Norwegian gearheads on the right Way

The Skoda Favorit came before a car that a school assistant at my elementary school had, from around 1996 and probably well into the 2000s. It looked a lot like the Favorit. This was Volkswagen’s big investment in Skoda, but they sure didn’t bother spending money to make Skoda as tough as a VW. My teacher actually bought a Felicia, made from '96 to '01, but it wasn’t any better. He bragged about paying an extra 40 grand for a Volkswagen engine instead of a Skoda one, but that didn’t help much. After just 3-4 years, that car was already falling apart, and by the early 2000s, I was seeing these rusted out everywhere. The Skoda Favorit, though, has a more classic look and was built until '95. I reckon it’d work just fine as a country cruiser. I remember a guy—his folks knew my folks from the orienteering scene—driving a Lada Samara back in the late '90s. That was the last time I ever knew someone who drove one. Not long after, in '99, Lada quit selling in Norway. At th...

Alfa Romeo 33 rolled off the line from 1983 to 1995 , and nowadays, you can pick one up as a 26-year-old street-racin’ rig that ain’t quite hit the big 3-0 yet. These are some downright slick Italian machines! You could get ‘em with 4x4 Quadrifoglio Oro or as a Giardinetta/Sportswagon. In 1990, they beefed up the rust protection, so the later models held up a bit better. These rides were often seen with fine-lookin’ Swedish gals behind the wheel and fit right into the A and B-gang crowd in Oslo back in the ‘90s and early 2000s. The Alfa Romeo 155 stuck around ‘til 1998 , so the newest ones are barely pushin’ 20 years. This is the kinda car that the only women out there who’ll pass you on the road would be drivin’—and you best believe you can trick it out into somethin’ real mean. Then there’s the Alfa Romeo 75 , built from 1985 to 1992 , named for Alfa’s 75th anniversary. Just a year later, Alfa got scooped up by Fiat. The 75 was the predecessor to the 155, but bein’ nearly 30 years ...

(Iveco Daily Turbo, like the one that company in Oslo used to cruise around in) Now, the Nissan Trade kept that good ol’ 80s design all the way up till 2001, but you ain't gonna find one rolling off an American lot—it’s strictly an import. But lemme tell ya, this thing can haul ass! Slap a few air fresheners on the mirror, toss some fuzzy dice up there, and load it up with some cheap lumber for fixin’ up your cabin out in the hills. Now, I’ve talked about the Iveco Daily Mk2 before—though back then, I was ramblin’ on about the Mk3 and Mk4. There was this old 16-year-old Iveco that got sold off by my old job to some fella who had a good mechanic patch it up right. That truck had been worked harder than a ranch hand at roundup, damn near run into the ground without a lick of care. So if that thing survived all that abuse, then you best believe the older versions can hold their own too. I still spot some of these Iveco Dailys here and there, and I remember back in the 90s, this trans...

Howdy! So, we're talking about some serious off-road machines here - Mercedes Benz Geländewagen, Santana PS10 Anibal, and Iveco Massif. Now, the Geländewagen, it's been around since '79, still rocking almost the same look. Back in the 80s, these bad boys were a status symbol, especially for the Wall Street crowd. Over here, folks called them "børstraktor" 'cause only the stock market big shots could afford 'em. Even our politicians were rolling in 'em, using 'em for military stuff. Check out this link for a used Geländewagen being sold by the military up in Finnmark in Norway. It's been used by civil defense, so it's in top-notch condition! Now, in 2002, I was on a bike ride near Sjølyst when I spotted a sweet Geländewagen, a 10-seater minibus, cruising from Sjøllyst towards the Kielhavna ramp. Suddenly, it goes up in flames, and the driver, all dressed up in a suit and tie, had to bail out to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. Luc...