This post is dedicated to Mr Haney at Ramblin On, because he seems to love cars so very much.
In the Thirties as many as 90 percentage of all cars in Sweden were imported from USA. They were more suited to the rough roads here than Sweden’s first own car, the Volvo, launched in 1927.
Classic American cars from the Fifties and Sixties have a peculiar status in Sweden today. Throughout the long winter fanatical owners work on classic Chevrolet’s and Buick’s with the sole aim of showing them off at summer rallies. They have become cult symbols and can be worth almost as much as a new car.
The favored models are from 1955 to 1959, preferably a Thunderbird or a Cadillac, but even a Chevy Impala 59 with side wings appeals to the real Classic Car enthusiast. Towns now compete to organize the rallies in which thousands of old cars cruise around.
Surprisingly, Sweden is said to have the world’s largest number of well-preserved American cars!
The Swedish King maintains a great interest in motor sport: at the vintage car rally on the island of Öland The King likes to drive an old Volvo PV 60 that he received as a present on his 50th birthday. Even his uncle Prince Bertil was very interested in cars and participated in many rally’s during his lifetime.
Last year we went out to watch the event called Gärdesloppet , now changed to Prince Bertil Memorial Day, in Stockholm, which has been held every year since 1922. There is a long, very, long parade with veteran cars (50 years and older) and mopeds (30 years and older) driving through town. It really is like being drawn back in time. We just love old cars and the suitable old clothes they are wearing.
Then there is a lot of other activities too out on the Djurgården. There is old racer cars competing against each other in a little rally, veteran airplanes flying over, a lot of shows off and handing out prizes to the participants with the veteran cars. You can be there for many hours, there are so many stunningly beautiful cars. Even for some one not interested in cars!
This year it’s going to be held the 28th of May and we do hope that we can go there then, to take some better photos. It’s worth seeing once again!
You can see our photos from last year in our Flickr folder Veteran cars 2005 .
Sources:
“Things Swedish” by Mari Hemming
royalcourt.se
gardesloppet.com
you are right i do like old cars. right now i have my 73 olsmobile98 and my 1054 chevy 3/4 ton pick up truck. i love to go to old car shows and i know i would like to go to sweden and see the show. thanks for the dedication. have a good day and i will talk with you soon.
I knew you would enjoy them MrHaney, so it was a pleasure making the post for you
Oh dear. I’m almost a “veteran”…
We have a lot of old cars up here in the mountains. When they are no longer needed they’re parked somewhere around the farm. The joke is; you know your a redneck if you mow the lawn and find a car. Redneck is a proudly borne term for southerners, in general, and poor southerners, of which there are plenty, in particular. When we were looking for our home the realtor showed us one place with three junked cars next to the house and I found two more back in the woods. The oldest of which was a 1938 Dodge. There is also a good deal of restoration what with a ready supply of autos. Peeople love to cruise the Blue Ridge Parkway in their vintage trucks and cars.
I’m not much of a car nut, but it seems to me that old times cars had way much more personality than modern ones… Aside from size, I can’t barely see the difference between two cars nowadays… But I just see a pic of one of those old beauties and each one of them look like a precious jewel!
I have been to alot of vintage car shows and the old cars had character. They stood proud and their owner were and still are.
The flared wings and the brutish looks some of them had and the insides were spacious. Miss that the most.
The new cars you sit in the back and your knee is in your mouth.
A Swedish blog! And it’s about Volvos at that! How perfectly lovely.
In your post preceding this one, you could have mentioned Nils Bohlin, the Volvo engineer who invented the safety-belt; not a minor addition to modern cars, no?
Nice blog, count me in.
MrG:
They are like art…..
Walker:
I totally agree with you! They have personality and space which I wish even the modern cars had.
Napfisk:
Thanks. I did mention Nils Bohlin in the preceding post about the inventors. Of course
You’re welcome back any time.
Dave:
Ah, that sounds wonderful, now I’m jealous… I wanna be there watching them drive by Blue Ridge Parkway, what a beautiful scene in double meaning…. *sigh*
I am madly in love with old cars. I enjoy a relationship with an old Toyota Рmy wif̩ getting jelouas Рbut who cares about wifes opinion ?
Best wishes
KOdex
Lifecruiser: My husband enjoy the relationship with his wife and our Toyota is the one getting jealous… But who cares about a cars opinion? *lol*
A few years ago we took a trip to Texas. We saw so many abandoned cars from all eras. I think it comes down to space and if there is room to park a broken down car and its not in the way, then thats what happens and it gets left there for years until someone either fixes it up or it finally goes to the big junkyard in the sky.