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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Volvo’s Female Car: Don’t Bother Looking Under Hood

I’m not sure if a headrest that accomodates my ponytail is the first thing I’d look for in a new car. A well-placed and adjustable coffee cup holder would suit me.

But, believe it or not, the ponytail holder is a safety feature,one of many that the designing women at Volvo built into the female-friendly car dubbed Your Concept Car. The team brought the car around earlier this month to Volvo Cars of North America in Irvine.

Some 54% of Volvo’s U.S. car buyers are women, according to the automaker, part of Ford Motor Co.’s Irvine-based Premier Automotive Group. So Volvo decided to give an all-female team a whirl at developing a concept car.






Volvo design team: came up with purse storage, ponytail holder, gull-wing doors

The result is a car that has more storage space for things such as a purse, gull-wing doors for ease of getting in and out, paint that works like a non-stick frying pan, seats that go up and down, interchangeable and washable seat pads in different colors and no hood.

Dealers would have the task of scanning the owner’s body to adjust the driving position, which would be digitally stored. But dealers aren’t likely to be selling the car in its current form. Some of the design features could show up on other Volvo models.


SUV With a Cause

Fletcher Jones Motorcars again is selling a limited number of the special edition R Class Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles to raise money for breast cancer research.

The Newport Beach dealership is set to get the largest allotment of 750 R Class SUVs to be made this year. Dealers are allotted cars based on past sales, and Fletcher Jones is the top Mercedes dealer in the country.

Fletcher Jones has put up a 12-foot pink ribbon outside the dealership. South Coast Plaza’s Saks Fifth Avenue also is part of the “key to the cure” fund-raiser. It plans to hold a two-day benefit on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29. Saks plans to display the R Class at its store. Mercedes-Benz expects to raise $1 million.


Newport Lexus Under Way

Newport Lexus broke ground on its luxury dealership on Jamboree last week, a quick jaunt from Fletcher Jones on the Back Bay.

Owner David Wilson hopes to up the ante in that area and convert some Mercedes buyers to Lexus. Wilson owns Toyota of Orange, Tustin Lexus, South Coast Toyota and Toyota of Huntington Beach.


Photo IPO

Irvine-based photography retailer Ritz Interactive Inc. recently filed to raise up to $34.5 million in an initial public stock offering. In addition to photography, Ritz operates online stores such as boatingonly.com and fishingonly.com.

The offering is set to be done through an auction process in which potential investors determine the price range for the shares.


Varvatos at South Coast

John Varvatos menswear opened its first Orange County store last week at South Coast Plaza, and the folks at John Varvatos sent out a half-inch packet of information to prove it. John Varvatos jeans and other “easy elegance” menswear have been featured in just about every fashion magazine, appearing on virtually every celebrity,Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Quentin Tarantino, Justin Timberlake and Kevin Spacey, to name a few.

Designer Varvatos opened his first U.S. store in New York in 2000, his second in West Hollywood in 2002, and his third and fourth stores at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey. The store at the South Coast Plaza is an exclusive, which means John Varvatos won’t be appearing at Fashion Island or anywhere else in OC.


New at Laguna Hills Mall

Laguna Hills Mall has a slew of stores opening or coming soon. Cloud Nine, a mattress store, Friends by Isaac, a girls clothing store, and Chloe Accessories have opened. Coming soon is Irene’s Story, a trendy women’s fashion store, and Milano Home Furnishings.


Chocolate With a Twist

The recently opened Chuao Chocolatier at Irvine Spectrum Center is making a unique chocolate for September,the Manzanita, a dark chocolate filled with green apple and apple brandy topped with bacon bits. The San Diego-based chocolatier adds spices and other unusual ingredients such as cayenne pepper and goat cheese to its chocolates.


Ich Bin Ein Berliner

John Crawford, owner of the Brea children’s educational store Mad Science, also is the former songwriter, bassist and founder of 1980s pop band Berlin.

VH1 recently hunted down Crawford at his store in Brea for its Bands Reunited show. The show tries to round up former band members and then puts them together for a live performance. Crawford just released his first solo CD, “Surrender.”

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