SWEDEN. We see cars in magazines from coverage’s, meets, shows or cruising’s. According to me, these occasions are often more than not short seconds of artificial driving and usage unlike the time I spend driving my cars to the store, to the beach, to visit my mama, to the lumber yard, out for a joyride or to get some sweet potatoes. Real driving, real usage with a dirty body. More room for that. By Lars Krantz. Translation Ellen Kay Krantz.
Lunch at 4Sound in Umea.
West ChurchSt. in Umea Tuesday the 9th of June at 12:35. It’s warm, no wind and low hanging clouds. Mikael Ahdén is standing outside work and loads a Gibson Les Paul out of his car.
– I drive GM, this week, he says.
Mikael has both Ford and Mopar at home and usage vary from week to week. An enthusiast who together with his twin brother collects everything from cars to guitars. Their collection of guitars is well known and has been showcased in both domestic and international shows.
– The Nova is built in Canada, an Acadian and the station wagon, which only was produced during this year is a Canso.
The top of the air filter is a hub cap from a Pontiac. Typical of the Ahdén brothers to give attention to detail. They have even built guitars which are accentuated with chrome taken from cars. I use my cars so they are in every-day use condition, say Mikael and close the hood.
A chat in the Dodge after a long day at work.
Hamngatan in Hudiksvall on Friday the 4th of July 8.30 pm. It’s 75 degrees and the 1970 440 gives a slow murmur as it ride pass Moljen’s hot dog stand by the dock. A DeSoto and a Thunderbird convertible passed by a half hour ago and now the Dodge glide pass by its loneliness.
– Usually they ride by the docks every Friday night but we are a couple hours late so it’s more or less over by now. Let’s go for a ride anyway, Ronny Rosnas from Iggesund says.
Riding in the backseat we find Jesper Rosnas, 7 years old who likes to ride a V8. Ann-Katrin Sundin is chauffeuring. The trio is not all dressed up but it shows that the weekend is in sight. A scent of shower gel lingers out of the car when the window rolls down. Ronny has a white t-shirt, Ann-Katrin has white jeans and a light makeup.
– We just came from work and took the Dodge out to get to chatting and leave the house for a while, Ann-Katrin says. She lets the race shifter on the transmission tunnel zigzag into drive and the wide tires takes command and steer them off the sidewalk on to the street.
An angel on ICA.
Irma Larsson 5 years old from Gnarp could have fallen straight from heaven in her white wings if it weren’t for the fact that we saw her descending from a space ship. The sun is burning this afternoon. Merciless. The store in Gnarp has an air of sleepy vacation time, a muffle less moped that accelerates somewhere in the distance and a lady that crosses the street accompanied by a walker.
Erik Larsson saunters across the dusty parking lot. The Angel wanted ice cream and Erik took the DeSoto a Thursday the 10th of July. It’s five past four pm.
– I use the DeSoto as an everyday car during summer, Erik says.
– It’s not perfect nowhere but I like it. A Fireflite from 1960 with a 361 under the hood.
We follow the lines of the heavenly wings and slip into the big, open ht on the driver’s side. The white exterior accentuates with red interior and the wheel is tilted to the side.
– Exactly as they are…In reality.
Just arrived home to Degernas.
A big, low rising car arises from the aspfalt in a far away distance. Before that the sound has already reached us. The sun burns low in the late evening and the wide car leads your thoughts to fiction. A perfect starting frame for a really great movie. But no cameras are rolling and no actors are to be seen. This is just reality for Faniel Konigsson.
-” I’ve been shopping and is just coming home”, he says with a north western dialect.
The car was previously owned by a teacher from California that drove it in his everyday use. His wife complained about the leakage so he put in a new exhaust with headers. Then the wife complained on the breaks so the teacher exchanged every piece in that area. After that the wife had some thoughts about the acceleration so he put in a new motor. Then he got complaints about it not being safe to drive because of the lack of seat belts. That’s when he put it out for sale.
– I use it all the time. It’s the best of my cars. Comfortable and reliable and the V8 has a nice swagger, Daniel says.
The time is 6:21 pm on September the second 2008 and the sunshine reflects the cat trail on top of the hood when he turns on to the driveway.
A rainy Wednesday on the gas station in Arvidsjaur.
Rain is pouring down and has down so for eight consecutive hours. The weather report is not showing any sign of sunshine any time soon. CentralStreet in Arvidsjaur has been dug up for roadwork and the mud is floating. It’s Wednesday the third of September and the time shows 1:44 pm. Tiny, cars imploding with condensation is zigzagging between pot holes and road work signs on the street. Right about this time Ingemar Wallsten arrives in his Cadillac from 1956. The white giant kneels like and Airbus during landing, turns right, left, flows over a bump and is soaring in beneath the gas station roof in all its 18 feet glory.
– Naaw, just took a ride down to the gas station, you know, get some gas and buy something sweet.
Ingemar is from Lauker, 21 miles away.
– Out on a little ride? That’s 40 miles back and forth, I say.
– Exactly, he says, that’s what I said.
The car is a Calais and of course looks shiny in the pouring rain.
– That car is untouched, Ingemar says.
Per-Erik Granberg is working today. He steps out of the cash register.
– It’s been a shitty summer, they both agree upon.
– Only rain except one week when it kind of turned summed, that’s too little, Ingemar Wallsten says and re-enters the sky fall.
