality TV shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race, with contestants participating in a series of mental and physical challenges over two days that will either eliminate them from the competition or advance them closer to the buried vehicle. The victor and results of final hunt will be released to the public on August 11, followed by a series of Webisodes documenting the hunt premiering online at www.volvocars.us/thehunt on August 24.

“This already is one of the more unique film promotional tie-ins conducted by an auto manufacturer,” said Anne Bélec, president and chief executive officer of Volvo Cars of North America. “We had participants blogging, sharing clues, writing online poems and becoming deeply engaged in the process.  We had more than 52,000 participants in the U.S. alone, each of which had to come into a Volvo retailer to pick up a treasure map to begin play, with 25 percent of them opting in for more information about Volvo cars while they played.  It’s been a wildly entertaining campaign and we’re looking   forward to seeing who actually finds the Volvo we buried.”

Me hearties- Thanks for all your enthusiastic participation; more details about upcoming tresure hunt activities will be posted here soon. Check back until the end when the burial location and treasure are revealed!

Buried treasure wouldn’t be as prized if it weren’t for the fanatical treasure hunters trying to dig it up. Today, Volvo Cars of North America named the greatest treasure hunters of all time in conjunction with its global, multi-media treasure hunt for a buried Volvo XC90 V8.

“With varying techniques and degrees of expertise, the people on this list have found big bounties,” said Volvo Cars spokesperson, Helen Gore. “We hope that our online treasure hunters enjoy the same success – though we know only a few will make it to the final hunt!”

• Mel Fisher – “After 16 years of hunting, he and his crew found $450 million in treasure on two sunken Spanish galleons near Key West, Florida.”

• Indiana Jones – “The Holy Grail, The Arc of the Covenant, a sacred Indian stone – he seeks only the most priceless treasure and bears an amazing resemblance to another treasure hunter named Han Solo.”

• Kathleen Turner & Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone – “Love and adventure is treasure, right?”

• That guy on every beach with ill-fitting shorts and a metal detector – “We’re not sure what he’s found, but its allowed him to quit his day job and comb the beach every day. Well done, sir!”

• Your local plumber – “Wedding rings and kitchen sinks.  These are a few of plumbers faaaavorite things.”

• Nicholas Cage in National Treasure – “He stole the Declaration of Independence to get a treasure hunt clue, for Pete’s sake!”

• Donald Trump – “Be it real estate or TV shows, he always has his hands around the treasure chest.” 

• Kanye West – “Wait, my mistake, ‘He aint messing with no gold diggers,’.  Wrong list, but a catchy tune nonetheless.”

• Joe Montana – “A miner, 49’er to the core.  Raised in Pennsylvania, the land of coal and steel, he traveled west seeking gold in San Francisco, California.  Legend has it, he found it in the way of a few Super Bowl rings.”

• Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre – “This 1940’s John Huston classic tested Bogie’s soul in a gold prospecting tale for the ages.”

Any Finalist in the Volvo Treasure Hunt – “After only two weeks there are nearly 30,000 entrants and climbing. This quest will be a treasure hunters’ survival of the fittest.”

Looking for help with the puzzles and clues? Be sure to scroll down to the June 13 blog entry on this here site. There are nearly 600 comments on the hunt and the puzzles participants are solving. Keep the conversation going. Just over two weeks of treasure hunting remain. Press on, me hearties!

Ten days into its global, multi-media treasure hunt for a Volvo XC90 V8 that has been buried somewhere in the world, Volvo Cars Corporation today named the greatest pirates of all time.

“We thought it would be helpful to give those hunting for our buried pirate car some roll models from throughout history to look to for guidance,” said Volvo Cars spokesperson, Helen Gore. “Not that we’re condoning everything that the tougher characters on our list stood for, but at the very least, they can be looked to for inspiration, wardrobe tips and a passion for acquiring things without paying for them – a.k.a. pirates booty.”

