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Volvo Trucks Pulls Another Publicity Stunt, Van Damme Nowhere to Be Seen

It all started with the epic split world-famous actor and martial arts specialist Jean-Claude Van Damme performed more than three years ago.
Volvo Flying Passenger stunt 6 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
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The stunt saw the Belgian actor sitting each leg on the side mirror of a different Volvo truck as the two vehicles drove in reverse. After Jean-Claud is finished with his monolog, they slowly began to drift apart, offering him the chance to show off that split that made him famous.

It was so epic and so ridiculous at the same time that it generated several spin-offs, memes, and all the other things the Internet uses these days to respond to something bearing this description.

Volvo trucks got the taste for this kind of publicity clips, but it failed to replicate the success ever since. And that's because it wasn't all about the idea, but also featuring a Hollywood-grade actor.

Sadly, this latest trick doesn't manage to surpass its illustrous predecessor either. It involves Guillaume Galvani, a pro paraglider, and Louise Marriott described simply as "truck driver." Two people who might be good at what they're doing, but they're not Van Damme good.

The stunt itself is a lot more serious than the split. It even involves a bit of potentially life-threatening danger - not that falling off the mirrors of two moving trucks while doing a split wasn't going to leave a mark.

As always, the idea of these clips is to present one particular feature of the Volvo trucks, and in this case it's the I-Shift Dual Clutch gearbox. The transmission allows the truck to maintain speed even while climbing steep mountain roads, which is how it was able to maintain the paraglider flying. Well, gliding.

We guess the whole thing is OK, but it's never a good idea to give your best shot at first and go on a downslide from there. Volvo Trucks needs to pick up its game and come with a better idea. One that involves either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris - it's the only way.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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