Norwegian gearheads on the right Way

"Volkswagen Santana, the Chinese Passat." "Chinese police car, Volkswagen Passat." "Chinese Volkswagen Jetta, used as a taxi." These cars were sold with '80s designs in China well into the 2000s. They’re used as taxis and police cars by the Chinese dictatorship. And you can special import these cars from China, where they’re likely pretty handy and helpful with shipping, seeing as most of the world’s shipping goes through there. " So, if you’re not a cab driver, Chinaman, or communist, I reckon it’d be mighty cool to get one of these over to Norway and trick it out into something real slick!"

These here cars are just flat-out awesome! Had a neighbor down yonder who used to tool around in a red Volkswagen Transporter Type 2 T1 truck, canvas cover on the bed and all, back in the day (and you can read more 'bout that here ). Back when all kinds of strange goings-on were happenin' in our neck of the woods, he came rumblin' along in that old, beat-up '60s VW loaded down with planks for the folks livin' next door. I remember him drivin' like a bat outta hell, and my brother reckoned he was plumb crazy. Nowadays, you'd need a Transporter Type 2 T3 to match that kinda age. My scout leader had one too, and he'd take us cruisin' through the woods in the dead of winter, headin' up to the scout cabin while we got tossed around in the back, nearly takin' out a few grouchy hikers along the way. The Volkswagen Mk3/Mk4 T4 didn’t run on a boxer engine, but by the time these things got old and tired between 2000 and 2010, they sure started makin...

These here cars are a type of multi-purpose vehicle comin' outta the USA. A little over 20 years ago, I took a spin and test drove a Pontiac Trans Sport. We hit a snag with one of them seats that was supposed to be easy to rearrange, seein’ as this was a multi-purpose rig. In the end, we didn’t buy it, and later on, I kicked myself for it, thinkin' it was a real badass American ride with a mean V6 engine and sporty features from Pontiac. The Pontiac Trans Sport was the only Pontiac that ever really made waves in Norway in modern times. When I was a kid, I saw a bunch of these rides over in Sweden. But there’s one Pontiac Trans Sport I’ll never forget—it shot past us like a bat outta hell, swervin' between oncoming cars! The driver was an old speed demon, well up in years, and his kinda fancy wife looked like she was tryin' to calm him down, which was clearly too late. He was drivin' like he was a getaway driver on the lam. A few kilometers later, we spotted him at a...

(Now this right here’s how that old Prairie my "crazy" neighbor had sittin’ out in his yard looked. It might be a little too long in the tooth to use as a cruisin' rig these days, but shoot, look how cool it is!) (Nissan Prairie from the 1990s. You could sure trick this baby out into somethin' real badass!) The Nissan Prairie and Mitsubishi Space Wagon stayed in production till ’96 and ’98, keepin’ that late '80s/early '90s vibe goin’. That crazy neighbor of mine, the one I mentioned before strugglin' to get up his driveway with his beat-up Mitsubishi L300, had an old Nissan Prairie sittin’ around near the end of his days. It’d been de-registered for ages, just sittin’ there in his yard lookin’ mean as all get-out. Funny thing, the Nissan Prairie even played a big role as an undercover cop car in a chase scene in the last of the original Olsen Gang movies. (Mitsubishi Space Wagon, just like the one from The Olsen Gang’s Last Trick . The sweet old couple I...

( Polski Fiat 126p) The Polski Fiat 126p was all the rage on Norwegian roads back in the ‘90s and 2000s, especially with Polish migrant workers. I was near salivatin’ over one just the other day when I spotted a ‘98 model goin’ for only 50,000 kroner on Finn.no. These rigs were made in Poland right up until 2000. Their replacements were the Fiat Seicento and Fiat Cinquecento, both originally made in Poland after Fiat snapped ‘em up from the Polish government. All told, they cranked out a whopping 3.3 million of those Fiat 126ps, while Fiat’s main plant only rolled out 1.3 million from 1973 to 1979. If you ask around the Polish folks in Norway, you might just be able to get your hands on one of these gems. (Here’s how badass a Polski Fiat 126p can look!)

Here we’ve got the Rover Mini. This little rig earned its stripes in the 1960s flick The Italian Job , where a gang of British bank robbers pulled one over on the Italian police. Thanks to the Mini’s pint-sized build, they managed to hide themselves and their cars while makin’ their getaway. But the Rover Mini wasn’t just a movie star—no sir! It also showed its grit and gumption in the Monte Carlo Rally back in the '60s, provin' its speed and toughness on the rally courses. The Mini’s got a legacy that’s half Hollywood fame, half racetrack legend, makin' it a well-loved classic to this day. You can really pimp out these cars with extra lights in the grille and a picnic basket on the roof, just like you see in many of the pictures I’ve found of this car. In other words, the Rover Mini is a real ladykiller! I remember well an old scout leader I had who drove a Rover Mini in the late '90s. Several of his friends were driving older Austin Minis that looked even more impress...