• Blackbeard. “Terrorizing the Caribbean and Atlantic in the early 1700’s, he led a crew of 300 but was a slave to fear inspiring fashion – sporting a long, braided beard with ribbons, a burning rope underneath his hat and an iron fist.”

• The Great Pirate Roberts. “Roberts was tall, dark and handsome. He adorned himself in a crimson waistcoat, breeches, a hat with a feather, a diamond cross on a golden chain around his neck and two pairs of pistols at the end of a silk sling around his shoulder. Scary? Maybe not like Blackbeard, but a successful buccaneer all the same.”

• An Unnamed Band of Ex-Enron Executives.  “What’s the old saying – the pen is mightier than the sword, especially when held by a creative accountant?”

• Anyone who has a friend or relative with cable repair experience and a toolbox. “Pirated cable – ever heard of it?”

• Captain Kidd. “A pirate hunter turned pirate, Kidd’s short but successful career plundering vessels was crowned by taking a 400-ton merchant treasure ship. Kidd was caught shortly thereafter and sent to England were he was executed.  Ouch.”

• Willie Stargell. “One of the all-time great Pittsburgh Pirates, he deposited leather treasure in the outfield bleachers exactly 475 times over his 20-year, Hall of Fame career.”

• Derek Brooks (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). “He’s a modern day Buccaneer and the undisputed leader of one of the NFL’s most feared defenses. This salty, all-pro linebacker patrols the field like a mad pirate on the high seas; sacking quarterbacks, stealing footballs and protecting the goal line.”

• Captain Hook (the band).  “These rockers really knew how to shake a wooden leg!”

http://www.examiner.com/a-150572~Gold_Hunter_Digs_60_Foot_Deep_Hole_in_Yard.html

Earlier this week, Zizzle, maker of the official Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest toys, held a Pirates of the Caribbean character look-alike contest with Z100 in New York, NY. The winner, pictured here, walked away with a Volvo XC90 loaded with Zizzle toys. Check out Ron Rodriguez, the notorious Jack Sparrow look-alike.

Three days after launching its global, multi-media treasure hunt for a Volvo XC90 V8 that has been buried somewhere in the world, Volvo Cars Corporation today unveiled a variety of locations in which it did not secretly bury its SUV.

The treasure hunt is part of Volvo Cars’ official promotion of Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Through July 11, individuals nationwide can visit their local Volvo retailer to pick up a free treasure map. Once online, they are asked to go to www.volvocars.us/thehunt to register for the world’s first hunt for a buried vehicle. Treasure hunters then will participate in a challenging, engaging and fun-filled adventure to solve a series of online clues and puzzles.

“People are asking, ‘where in the world did you bury that Volvo?’,” said Volvo Cars spokesperson Helen Gore. “Can’t tell you that, but here are a few places we considered burying it but, for one reason or the other, just found it not feasible.”

• Underneath the uprights at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.  “We love American football, but learned at the last minute somebody else may already be buried there.”

• Neverland, Middle Earth, Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and Elizabethtown, KY.  “All great ideas, but wrong movie tie-in,” Gore said.

• Inside a huge Cracker Jack box. “We even had the design team try construct a massive, Volvo XC90-worthy box, but we ran out of time because everyone kept eating all the Cracker Jacks, especially those little caramel-coated peanuts at the bottom.”

• The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride at Disneyland. “It is just a few miles up the 405 from Volvo’s North American headquarters, but this one fell under the category of ‘way too obvious’.”

• Irv Gordon’s garage. “He’s a guy in Long Island who’s driven 2.5 million miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800, a world record. This actually was strongly considered but we figured the guy would be too tempted to drive our XC90 around, especially with the AC in the hot summer months.”

• Any sports bar in the United States showing World Cup games on their big screen TVs. “We were seeking a place where not a lot of people will be, but we felt this was too extreme.”

To learn more about Volvo’s treasure hunt, visit www.volvocars.us/thehunt.

Buried somewhere in the world, mateys, is this tricked out pirates XC90 V8. Have a good look at your treasure!